Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Read the organizational relationship
Use effective ownership and control records to prove a parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship between the entities. Both qualifying entities must remain active and conduct regular, systematic and continuous business in the US and at least one other country. Brand use or registration alone does not supply those facts. A first review normally produces a chart tied to share registers, governing agreements, tax records and evidence of active operations. The decisive issue is control in practice, not merely a similar logo. Contradictory accounts, bank authority or board minutes should be resolved before the transfer narrative is drafted.
Complete service, duties and new-office evidence
Establish the continuous qualifying foreign year within the relevant three years; US days do not count, although a trip does not automatically break continuity. L-1A needs primarily managerial or executive duties, not a title-only first-line nonprofessional supervisor. A US operation doing business for less than one year needs sufficient premises and support for the qualifying role within one year; initial new-office approval is limited to one year. Total L-1A stay is capped at seven years. Build the timeline from payroll, tax and travel records so the worker’s one continuous qualifying year abroad falls within the three years immediately before the petition. The L-1A maximum period is generally seven years; a planned assignment should be measured against that ceiling instead of assumed renewable indefinitely. Hypothetical example: a Canton de Hatley company that fabricates acoustic panels for cinemas wants its director of production planning to open a US sales and installation unit. The US distributor uses the same brand but is independently owned, so the first review finds no qualifying relationship. The shareholder register and distributor agreement, not the catalogue, settle the issue. The owners must decide whether to establish a genuine qualifying US entity before pursuing a transfer. If they do, the file must also show the director’s qualifying foreign year, premises, staffing plan and duties that will become primarily managerial or executive; having the director install panels most days would not be cured by a senior title.
Managing people and managing a function are different claims
L-1A asks whether the person will be primarily managing an organization, a department, a subdivision or an essential function, or acting at executive level; L-1B asks a different question about specialized knowledge of the company’s own product, process or procedure. Explain whether the applicant directs people or a function, sets priorities and exercises relevant discretion, or mainly coordinates work decided by others. L-1A requires that the transferee will be employed in a primarily managerial or executive capacity, which is a description of what someone does rather than of what they are called. Identify responsibility for personnel, an essential function or the direction of the organization or a component, as actually applicable. A petition listing strategic responsibilities while the same person quotes jobs, supervises no one and personally performs the service invites the conclusion that the proposed role is not primarily managerial or executive. Identifying risks, writing reports or being consulted on difficult cases does not by itself establish management of an essential function or a qualifying managerial or executive role. The practical decision is whether the proposed position will primarily direct an organization, function or professional staff, rather than perform the underlying services personally.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.