Read the general business expansion overview
For a Strait Shores owner-manager, a distribution record answers a financial question. Build the L-1 account from the services actually performed abroad, the planned U.S. responsibilities and the organizations that will continue operating during the transfer.
Reconstruct the foreign role from contemporaneous work evidence
Identify a continuous full-time qualifying year abroad within the relevant three years and describe the decisions, responsibilities and organization involved. Exclude days in the United States from that foreign-year count; brief trips do not automatically break continuity. Ownership and investment income cannot substitute for proof of employment. A new-office L-1A requires that foreign year specifically in a managerial or executive capacity; ordinary L-1A may also rely on qualifying specialized-knowledge employment. For an owner or major stockholder, address the temporary nature of the U.S. services and the assignment abroad that follows, rather than leaving the later plan unstated.
Explain how the new operation will support the proposed position
Apply the new-office framework when the US organization has been doing business for less than one year. For L-1A, show sufficient premises and how primarily managerial or executive duties will be supported within one year of approval. Identify the people who carry out the operating work rather than assigning everything to the owner by default. An L-1B new office instead needs the qualifying knowledge, adequate premises and financial ability to pay the beneficiary and begin business. The initial new-office period is no more than one year for either classification; it is not an open-ended allowance to develop the role.
Follow the operating responsibilities after the owner leaves
Document the qualifying corporate connection and continued U.S. and foreign business. Name the actual roles responsible for customers, staff and operational decisions abroad, using effective arrangements rather than an aspirational replacement title. If distributions continue after a transition, explain what work the owner still performs; receiving money is not proof that the same managerial duties continue unchanged.
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.