Last reviewed September 2026
Overview: A petition connected to a brand-new U.S. office faces a shorter initial approval period and a heavier evidentiary burden around premises, financing, and a credible business plan than a petition filed by an already-operating U.S. company, plus a follow-up review at the one-year mark that established offices do not face.
What makes a petition "new office"
A new office petition covers a situation where the U.S. entity has been doing business, or will begin doing business, for less than one year at the time of filing. This applies whether the foreign company is opening its first U.S. presence outright or the existing U.S. entity is too new to have an operating track record.
Evidentiary requirements: premises, financing, business plan
USCIS guidance emphasizes that a virtual office or a mailing address alone is generally insufficient; petitioners need to show sufficient physical premises have been secured for the proposed office. The petition also needs to demonstrate adequate financing to support the U.S. operation and the proposed staffing, and a credible plan to commence doing business, not just an intention to do so. Weak or generic business plans are a common source of requests for evidence and denials in this category.
The shortened initial approval period
Where an established-office L-1 petition can be approved for up to three years initially, a new office petition is generally approved for a shorter initial period, commonly around one year, precisely because there is no operating history yet to evaluate.
What USCIS looks for at the one-year extension
At the one-year mark, the employer has to show the new office is actually operating as represented: that it has been doing business, that it employs staff as projected, and, for an L-1A extension, that the beneficiary is now functioning in a genuinely managerial or executive capacity rather than still doing the hands-on labor of getting the office off the ground. This is a real substantive review, not a formality, and a new office that has not grown into the structure described in the original petition can be denied an extension even if the initial petition was approved without issue.
Established office petitions and what changes
Once a U.S. entity has more than a year of operating history, L-1 petitions on its behalf are evaluated as established-office filings: longer initial approval periods, and evidence focused on the entity's actual operations, corporate relationship, and the beneficiary's role, rather than on projections and plans.
Planning a launch around L-1 timing
A foreign company planning to open a U.S. office and staff it immediately with a transferred manager or specialist should expect the shorter initial period and the one-year review as part of the plan from the outset, budgeting time and resources for a genuine, well-documented extension filing rather than treating the initial approval as the end of the process.
Official sources
- USCIS: L-1A intracompany transferee executive or manager
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 4: New Office Petitions
Related reading
- L-1A New Office vs. E-2 Startup
- E-2 vs. L-1 New Office
- The L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visa
- L-1A vs. L-1B
- Temporary Employment Visas Compared
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