The actual duties and support still require assessment. A contract does not decide whether the applicant primarily manages or performs the work.
Explain the division of responsibilities
Identify what the provider delivers and what remains with the transferee. Avoid describing a person as removed from operations when they routinely complete work outside the vendor’s scope.
The first review should map the foreign and US organizations, the qualifying ownership or control link, the transferee’s continuous full-time service abroad, and the proposed US role. For L-1A, the key question is whether managerial or executive duties will be primary, not whether the employee has a senior title. Ask who performs routine production, who has hiring or budget authority, and what decisions the transferee can make without routine approval. The records that settle the point are usually an organizational chart, job descriptions for the layers below the transferee, payroll or contractor evidence, and delegated authority. A new office needs its own analysis of premises and whether the operation can support the claimed role within its first year. The qualifying overseas period must be one uninterrupted year during the relevant three-year period before the filing or admission event. Total L-1A time is generally limited to seven years. Hypothetical example: a ceramic-tile distributor wants to move its regional director to launch US sales. The director currently processes every order and approves every return. The useful record is not a new title but a staffing plan with a sales supervisor and operations coordinator, their signed offers, and authority showing the director sets territory policy and pricing limits. Without that support, the role remains operational.