Read the general business expansion overview
A new U.S. office may use providers for some activities while the transferee performs others. Describe that division accurately before claiming the operation supports a qualifying managerial or specialized-knowledge role.
Map the purchased service before counting its support
Place the bookkeeping and delivery agreements beside the applicant’s proposed weekly tasks. Identify the tasks retained by the employee, provider exclusions and conditions not yet fulfilled. Establish the qualifying corporate relationship and a continuous full-time qualifying foreign year within the relevant preceding three-year period. A provider relationship cannot manufacture either. Date the U.S. organization’s actual regular, systematic and continuous goods or services: less than a year of doing business invokes new-office treatment, while registration or a vendor being available does not establish operations.
Explain what the provider contributes to the A or B case
A new-office L-1A case needs sufficient premises and qualifying foreign managerial or executive employment, plus an operation capable of supporting the U.S. managerial or executive role within one year of approval. Explain how the actual purchased services contribute, rather than counting the provider’s entire workforce as the transferee’s staff. L-1B instead requires specialized knowledge, sufficient premises and the financial ability to pay the employee and begin business. A narrow outsourcing contract does not resolve those separate requirements or impose the managerial test on a specialist.
Keep completion evidence tied to retained duties
Save service reports and invoices that show what the vendor actually delivered, then record what the transferee continued to perform. That comparison matters when a function-manager claim depends on primarily managing rather than doing the function. Initial new-office approval lasts at most one year; renewing a vendor contract cannot renew immigration status. Use actual business, staffing and duty evidence for any extension instead of assuming a comprehensive-looking contract proves the launch plan succeeded.
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.