IN THIS GUIDE · Assess an intracompany transfer without inventing an export requirement
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Describe each operation’s actual activity
Explain the goods or services provided by the qualifying group in each country. Doing business means regular, systematic and continuous provision, not simply a registered address or an agent. Do not invent export invoices when the real activity is serving separate customer markets. Use contemporaneous operating material: customer agreements, invoices, payroll, premises records and a short account of each entity's ordinary activity. The review should identify which entity performs which function and whether both are doing business when the request is made. A future expansion forecast cannot replace evidence of an existing foreign operation.
Prove the corporate connection separately from trade
Document the parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary relationship, including actual ownership and control as relevant. Two companies need a qualifying connection, even if they collaborate commercially; equally, a lack of intercompany product shipments does not by itself defeat an otherwise qualifying relationship. Prepare a simple ownership-and-control chart tied to corporate registers, share records and governing agreements. The decision-maker needs to see the legal relationship, not a marketing statement that the companies are partners. If control is held through another entity, trace that intermediate link and explain the relevant voting or ownership rights.
Show the employee’s qualifying history and role
Generally support a continuous year of qualifying full-time foreign employment in the relevant preceding three years and a U.S. job primarily involving qualifying managerial or executive duties. Explain the real organization and operational support. A management title or the existence of two markets does not replace those employee-specific requirements. The review should compare the foreign job record, proposed U.S. duties, reporting lines, budgets and staffing plan. L-1A generally requires one continuous qualifying year abroad during the prior three years, and the maximum period in L-1A classification is seven years. A job title, a broad power of attorney, or a small number of direct reports does not by itself answer the capacity question.
Weigh managerial capacity against specialized knowledge first
Identify decisions, discretion and the applicant’s senior role in the function, together with who performs the underlying work. Identify authority over priorities, pricing policy, personnel or the relevant function, along with approvals retained elsewhere. US days do not count toward the foreign year, though a trip does not automatically interrupt continuity. General foreign capacity may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge, while new-office L-1A specifically needs foreign managerial or executive service. A person whose main job is directly supervising non-professional technicians is a first-line supervisor, not a manager, unless the technicians are themselves professionals.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.