United States L-1A New Office

The U.S. petitioner and the foreign company must have a qualifying parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate relationship. The applicant must generally have worked for the qualifying organization abroad for at least one continuous year during the relevant three-year period, in an executive or managerial capacity. The proposed U.S. role must also be executive or managerial.

A new office is a qualifying U.S. organization that has been doing business for less than one year. The company must secure sufficient physical premises and prove that, within one year, the U.S. operation will support a genuine executive or managerial position. The initial approval is therefore limited to one year, and extension evidence is crucial.

There is no fixed statutory investment or net-worth minimum. The funding must nevertheless be sufficient for the specific launch, including premises, equipment, inventory, professional costs, staffing and operating expenses. A detailed business plan is effectively required to demonstrate the company structure, market opportunity, financial capacity, hiring schedule and how operational duties will be delegated as the business develops.

Viamora may assist with market research, competitors, target customers, business model, pricing, sales strategy, staffing, startup costs, investment allocation, cash flow, financial projections, implementation milestones and commercial support documents.

A note on AI-generated plans: Generic or unverified AI-generated content can weaken credibility, especially where projections, staffing and business evidence do not match.

The U.S. company files Form I-129 with USCIS. Current government charges may include the I-129 filing fee, Asylum Program Fee, a USD 500 fraud-prevention fee, and in some cases a USD 4,500 Public Law fee. Optional premium processing carries an additional fee. After petition approval, most applicants apply for an L visa through a U.S. consulate and pay the petition-based visa fee, generally USD 205, plus any applicable reciprocity fee. Government fees change and must be rechecked before filing.

A new-office L-1A approval is limited to one year. Extensions may be granted in periods of up to two years, to a general maximum of seven years. A spouse and unmarried children under 21 may qualify for L-2 status, and qualifying L-2 spouses are generally work-authorized incident to status. L-1A is compatible with immigrant intent, and some established multinational managers or executives later pursue EB-1C permanent residence, but that is a separate process with separate requirements.

Owning the company does not, by itself, establish managerial or executive capacity. Cases are vulnerable where the founder will personally deliver most services, the foreign company is inactive, the corporate relationship is unclear, the U.S. business is underfunded, or the staffing plan is speculative. The one-year extension must show real business activity and a developed role focused on management rather than routine operations.