Opening the first U.S. office
For an L-1A launch, connect premises, funding, staffing, and the proposed managerial or executive role.
L-1A new-office planning
RELAWCATIONU.S. IMMIGRATION LAWIntracompany transfer
L-1 visa lawyer for international company transfers.
James Cohen prepares L-1 cases for companies transferring executives, managers, or employees with specialized knowledge. L-1 cases turn on the relationship between the companies, qualifying employment abroad, and the work the employee will actually perform in the United States.
Request a case assessmentYour starting point
Where does your case stand?
Extending an existing transfer
Update the corporate relationship, active operations, actual duties, and status history.
L-1 extension preparationResponding to a USCIS request
Identify the disputed issue and organize the response around the notice and its deadline.
L-1 RFE response
Eligibility framework
The central L-1 questions
- Do the foreign and U.S. entities have a qualifying parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch relationship?
- Did the employee work abroad for the qualifying organization for the required continuous period?
- Is the proposed U.S. role truly executive or managerial for L-1A, or specialized-knowledge work for L-1B?
- For a new office, can the record show premises, a viable operation, and organizational growth?
Case preparation
Prove the organization, not just the title
- Map ownership and control across the qualifying entities.
- Document employment abroad and the substance of the prior role.
- Use organization charts, staffing, duties, budgets, and operating records to explain the U.S. position.
- Test whether the current U.S. operation can support the claimed role.
How James Cohen prepares an L-1 case
James Cohen brings more than 30 years of legal practice and experience with hundreds of successfully completed immigration cases. L-1 preparation begins by checking the relationship between the foreign and U.S. businesses, the employee’s qualifying work abroad, and the actual duties of the proposed U.S. role.
The work organizes corporate and operating records, employment history, staffing evidence, and a clear description of managerial, executive, or specialized-knowledge duties. A new-office case also needs evidence appropriate to the planned U.S. operation. The petition is reviewed for consistency across the business plan, organizational charts, role descriptions, and supporting documents; any evidence request is assessed against the requirements at issue.
Prove the qualifying company relationship
The L-1 classification depends on a continuing relationship between the foreign organization and the U.S. petitioner. Formation documents alone rarely explain the full structure. Ownership percentages, voting rights, control, capitalization, and the relationship among parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, or branches should tell one consistent story.
The qualifying organization abroad generally must continue doing business while the beneficiary is in the United States. A transfer plan should therefore be tested against both sides of the operation, not only the newly formed U.S. company.
Reconstruct the year of qualifying work abroad
The beneficiary generally must have worked abroad continuously for one year within the relevant three-year period for a qualifying organization. Payroll, tax, personnel, travel, corporate, and project records should establish both the dates and the substance of that employment.
The foreign role and the proposed U.S. role do not have to be identical, but each must independently fit the applicable L-1 standard. A managerial title cannot substitute for evidence of authority, level, supervision, essential function management, or executive decision-making.
Build the U.S. position from operational facts
USCIS examines what the beneficiary will actually do. Organization charts should be supported by payroll, job descriptions, reporting lines, budgets, contracts, and records showing how the company performs its work. The analysis is especially important where the beneficiary also handles sales, production, or routine operational tasks.
For an L-1A new-office petition, the record must show that the U.S. operation will support an executive or managerial position within one year of petition approval. Premises, capitalization, market evidence, staffing sequence, financial assumptions, and the foreign company’s ability to support the expansion should reinforce one another.
Important
Facts and procedure determine the route.
Job titles do not establish L-1 eligibility. New-office petitions and mature operations require different factual records, and L-1A and L-1B apply different legal standards. Corporate structure and day-to-day duties must match the petition.
Official reference: USCIS L-1A Intracompany TransfereeQuestions clients ask
Issues to resolve before filing.
Must the U.S. company already be operating?
Not always. The L-1 new-office framework can apply to a recently established U.S. operation, but it requires evidence of premises, business viability, the qualifying relationship, and the ability to support the proposed role.
Can the owner of a company qualify for L-1A?
Ownership does not automatically prevent eligibility, but the petition must prove the qualifying corporate relationship, employment abroad, and a genuinely executive or managerial U.S. role.
What is the difference between L-1A and L-1B?
L-1A covers qualifying executives and managers. L-1B covers employees with qualifying specialized knowledge. The legal tests and supporting records differ.
Are job titles enough to prove a managerial role?
No. USCIS examines actual duties, authority, staffing, organizational structure, and the level at which the beneficiary will work.
Talk through the facts
Explain the company structure and the planned transfer.
For an initial inquiry, briefly describe:
- The foreign and U.S. companies and their ownership relationship.
- Your role abroad, how long you have held it, and the proposed U.S. duties.
- Whether the U.S. operation is new or established and the intended transfer date.
A short summary is enough. Send no passport numbers or confidential documents.
Initial contact does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case acceptance follows conflict and scope review.