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One of the first things we look at when preparing an L-1A business plan is the organizational structure.
Let’s say the person being transferred to the United States will be the General Manager. The organizational chart places that person at the top, with a sales manager, operations manager, and administrative staff underneath.
On paper, it looks exactly like what you would expect a manager to oversee.
Then we start asking what each person will actually do.
That’s where the organizational chart either starts to make sense or raises more questions.
For an L-1A, having the title of President, CEO, or General Manager isn’t enough. USCIS looks at the actual role the person will perform and whether it is primarily managerial or executive. When evaluating that role, USCIS can look at the company’s organizational structure, the duties of subordinate employees and, importantly, who is performing the day-to-day operational work of the business.
That last part is particularly important for smaller companies.
Imagine a new U.S. company that will sell specialized industrial equipment.
The business plan says the L-1A beneficiary will manage the company. That’s certainly possible. But someone still has to find customers, prepare quotes, coordinate orders, answer customer questions, handle administrative work, and take care of everything else involved in actually selling the equipment.
If the organizational chart doesn’t explain who will handle that work, a very reasonable question comes up:
Who is doing it?
At Visa Business Plans, that’s why we don’t create the organizational chart separately from the rest of the business plan.
We work with the immigration attorney to understand whether the beneficiary is being presented as an executive, people manager or functional manager. From there, we develop the staffing plan, organizational chart and industry-specific job duties around that classification. Our L-1A plans also connect that structure to the company’s financial projections.
The pieces need to work together.
If the plan says the company will hire an operations manager, we need to understand what that person will manage. If there will be sales employees, their duties should make sense for the company’s sales strategy. And if the beneficiary is supposed to spend most of the time directing the business rather than performing its everyday operational work, the staffing structure should help explain how that will realistically happen.
This becomes even more important with an L-1A new office.
USCIS recognizes that a manager or executive opening a new U.S. operation may initially be more involved in day-to-day activities. After all, someone has to get the business started. But the new-office rules require the intended U.S. operation to develop within one year to a point where it can support a managerial or executive position. USCIS specifically considers the proposed nature and scope of the office, its organizational structure and financial goals, among other factors.
So the staffing plan can’t simply look good.
It has to be financially possible too.
Suppose a business plan projects six employees by the end of the first year. Those six salaries need to appear in the financial projections, and the company’s expected revenue and available resources need to reasonably support them.
Otherwise, one section of the plan is promising an organizational structure that another section suggests the company can’t afford.
This is where preparing an L-1A business plan requires much more than filling boxes on an organizational chart.
We need to understand how the company actually operates, what work needs to be done, who will do it and how the beneficiary’s role fits above or within that structure. Then we need to make sure the job duties, staffing plan and financial projections are all telling the same story.
An organizational chart is a useful picture of a company.
For an L-1A case, however, the important part is being able to explain what is happening inside every one of those boxes.
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The information provided in this blog is intended solely for informational purposes. While we strive to offer accurate and up-to-date content, it should not be considered legal advice. Immigration laws and regulations are subject to change, and individual circumstances can vary widely. For personalized guidance and legal advice regarding your specific immigration situation, we strongly recommend consulting with a qualified immigration attorney who can provide you with tailored assistance and ensure compliance with current laws and regulations.
Visa Business Plans is led by Marco Scanu, a certified coach from the University of Miami with a globally-based practice coaching Fortune 1000 company executives, entrepreneurs, as well as professionals in four different continents. Mr. Scanu advises clients on turnaround strategies and crisis management.
Mr. Scanu received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Cum Laude) from the University of Florida and an MBA in Management from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Mr. Scanu was also a Visiting Scholar at Michigan State University under the prestigious H. Humphrey Fellowship (Fulbright program) with a focus on Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital, and high-growth enterprises.
At present, Mr. Scanu is the managing partner and CEO at Visa Business Plans, a Miami-based boutique consulting firm providing attorneys and investors with business planning services in the areas of U.S. and Canadian immigration, SBA loans, and others.
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