US Work Visa and Founder Mobility Questions
12 practical answers
Last reviewed October 7, 2026
For many overseas businesses, the L-1 intracompany transfer is how a founder, executive or specialist moves to the United States to build a US operation. It links immigration to corporate structure: the foreign company and the US company must have a qualifying relationship, the employee must have worked for the foreign company for at least one continuous year within the three years before the petition, and a new US office must show it can support the role.
The typical journey starts with business decisions — forming the US entity, documenting ownership, securing premises, funding the company and preparing a credible business plan — and then moves to the petition prepared by immigration counsel. This hub groups questions by stage: L-1 basics and eligibility, new offices and startups, and evidence, RFEs and longer-term planning. NYBACS handles business setup, corporate records, accounting, business-plan inputs and evidence organization, and works with licensed immigration attorneys; eligibility, petition strategy and Form I-129 filing sit with counsel, and no outcome can be promised.
L-1 basics and eligibility
What the L-1 is, how L-1A and L-1B differ, and the qualifying-relationship and one-year employment requirements.
What Is an L-1 Visa and Who Is It For?
An L-1 visa lets a company with operations abroad temporarily transfer an employee to a related US parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate. The employee must have worked full-time for the related foreign company for one continuous year within the three years before the petition, and must come to the US as a manager or executive (L-1A) or as a specialized knowledge employee (L-1B). The US employer files Form I-129 with USCIS.
What Is the Difference Between L-1A and L-1B Visas?
L-1A is for employees who will primarily manage or direct a US operation, department or essential function, and allows up to seven years in the US. L-1B is for employees whose value lies in special or advanced knowledge of the company's own products, processes or procedures, and allows up to five years. Both require the same qualifying corporate relationship and one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad.
What Is a Qualifying Relationship for an L-1 Visa?
A qualifying relationship is the ownership-and-control link L-1 rules require between the foreign employer and the US employer. They must be the same company (a branch), parent and subsidiary, or affiliates owned and controlled by the same parent, the same individual, or the same group of individuals in roughly equal proportions. Ownership and control must both be shown, and the relationship must last for the whole L-1 stay.
How Long Must an Employee Work Abroad Before Applying for an L-1 Visa?
At least one continuous year. The employee must have worked full-time for the related foreign company, physically outside the United States, for one continuous year within the three years before the L-1 petition is filed, in a managerial, executive or specialized knowledge role. Short business or tourist trips to the US do not break the year but do not count toward it, so the days spent in the US must be made up abroad.
New US offices, startups and company formation
How a founder or executive can open a new US office on an L-1A, what evidence a new office needs and how formation choices affect the plan.
Can a Foreign Company Send a Founder or Executive to Open a New US Office on L-1A?
Yes — a foreign operating company can petition for a founder, owner or senior executive to open its new US office as an L-1A manager or executive. The person must have spent one continuous year abroad in a managerial or executive role with the company, the US entity must have secured office premises, and the petition must show the US operation can support a genuinely managerial position within one year. The first approval lasts up to one year.
What Is a New Office L-1 Visa and What Evidence Is Usually Required?
A new office L-1 is a petition for an employee coming to open, or work in, a US operation that has been doing business for less than one year. Instead of proving an established US business, the petitioner shows secured physical premises, the foreign company's investment and ability to pay, and — for L-1A — a credible plan to support a managerial role within a year. Approval is capped at one year, then an extension must prove real operations.
Can a Startup or Small Business Apply for an L-1 Visa?
Yes. The L-1 rules set no minimum company size, revenue or investment, and USCIS must judge staffing against the reasonable needs of an organization at its stage of development. But size raises the evidence bar: both the foreign and US companies must be genuinely doing business, and in a very small team the petition must show who performs the routine work so the transferee is truly managing or applying specialized knowledge.
How Does US Company Formation Affect an L-1 Visa Strategy?
Formation choices decide much of the L-1 evidence before a petition is drafted. The entity type, who owns it and in what proportions, where it is formed and registered, how it is capitalized and what records are kept determine whether a qualifying relationship can be proven and whether the US company looks like a real operating business. Some choices, such as running the US office as a branch, also affect later green card options.
Evidence, RFEs and longer-term planning
The documents petitions typically rely on, why RFEs happen, the path toward EB-1C and how business support fits alongside your attorney.
What Documents Are Usually Needed for an L-1 Visa Petition?
An L-1 petition is usually supported by four sets of evidence: proof of the ownership and control linking the US and foreign companies; proof both companies are actively doing business; proof the employee worked full-time abroad for the related company for one continuous year in the last three in a qualifying role; and a detailed description of the US position. New-office petitions add premises, investment and business-plan evidence. Foreign-language documents need certified English translations.
What Are Common Reasons L-1 Visa Petitions Receive RFEs?
L-1 Requests for Evidence usually arise when the file does not prove a core requirement: that the role is primarily managerial or executive given actual staffing, that the knowledge is genuinely specialized, that ownership and control link the companies, that both are doing business, or that the employee completed a continuous qualifying year abroad. New-office petitions also draw RFEs on premises, investment and the plan to grow. Most stem from missing or inconsistent business records.
Can an L-1 Visa Lead to a Green Card or EB-1C Planning?
Often, yes. L-1 holders may seek permanent residence without breaching their status, and L-1A managers and executives commonly look at the EB-1C multinational manager or executive category, which needs no labor certification. EB-1C has its own tests: the US employer must have been doing business for at least one year, must be a US legal entity rather than a branch, must offer a permanent managerial or executive role and must show ability to pay.
How Can NYBACS Support L-1 Visa Documentation Without Replacing an Immigration Attorney?
A corporate-services firm can prepare and organize the business side of an L-1 case — US entity formation, ownership records, bookkeeping, financial statements, payroll set-up, business-plan financials and evidence indexing — while a licensed US immigration attorney decides eligibility, chooses the strategy, prepares and files Form I-129, represents the company before USCIS and answers RFEs. The two roles are complementary: the attorney's arguments depend on the quality of the business records.
Common questions
Featured Questions
What business groundwork should be done before an L-1 petition?
Typically the US entity is formed with ownership that clearly establishes the qualifying relationship, it has an EIN and a bank account, it is funded, and it has secured physical premises suitable for the planned operation. Consistent corporate records, financial statements for the foreign company and a realistic business plan give immigration counsel the material they need to assess and prepare the case.
Can a small or family-owned company use the L-1?
Company size alone does not rule it out, but smaller companies face closer scrutiny on whether the foreign business is genuinely operating, whether the role is truly executive, managerial or specialized, and whether the US office can grow to support it. Owner-employees should expect questions about the ongoing nature of their employment, so an attorney's eligibility review comes first.
How long can someone stay in the US on an L-1?
A new office L-1 petition is generally approved for an initial period of up to one year, after which an extension must show the US business has developed as planned. Total time is generally capped at seven years for L-1A and five years for L-1B. Confirm current rules and your specific timeline with immigration counsel.
Does forming a US company make the founder eligible for a visa?
No. A US company is a precondition for L-1 planning, not a route to status by itself. Eligibility depends on the foreign employer, the employee's role and history, and the qualifying relationship, all of which a licensed immigration attorney evaluates.
Questions about L-1 Visa & Founder Mobility?
Book a NYBACS consultation to set up your US entity, organize corporate and financial evidence and coordinate with your immigration attorney on L-1 planning.
