Do not decide from one figure. The actual continuing business and other eligibility requirements need review.
Explain the operating cycle
Provide relevant contracts, activity and records over the period. Do not treat company registration as proof of operations or a quiet invoice month as the only fact.
Where the U.S. organization has been doing business for less than one year, assess L-1A new-office requirements, including sufficient premises, required foreign managerial or executive employment and ability to support the intended managerial or executive role within one year of approval. An entity that keeps an office, a bank account and a corporate registration but supplies nothing is not doing business in the sense the rule intends, and neither is one that exists only as an agent for the American side. Where several family members or holding entities are involved, have counsel assess actual control from the corporate records rather than from a simplified description. The first review should identify the corporate records proving the qualifying relationship, payroll evidence showing an uninterrupted year abroad during the three-year lookback, and a duty record showing managerial or executive authority. The petitioner must also prove a qualifying parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate relationship and one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad during the preceding three years; the business-activity showing must follow the separate rules for an established or initial new office.