IN THIS GUIDE · A transfer whose corporate link runs sideways through common ownership instead of upward through a parent
Start with the L-1A eligibility and application overview
A sideways link can qualify, and it is proved by share registers rather than by shared branding
The qualifying relationship for an intracompany transfer may be parent and subsidiary, a branch, or an affiliate, and affiliation includes two entities owned and controlled by the same group of individuals in approximately the same proportion. Marguerite's group therefore has a plausible relationship even though neither company owns a share of the other. What proves it is unglamorous: share registers for both entities, the shareholders agreement, any voting trust, and evidence that the proportions actually match. A common logo, a shared website and an informal understanding among the owners prove none of it. Where one owner has quietly sold down or transferred shares to a holding company, the proportions may no longer correspond, and that has to be discovered before a petition is drafted rather than in a request for evidence.
Managing a function is recognized, and a small headcount is not fatal
Executive or managerial capacity does not turn on the number of direct reports. Managing an essential function of the organization at a senior level counts, provided the function is genuinely essential, the applicant operates at a senior level within the hierarchy, and the routine work of the function is performed by others. Marguerite's project specialists are engaged for each turnaround rather than carried on payroll, which is common in her sector and does not by itself defeat the claim, because contracted personnel and outsourced services can be part of what a function manager directs. What does defeat it is a description showing her performing the technical tasks herself. The petition should set out the function, its importance to the business, who executes it, and what she decides that nobody else may decide.
The qualifying year belongs to her employment history, not to the company's
Alongside the corporate relationship sits a personal requirement: one continuous year of employment with the qualifying organization abroad within the three years immediately preceding the petition, in a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge capacity. A long association with the group is not the same thing as a qualifying year, and a period spent as an independent contractor to the group generally is not employment by it. Both entities must also be doing business, meaning the regular and continuous provision of goods or services, not the mere existence of an agent or an office. Time spent in the United States on assignment does not count toward the year abroad. Executive and managerial status is capped at seven years in total, which shapes any plan that assumes an indefinite stay.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-07. This guide covers a preparation focus; it is not an individual eligibility assessment.
- USCIS: L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.2, Special requirements for admission, extension and maintenance of status
- USCIS Policy Manual: Volume 2, Part L, Intracompany Transferees
- USCIS Policy Manual: Volume 10, Part B, Chapter 2, employment authorization for certain spouses
- USCIS: Form G-1055, Fee Schedule