The actual primary role needs assessment; the title alone does not establish L-1A eligibility.
Identify who performs the recurring work
Explain both authority and execution honestly. Do not remove duties from the account merely because they complicate the managerial or executive analysis.
For a function-manager case, identify an essential function and show how the applicant operates at a senior level concerning it, exercises discretion over its day-to-day operation and primarily manages rather than performs its ordinary tasks. The corporate relationship, continuing business and qualifying foreign year remain separate requirements; a senior title or financial responsibility alone does not supply them. Time in L-1A status is capped at seven years, and an L-1A new-office petition must show at filing that the intended U.S. operation will support the managerial or executive role within one year; any initial approval is limited to no more than one year. The condition that does bind sits on the other side of the border: one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad within the three years preceding the request, in a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge capacity, with a qualifying related entity.