Read the general business expansion overview
Letters of interest and executed contracts do different work in a new-office file. An unsigned expression of interest may help explain why a revenue forecast is plausible; it does not show that the U.S. entity is doing business. Initial new-office approval is limited to one year, and for L-1A, the operation must support a managerial or executive role within one year and the evidence must show how it will do so. Sort every pipeline document by what it can actually support before the plan is written around it.
Sort the correspondence by its status
For each document, record who wrote it, who signed it, whether anything remains conditional, what scope and pricing it describes, and its date. Then group them: executed agreements, term sheets or letters of intent with open conditions, letters of interest, and informal expressions of interest by email. Keep purchase orders and paid invoices apart from all of these. The grouping matters more than the count, because a plan that quotes twelve documents of unstated status leaves a reader unable to tell whether the operation has customers, prospects, or conversations.
Where an enthusiastic plan overstates itself
Hypothetical example, used to show the drafting risk and not as a description of any company in Saint-Lambert: a business plan lists several letters of interest under the heading "contracted revenue", so the forecast reads as a backlog. No rule requires that a customer be signed before a filing is made, so nothing is gained by the framing. What is lost is credibility later, when the same file is revisited and the documents are read as they were written. Describe the pipeline as it is, and say what would have to happen for each item to become revenue.
Prepare now for the extension conversation
At extension the actual operation is what matters: whether the U.S. entity is doing business, its staffing, the transferee's real duties, its finances, and the continuing existence of qualifying organizations. Qualifying operations abroad must continue, though they may continue through another qualifying entity rather than the original employer. Keep the original plan, and record material changes with dated evidence as they happen rather than rewriting history afterwards. Confirm with the person managing the filing how the business has secured sufficient physical premises for its activities and how the managerial or executive role is expected to develop over the year.
What else is on your mind?
Does being a business owner or director qualify me for L-1A?What employment history should an L-1 transfer review cover?What makes a new-office L-1A case different?Why does an L-2 spouse’s admission record matter for work?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.