Read the general business expansion overview
Hypothetical example: a Harrison Hot Springs spa company's fifty-fifty U.S. joint venture will operate inside the American partner's hotel under a lease from that partner. The new-office rules still require secured premises, a qualifying relationship, financial capacity and a plan showing a managerial role within a year, and the lease from a related party must be documented as carefully as any other. The one-year initial approval and the extension test apply as usual.
Premises secured from a related party
The regulation asks for evidence that sufficient physical premises to house the new office have been secured. A lease from the joint-venture partner satisfies that if it is a real lease: a signed agreement identifying the space, its term, the rent and the venture as tenant, with the space actually fit for a spa. A licence to use rooms on request, an informal arrangement or a clause that lets the hotel reclaim the space at will does not describe secured premises. Because the landlord is also the partner, USCIS may look for whether the lease is on commercial terms; attach a floor plan, photographs of the space and, if the rent is nominal, an explanation of how the venture accounts for it. The qualifying relationship itself is established separately by the joint-venture agreement showing equal control and veto power.
Capacity, the plan and the first-year role
The petition must show the venture's financial ability to commence business and pay the manager, through its bank statements, both partners' capital contributions and the Harrison Hot Springs company's financial statements, together with a plan showing that within one year the U.S. spa will support a managerial or executive position. Describe the spa's treatment menu and capacity, the hiring schedule for therapists, front-desk staff and a supervisor, the point at which the manager's role becomes primarily directing rather than treating, and the projected revenue that supports the payroll. Tie the plan to the hotel's occupancy where the spa depends on it, and be realistic; the same plan will be read at extension against what happened.
The manager, the year and the extension
The manager transferred must have one continuous year with the Harrison Hot Springs company in the three years before filing, in a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge capacity, and the U.S. role must be primarily managerial or executive from the start in intent even if the first months involve hands-on work. Initial approval is one year. Before it expires, the extension must show the spa is doing business—appointments, revenue, payroll for the staff hired—and that her duties have become primarily managerial, with organizational charts and examples of her decisions. If occupancy at the partner's hotel lagged and hiring slipped, say so and show the adjusted plan rather than restating the original. Her L-2 spouse is employment-authorized incident to status throughout, and the seven-year L-1A maximum runs from the first admission.
What else is on your mind?
Does being a business owner or director qualify me for L-1A?What employment history should an L-1 transfer review cover?What makes a new-office L-1A case different?Why does an L-2 spouse’s admission record matter for work?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.