Read the general business expansion overview
A Sainte-Julie company may prepare an organization chart before every U.S. role is filled. Mark the actual stage of each position so the new-office assessment can evaluate the real first-year plan. The first review should produce an annotated chart, premises record, hiring plan, and duty allocation that can be tested against the first year of operations. The company must decide which functions will actually be performed by the transferee and which will be carried by staff, contractors, or unfilled future roles.
Identify the responsibilities behind each box
For an L-1A proposal, explain which tasks the transferee would manage and who would perform the underlying work. Separate current staff, genuine planned hires and unassigned duties. Hypothetical example: a chart lists a role that has not yet been recruited. Do not present that box as evidence of an employee already in place. Hypothetical example: a ballast-water sensor maker marks three technician roles as filled although only job descriptions exist. The company must decide whether the first-year plan supports managerial capacity without representing planned hires as current staff.
Apply the launch standard to the actual evidence
New-office L concerns less than one year of U.S. doing business. L-1A needs sufficient premises, the continuous qualifying foreign managerial or executive year within the relevant three years and evidence supporting the U.S. role within one year. A new-office L-1B proposal instead needs its specialized-knowledge and qualifying-employment evidence, suitable premises and financial ability to pay and begin business. Preserve the lease or other premises evidence, foreign employment records, qualifying-relationship records, and financial plan separately. The decision is whether the enterprise can support the claimed role within its first year, not whether an attractive chart contains enough boxes.
Keep future plans separate from extension proof
Initial new-office approval is limited to one year; a later assessment needs actual activity and role evidence. The qualifying relationship and required international business still matter. For an owner or major stockholder, retain temporary U.S. services and subsequent foreign-assignment evidence. The chart organizes facts; it does not create them. Compare the original hiring assumptions with payroll, contracts, invoices, and actual duty records before seeking an extension. L-1A and L-1B new-office cases require the relevant qualifying foreign employment within the preceding three years; the later record must also show continuing qualifying operations.
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.