Preparation usually dominates. Assembling corporate and payroll evidence commonly takes one to three months, then USCIS processing follows, with premium processing available where the employer elects it. A new-office petition adds the premises and business-plan work.
Count backwards from the filing date, not forwards from today
The date that matters is the filing date, because the one continuous year of qualifying employment must fall within the three years before it. If Ines had a period outside the group, the window can close while the company gathers documents, and that risk is invisible unless somebody maps it. Working backwards also exposes the corporate work: if the relationship between the entities has to be created or documented, that has its own legal timetable and must finish first.
For a new office, add time to secure premises, since evidence of sufficient physical premises is part of the petition rather than something to arrange after approval. Once filed, standard processing times vary by service centre and premium processing shortens the adjudication but not the preparation. Build in time for a request for evidence, which is common on managerial-capacity questions.
- USCIS: L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2 Part L, Intracompany Transferees
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.2(l), Intracompany transferees
- Department of State: 9 FAM 402.12, L classifications
- USCIS: employment authorization for certain spouses, Policy Manual Volume 10 Part B Chapter 2