Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: a Shefford metal-stamping company plans a U.S. sales office in shared space, and at the time of filing the arrangement is a verbal understanding with a landlord. New-office petitions are normally approved for one year, and the evidence expected includes sufficient physical premises secured and a demonstrated capacity to support the proposed role. An intention to lease is weaker evidence than a lease, and the gap is worth closing before the petition rather than after. Hypothetical example: a precision-fastener company has a signed U.S. lease but intends to use the space only for storage while its transferee works remotely. The decision is whether the premises, staffing plan and duties describe a credible office that can support a managerial or executive role within the first year. Align the space with the actual launch plan before filing.
Secure the space and document it
Sufficient physical premises to house the new office is one of the specific new-office elements, so the file benefits from a signed lease or licence agreement, a floor plan or description matching the intended activity, and evidence of payment. Shared or serviced space can be entirely appropriate for a small sales operation; what matters is that the arrangement is real, documented and adequate for what the petition says will happen there. A generic co-working membership offered as premises for a manufacturing function invites a question about whether the described operation can occur at all. Match the space to the described work. Keep the lease, payment evidence and floor-plan description together, then compare them to the work said to occur there. A first review may show that the premises are sufficient for sales and administration but not for warehousing or production. That is a decision to revise the business plan, not a reason to stretch the description.
Show that the office can support the role within a year
A new-office L-1A petition is assessed on whether the U.S. operation will, within one year, support an executive or managerial position. That requires a plan with substance: projected revenue and its basis, a hiring schedule with roles and timing, the investment committed by the parent, and the customers or channels expected to generate the work. It also requires internal consistency, so the staffing plan should explain who the transferee will actually direct. If the plan shows the transferee selling personally throughout the first year, it is describing a role that will still not be managerial when the extension is assessed. Turn the one-year forecast into dated management checkpoints: initial customers, first hire, reporting structure and the transferee’s changing duties. The useful output is a plan that the company can operate, not a narrative designed only for the petition. If hiring slips, the company will know early that the extension facts need attention.
Keep the underlying L requirements intact
New-office evidence sits on top of the ordinary conditions rather than replacing them. The employee must have one continuous year of qualifying employment with the foreign entity within the three years before the petition, in a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge capacity. A qualifying relationship must exist between the entities and both must be doing business. L-1A remains subject to a seven-year maximum and L-1B to five. An L-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status. Confirming these before the first-year plan is drafted keeps the effort focused on the part that is genuinely new. Confirm ordinary L conditions before spending on the new-office presentation. Trace qualifying ownership, active business on both sides, and the employee’s continuous qualifying year abroad. The first review should identify which source record proves each condition and whether a specialized-knowledge or managerial theory is actually supportable.
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.