IN THIS GUIDE · Transferring knowledge of an internal service platform
Describe what the knowledge consists of
Identify the company product, process or procedure and what the employee knows about it. Explain why that knowledge is special or advanced under the applicable standard. Merely naming proprietary software does not show that every user holds qualifying specialized knowledge.
Show how the employee acquired it
Use development assignments, training, implementation history and responsibility for difficult work to explain the employee’s knowledge. Distinguish actual experience from a course that any new worker can complete quickly. Avoid claims that nobody else in the world could do the job.
Connect knowledge to the US duties
Explain which tasks in the US role require the claimed knowledge and how the employee will use it. A position largely devoted to unrelated administration may not support the proposed classification even if the employee personally has valuable expertise.
Keep employment and corporate evidence intact
Specialized knowledge does not replace proof of the qualifying relationship or qualifying employment abroad. Identify the actual foreign employer and relevant dates. A contractor’s work for the group should not be relabelled employment merely to fill a gap. A continuous qualifying full-time foreign employment year is required within the relevant three years. The qualifying group must conduct regular, systematic and continuous business in the US and at least one other country. US days do not count toward the foreign year, although qualifying brief trips do not themselves interrupt continuity. For work primarily at an unaffiliated employer’s site, L-1B is unavailable if the worker will be controlled and supervised principally by that unaffiliated employer, or if the placement is essentially labour for hire rather than connected with the petitioning employer’s product or service requiring specialized knowledge specific to that employer. New-office treatment means US doing business for less than one year. It requires sufficient premises and financial ability to pay the worker and commence business; initial approval is limited to one year.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.