Read the general business expansion overview
A new-office L-1 petition is approved for one year and must show that the U.S. entity has secured physical premises and has the financial ability and business plan to support a managerial or specialized-knowledge role within that year. The transferee still needs a continuous qualifying year with the Boischatel company and a qualifying corporate relationship. The petition lives or dies on the lease, the funding and a staffing plan that makes the manager's role credible.
Secure the premises in the U.S. entity's name, not the owner's
Hypothetical example: a Boischatel commercial roofing and membrane installer incorporates a Vermont subsidiary and wants to send its operations manager to open it. The petition needs a signed lease for commercial space adequate for the planned operation, held by the subsidiary. A home office or a virtual address will not do for a contractor that will store materials and dispatch crews. The lease should be dated before filing, and photographs, a floor plan and the landlord's confirmation help. USCIS reads the premises as the first sign that the new office is more than a plan.
Fund the office and write the staffing plan around the manager
Show the capital the parent has committed to the subsidiary with bank statements and the intercompany agreement, and present a business plan with a twelve-month hiring schedule. The manager must, by the end of the first year, be managing people or an essential function rather than installing membranes; the plan should name the estimator, the crew leads and the installers the office will hire, with dates and wages, and show the revenue that pays them. If the honest plan is that the manager will be the only employee for eighteen months, the petition is premature and the office should be opened with a different structure first.
Prove the manager's year abroad and plan the extension now
The operations manager must have worked for the Boischatel company for one continuous year within the last three in a managerial or executive capacity, and the parent-subsidiary relationship must be documented by share registers. Unlike a regular L-1 transfer, an L-1A new-office petition cannot use a qualifying foreign year in specialized knowledge. The initial approval is for one year; the extension petition will ask whether the hiring plan was carried out, so the office should keep payroll records, contracts and invoices from day one with that filing in mind. The manager's spouse holds L-2 status with employment authorization incident to status, and children may study. Diarize the extension filing well before the first anniversary.
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.