Jrada Immigration, P.C.
Book
Strategy walkthrough

Building your company in America

A step-by-step look at what it takes to bring your business to the United States on an L-1A visa — and what each stage feels like along the way.

This is an illustrative roadmap to help you picture the path — not legal advice or a guarantee of any outcome.
Scroll ↓
Where you stand today

You already have the hardest part

The L-1A visa exists for exactly your situation: a proven company abroad, and a manager ready to expand it into the United States.

Do the L-1A basics fit? Tick what’s true for you.
These four are the backbone of an L-1A — tick each that’s true.
That foundation points toward a clear runway to an EB-1C green card for multinational managers. Here is how we get there.
Set up the U.S. entity

A related U.S. company

Your business expands into the United States through a related U.S. company. What ties the two together for immigration is common ownership — not a particular percentage of one owning the other.

Common ownership between your company abroad and the U.S. entity
70%overlap
0% overlap100% overlap
Qualifying territory. When the same owners hold a majority — a controlling share — of both companies, the entities are related enough to support an L-1 qualifying relationship. The exact structure (parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate) can vary.
The two companies must share common ownership and control
Typically the same shareholders hold a majority interest in each
whatever the exact cap table looks like
The U.S. company’s name should stay connected to your brand
Your corporate or business attorney forms the U.S. entity. My role is to advise on the immigration implications of how it’s structured — not to make the business or corporate decisions for you.
Decide what it does

Shape the U.S. business

Your core operations can stay at home. In the U.S., a related entity often focuses on trade, sales, or services — but this is your call. These are just examples to help you picture it; you might combine them, or do something else entirely.

Which directions are you considering? (Examples — pick any that fit.)
Import & trade
Bring your products into the U.S. market.

The U.S. entity imports and distributes what you make abroad — a clean, well-understood model when the trade is real and documented.

Design & sales services
Engineering, technical sales, representation.

The U.S. company provides design, technical sales, or representation services tied to your home operation — strong where your value is expertise rather than physical goods.

Trading & sourcing hub
Source globally, distribute into the U.S.

The U.S. entity becomes a sourcing and distribution hub — substantial activity that supports the kind of hiring an L-1A, and later an EB-1C, wants to see.

You decide what the U.S. business does — it’s your money and your venture. My job is to advise on the immigration implications of each option and build the filing around the direction you choose.
The business plan

Put your vision to paper

Your L-1A filing needs a detailed business plan: what the company does, who it hires, and realistic financial projections for the first few years.

Custom intake and supplemental questionnaires
tailored to your company and your role, so you can focus on what matters
We recommend a professional business plan writer
Jack joins the calls and reviews the plan for immigration compliance
A committed, defensible investment
a token amount reads as thin; a serious commitment carries the case
Every document reviewed twice over
Jack checks each piece for individual merit and for how it fits the overall record, catching the inconsistencies that draw government scrutiny
A custom client portal for your case
your documents, status, and next steps in one place

That portal is jimmi™ — your immigration companion. A glimpse of the intake coming together:

Intake · Company & role
Saved ✓
Years operating abroad
6 years
Your role in the U.S. entity
Executive / Managing Director
We ask exactly what the L-1A needs — nothing more.
Business plan review45% complete
Next check-in with Jack
Thu · 2:00 PM
in 9 days
Illustrative sample — not a real case.
Open your doors

Secure a U.S. office

USCIS may accept a home or virtual address, but historically it is far more comfortable with a genuine, physical office — so one is recommended, especially for a new-office L-1.

A leased office or commercial space
recommended over a home or virtual address
Room to hire 1–2 staff to begin
A clear plan for location and budget
worked out before you file
File for your L-1A

Choose how you file

When the petition is ready, you choose how to file — pick a route to see how it works.

Change of status
Only if you're already in the U.S.

Available only if you are already inside the United States in another valid nonimmigrant status. USCIS changes your status here, so you don’t leave for a consulate interview — but you generally wait in the U.S. until approval before traveling internationally.

Consular processing
Interview at a U.S. consulate abroad.

If you are abroad — or simply prefer a visa stamp in your passport — you obtain the visa at a U.S. consulate after the petition is approved. The route for anyone not already in the U.S.

Premium processing gets USCIS to review the petition in 15 business days. If you expect to travel soon after approval, plan for roughly three months of limited travel.
Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come with you on L-2 status — and your L-2 spouse can apply for work authorization.
Grow, then the green card

Build it, then make it permanent

Your first L-1A approval lasts one year. As the U.S. company operates and grows, USCIS grants a two-year extension on proof of real activity — and your multinational structure opens a clear path to the EB-1C green card.

Now
Planning & structuring
Month 1–2
Form the entity, secure the office
Month 2–3
Business plan
Month ~3
File L-1A · decision in ~15 days
Year 1
Operate & build
Year 1 end
Two-year extension
Years 2–3+
EB-1C green card path
From you
— Decide your U.S. business direction and investment
— Engage a corporate/business attorney to form the U.S. entity
— Company documents — proof of common ownership, licenses, trade records, financials
— Confirm office and hiring plans
From Jack
— Your filing recommendation and full document checklist
— Advice on the immigration implications of your structuring and business decisions
— Review of every document for immigration thoroughness
— The petition, start to finish
Together
— Map the immigration strategy to your business plan
— Keep your long-term goals, including EB-1C eligibility, in view from the outset
For adjustment-of-status cases, evidence built for current USCIS policy
a full build-out of your positive equities for the discretionary analysis in USCIS’s adjustment-of-status guidance, making the strongest case to be processed inside the U.S. when that option applies — Read more about Jack’s approach
Book a consultation

Timelines are projected for planning — actual timing depends on your pace and government processing.

An illustrative roadmap — not legal advice or a guarantee of any outcome.

© Jrada Immigration, P.C. 2026

01 / 08