IN THIS GUIDE · Show the managerial role alongside outside operational support
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
Separate available support from the applicant’s duties
Hypothetical example: a company uses outside bookkeeping and fulfillment but expects the transferee to deliver its core customer service personally. Describe the real recurring work, decision authority and support. Do not assume outsourcing two tasks makes the remaining position primarily managerial or executive.
Explain the function or personnel responsibility precisely
A function manager primarily manages an essential function rather than personally performing it. Assess the actual responsibility and organization; there is no universal headcount shortcut. Provider contracts should not be mislabelled as a staffed employee hierarchy or treated as conclusive proof of delegation.
Preserve qualifying organization and employment evidence
Establish the actual qualifying corporate relationship, doing business and generally one continuous qualifying foreign employment year within the relevant preceding three years. An unrelated provider relationship does not itself establish parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate status.
Support the real new-office plan where applicable
For a U.S. organization doing business for less than one year, L-1A requires sufficient premises, qualifying foreign managerial or executive employment and capacity to support the intended U.S. managerial or executive role within one year of approval. Initial approval is limited to at most one year. Explain what outside support is actually secured and what the applicant must still do.
Establish the qualifying foreign year and active organizations
The foreign employment generally must include one continuous full-time qualifying year within the relevant preceding three-year period, assessed on the individual facts. U.S. days do not count toward that foreign year; a trip should not automatically be treated as breaking continuity. The qualifying organization must do business in the United States and at least one other country during the relevant period, through regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services rather than registration alone. For an ordinary L petition, the qualifying foreign work may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; the U.S. duties must meet the requested classification. New-office L-1A specifically requires managerial or executive foreign employment.
Explain authority using real decisions, not a family title
Identify the decisions the applicant will make, the organization or essential function managed and the staff or other resources carrying out the underlying work. An organization chart of the co-packing plant, with names and titles, and a description of hiring, firing, budget and scheduling authority does more than adjectives about leadership. In a four-person subsidiary, a chief executive who also drives the delivery van and leads trips is not primarily executive. Personnel management rests on supervising and controlling professional or supervisory staff; function management rests on managing an essential function at a senior level without necessarily supervising anyone. In a small operation, some hands-on activity may be unavoidable, but the record should show who performs routine production, sales, or service once staff are in place. A finance officer may understand ownership, a human-resources lead may confirm overseas payroll, and a senior manager may explain discretion and staffing. Explain who performs operations and how the role will actually function; a planned promotion or senior title is not the entire test. For an owner or major stockholder, document temporary U.S. services and a subsequent foreign assignment.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.