Ordinary qualifying foreign work may be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge; the U.S. role must meet L-1A.
Distinguish an ordinary operation from a new office
New-office L-1A specifically requires the foreign year to be managerial or executive. Identify the actual business stage and duties before applying the rule. A later promotion should be described accurately rather than backdated to create a managerial history.
The regulation treats a manager as someone who manages the organization, a department or an essential function, supervises other supervisory, professional or managerial employees or manages a function, and has authority over hiring, firing and day-to-day operations. Executive capacity is described in terms of directing the organization or a major component of it, setting goals and policies, exercising wide discretion, and receiving only general supervision. The expectation is generally one continuous year of qualifying employment with the related organisation abroad within the relevant preceding three-year period, and how a leave, a resignation, or time spent in the United States interacts with that window is a case-specific question for counsel.