IN THIS GUIDE · Trace managerial authority across the actual related entities
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Map the relevant entities and control
Identify actual parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate relationships. Hypothetical example: a group chart includes a commercial partner alongside subsidiaries. Preserve that distinction rather than describing every box as a qualifying related company. For the entity offering the U.S. role and the organization employing the applicant abroad, trace the relevant ownership and control through any intermediate companies. A supplier may appear in the operational chart because it performs work while remaining unrelated for the transfer test. Keep those two uses of the chart distinct. If an ownership transaction is pending, identify the current position and the proposed change rather than treating an unsigned acquisition as an existing qualifying relationship.
Explain the applicant’s real authority
The role must be primarily managerial or executive. Identify decisions and operational support in the actual organization. A function manager manages the essential function rather than principally performing it; a regional title alone does not establish senior authority. A function manager must act at a senior level over an essential function and primarily manage it. First-line supervision of nonprofessional workers alone is insufficient.
Preserve the individual foreign history
Show the qualifying continuous foreign employment within the relevant period and continuing U.S. and foreign business. A group’s long history does not prove the applicant’s own qualifying year. Under the general L rule, the qualifying foreign position may be managerial, executive or involve specialized knowledge; the proposed U.S. L-1A role must still be managerial or executive.
Assess office and ownership conditions
New-office L-1A requires sufficient premises and an operation supporting the qualifying role within one year of approval, with initial approval limited to one year. An owner or major stockholder also needs the applicable temporary-service and subsequent foreign-assignment evidence. New-office L-1A specifically requires the qualifying foreign year in a managerial or executive capacity. A new office means less than one year of U.S. doing business.
Establish the qualifying foreign year and active organizations
The qualifying foreign employment generally must be one continuous full-time year within the relevant preceding three years. Its capacity may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge under the ordinary L rule; the proposed U.S. role has its own category test. Brief U.S. trips do not necessarily interrupt continuity, but U.S. days do not count toward the foreign year. The qualifying group must provide goods or services regularly, systematically and continuously in the United States and at least one other country throughout the relevant stay; registration alone is insufficient.
Explain authority in the proposed organization
L-1A status is subject to a seven-year maximum, and a new office is normally approved initially for one year with evidence of secured premises and the capacity to support the role, after which continuation depends on what the branch has actually become. Managing a function or an essential part of the organisation counts; so does directing personnel with authority over hiring, firing and promotion. Describe which employees or functions will be managed, their level of discretion, and the transferee’s authority over goals or budgets. A first review maps the foreign and proposed U.S. roles separately, using organization charts, payroll, delegated authority and evidence of the personnel or contractors who perform day-to-day production. If an essential function is claimed instead, name the function, say why the organisation could not operate without it, and show the discretion the applicant exercises over its budget, priorities and standards.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.