Read the general business expansion overview
Outsourcing accounting or administration to a U.S. provider can take real work off a founder's desk. It does not by itself answer what a new-office file has to address: what the applicant would actually do, and how the L-1A operation will meet the requirement to support a managerial or executive role within one year of approval. Describe the arrangement and the duties as two separate things. The first review should separately test the qualifying relationship, the applicant’s twelve continuous months of full-time foreign employment during the preceding three years, and the launch plan. A vendor agreement cannot substitute for any of those threshold records.
Put the outsourced scope in writing
Collect the engagement letter or contract with the provider: the tasks covered, their frequency, who gives instructions, what stays inside the company and what the fee is. Then list what is not covered, because that work still has to be done by someone. There is no fixed headcount to satisfy, so the evidence has to make the arrangement understandable in the context of this business rather than pointing at a number of employees on a chart. A staffing map should show what the provider performs, what employees perform, and what remains for the transferee. The key decision is whether the first-year structure can support management rather than merely describe outsourced tasks.
Write an honest week for the applicant
Hypothetical example: a founder based in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines contracts a U.S. firm for bookkeeping and payroll, and personally handles client delivery through the first months while recruiting. Set out the launch tasks, the planned hires with their timing, and the responsibilities that would remain with the applicant. Describe delivery work as delivery work. A role called managerial because the word suits the filing is still a description that the later evidence will be measured against. Hypothetical example: a canine mobility-equipment distributor outsources fulfillment but the founder personally fits every early customer. The decision is whether the hiring schedule credibly moves that hands-on function away from the applicant within the required first year.
Plan the evidence for a new-office extension
An initial new-office approval is limited to one year, sufficient physical premises form part of the initial assessment, and the qualifying foreign operations must continue doing business, which can occur through another qualifying entity rather than the original employer. Keep the original plan, and log changes — a delayed hire, a dropped service line — as they occur and with their reasons. Confirm individual dates and status questions with the person managing the filing rather than reading them off a general timeline. L-1A is generally limited to seven years, so retain the dates of earlier L time as well as the new-office timeline. The decision after approval is not to freeze the plan, but to record material departures while they can still be explained.
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.