Read the general business expansion overview
A household may intend to help launch a U.S. operation together. The actual transferee’s qualifying employment and proposed role must still be established separately from the spouse’s support.
Identify the transferee and qualifying history
Hypothetical example: one spouse manages a foreign business while the other has unrelated specialist experience. Establish the actual qualifying organizations and generally one continuous full-time qualifying foreign employment year within the relevant preceding three years for the transferee. New-office rules concern a U.S. organization doing business for less than one year; a family plan or registration alone does not establish real business activity.
Support the actual A or B launch role
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. L-1B requires qualifying specialized knowledge, sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the employee and begin doing business. One adult’s skills or history should not be attributed to the other.
Coordinate the spouse plan and later evidence
Qualifying L spouses may be employment-authorized incident to status with appropriate documentation, but the actual records need review. Initial new-office approval is limited to at most one year. Preserve genuine operating, staffing and duty evidence rather than assuming the household’s combined effort guarantees extension eligibility.
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.