L-1 new office petitions: opening a US office with an L-1 transfer

What is a “new office”?

The regulation defines a new office as an organization that has been doing business in the United States through a parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary for less than one year. USCIS says this lets a foreign company that does not yet have a related US office send an executive, manager or specialized knowledge employee to establish one. The Policy Manual adds that it can also cover an established company opening an office in a new US location, if the office meets the definition.

Normally both the US and foreign entities must already be doing business: the regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services, not just an agent, an office or a registration. A new office petitioner is the exception. It does not have to be doing business when it files. The foreign organization, however, must keep doing business abroad for the whole L-1 stay.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15); USCIS: L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager; USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 6, Sections B and F; USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 8, Section B

Ask for it clearly

The Policy Manual says the petition must clearly state that it seeks a decision under the new office rules and explain how the office meets them. Form I-129 has a question for this. A petition for what looks like a new office that does not make the request may be judged under the ordinary standards, which require the US entity to be doing business already.

Sources: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 8, Section B

What an L-1A new office petition must show

Under 8 CFR 214.2(l)(3)(v), when a manager or executive is coming to open or work in a new office, the petitioner must submit evidence of three things:

• Premises: sufficient physical premises to house the new office have been secured.
• The beneficiary’s year abroad: one continuous year in the three years before filing, in an executive or managerial capacity (specialized knowledge experience does not count here), and the US job involves executive or managerial authority over the new operation.
• Growth within a year: the intended US operation will, within one year after the petition is granted, support an executive or managerial position as the regulation defines those terms.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15); USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 8, Section B; Form I-129 instructions (edition 09/09/26), Evidence for a New Office

The information the regulation lists for the one-year projection

The regulation does not use the words “business plan.” It says the one-year projection must be supported by information on three things:

• The proposed nature of the office: the scope of the entity, its organizational structure and its financial goals.
• The size of the US investment, and the foreign entity’s financial ability to pay the beneficiary and to start doing business in the United States.
• The organizational structure of the foreign entity.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15); Form I-129 instructions (edition 09/09/26), Evidence for a New Office

How USCIS looks at it

Factors the Policy Manual lists for a new office include: the amount of investment, the intended personnel structure, the product or service to be provided, the physical premises, and the viability of the foreign operation.

It also accepts that a manager or executive opening a new office may be more involved in day-to-day work at first. But that person must have the authority and intent to hire staff and wide latitude over the organization’s goals and management. There is no statutory or regulatory minimum level of business, but the business must be one that would need a person working primarily in that capacity.

Sources: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 6, Sections B and F; USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 8, Section B

What an L-1B new office petition must show

For a specialized knowledge employee coming to open or work in a new office, 8 CFR 214.2(l)(3)(vi) asks for less: secured premises; that the US entity is or will be a qualifying organization; and that the petitioner can pay the beneficiary and start doing business in the United States. There is no one-year growth test. Unlike an L-1A new office petition, the beneficiary’s year abroad may have been in a managerial, executive or specialized knowledge capacity, and the beneficiary must have specialized knowledge.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15); USCIS: L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge; USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 8, Section B

Owners and major stockholders

If the beneficiary is an owner or major stockholder of the company, the petition must also include evidence that their services will be used for a temporary period and that they will be transferred to an assignment abroad when the US services are complete.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15)

How the process works

• The petitioner files Form I-129 with USCIS, no more than six months before the start date, with the general L evidence (the qualifying relationship, the beneficiary’s year abroad, the US job) plus the new office evidence.
• USCIS may issue a request for evidence (RFE) and then decides the petition. For a new office, the petition may be granted for no more than one year.
• The beneficiary applies for an L-1 visa at a US consulate, unless visa-exempt, and then asks US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for admission at a port of entry. USCIS says a new office employee is allowed a maximum initial stay of one year. The visa is not the same as status; the stay ends on the date on Form I-94.

Sources: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 7; 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15); USCIS: L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager

Extending after the first year

To keep going, the petitioner files a new Form I-129 to extend the petition and the beneficiary’s stay together, while the beneficiary is in the United States. A new office petition may be extended for up to two years. Under 8 CFR 214.2(l)(14)(ii), it must include:

• Evidence that the US and foreign entities are still qualifying organizations.
• Evidence that the US entity has been doing business for the previous year.
• A statement of the beneficiary’s duties during the past year and under the extension.
• A statement of the new operation’s staffing: the number of employees and the types of positions, with evidence of wages paid when the beneficiary will be a manager or executive.
• Evidence of the US operation’s financial status. The Policy Manual’s examples include capitalization or funds committed by the foreign company, articles of incorporation, by-laws, board minutes, corporate bank statements, profit and loss statements or other accountant’s reports, and tax returns.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15); USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 8, Section B

After the first extension

Once the first extension of a new office petition is granted, the petitioner is no longer under the new office extension rules; later extensions are ordinary L extensions. The overall limits still apply: seven years in L-1A, five in L-1B, with H and L time counted together.

Sources: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 8, Section B; 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15)

Fees and timing

Base fees for L petitions are in our general L-1 guide and the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055. A $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee (USCIS Policy Manual, current as of 2 October 2026) applies per petition to an initial L-1 petition, a change of status to L-1 or a change of employer. A petitioner with 50 or more US employees, more than half of them in H-1B or L-1 status, must also pay the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee. Under a DHS rule effective 9 September 2026, that fee applies to all of its L-1 petitions, including extensions, but not to an amended petition that does not seek an extension. The Policy Manual lists it as $4,500 for certain L-1 petitions, in effect until 30 September 2027; check Form G-1055 for the current amount. Optional premium processing (Form I-907) is designated for L-1; as of 19 October 2026 the schedule lists $2,965 per petition. USCIS accepts it only where it has announced on its website that premium processing is available. Fees change. Lawyer fees, business plan preparation, leases and accounting are separate costs.

The regulation sets a 30-day target for USCIS to decide a completed L petition, restarting if more information is requested. Actual times vary; check the USCIS processing-times page. Plan for the extension: the first petition lasts at most a year, and the extension evidence covers that year’s results.

Sources: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 7; Form G-1055, Fee Schedule (edition 10/16/26), Form I-907; 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15); USCIS: L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager

Common problems

• Premises not actually secured when the petition is filed. Eligibility must exist at filing, not later.
• A projection with no supporting detail on structure, investment or financial goals.
• An L-1A beneficiary whose year abroad was in a specialized knowledge role.
• A foreign company that stops doing business abroad, which breaks the qualifying relationship.
• At extension, a US office with too little activity, staff or payroll to show the beneficiary is now primarily managing or directing.

Sources: 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F), (3)(v)-(vii), (7)(i)(A)(3), (14)(ii) and (15); USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 6, Sections B and F; USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 8, Section B

How Visa Trouble can help

Free route discovery at Visa Trouble covers L-1 alongside other work routes. We don’t offer application preparation for L-1 yet. Visa Trouble is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.