L-1 visa: intracompany transfer and new U.S. office

• Turkish company records: Ticaret Sicil Gazetesi entries, a current faaliyet belgesi, the pay defteri or shareholder list, and the latest tax returns and financial statements (bilanço, gelir tablosu).
• Proof of the manager's year abroad: SGK hizmet dökümü, payroll (bordro), the employment contract and an organization chart showing who reported to them.
• U.S. company records: certificate of formation, operating agreement or bylaws, the EIN letter, and proof that the Turkish company (or the same owners) owns it.
• A signed lease for the U.S. office that fits the business plan, with photos and a floor plan.
• A first-year business plan: hiring plan with job titles and dates, budget, market, and an organization chart for month 12.
• Proof of the U.S. investment and of the Turkish company's ability to pay the manager: bank transfers, bank statements, financial statements.
• A description of the U.S. job showing managerial or executive duties and the share of time spent on each.
• A full English translation of every Turkish document, with the translator's certification that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)).
• Passports for the manager and each family member, and marriage and birth certificates for the family.

• No secured premises: the regulation asks for “sufficient physical premises” for a new office. A lease not yet signed, or space too small for the plan, invites a request for evidence or a denial.
• The year abroad does not fit: it must be one continuous year of full-time work within the three years before filing, and for a new-office L-1A it must have been managerial or executive. Time already spent in the U.S. does not count toward the year.
• The ownership does not match a definition: a subsidiary needs more than half ownership and control (or the exact 50-50 and control cases in the rule); an affiliate needs the same owners in about the same shares. A U.S. company held personally by one partner, while the Turkish company has other owners, may meet neither definition.
• The plan does not show a manager's job within one year: no hiring plan, no organization chart, or a manager who would do the sales, deliveries and bookkeeping alone.
• Money not shown: the petition must show the size of the U.S. investment and the Turkish company's ability to pay the manager and start doing business.
• The Turkish company stops trading: both companies must keep providing goods or services regularly for the whole stay; a dormant company abroad, or a U.S. office that is only an agent or a mailbox, is not “doing business”.
• Owner or major shareholder: the petition must also show the U.S. assignment is temporary and that the person will be transferred abroad when it ends.
• The first extension fails: after year one USCIS asks for staff, wages paid, finances and the manager's actual duties. An office that has not hired anyone is a weak point.
• Old form or wrong fee: USCIS accepts only the 09/09/26 edition of Form I-129 from 9 November 2026, and rejects a petition sent with the wrong fee.

• The person has not worked full-time for the Turkish company for a continuous year in the last three: look at E-2 for Turkish investors, which turns on nationality and investment instead.
• The U.S. business belongs to you personally, not to the Turkish company or to the same owners in about the same shares: there may be no qualifying relationship, and E-2 may fit better.
• The U.S. presence is a mailing address, a virtual office or an agent: that is not “doing business” under 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(H).
• The employee is a professional without a year at the company: an H-1B may be the route.
• You need a green card first: the EB-1C category for multinational managers requires the U.S. employer to have been doing business for at least one year (8 CFR 204.5(j)(3)), so it cannot be filed in the new office's first year.

Who this is for

• Turkish companies opening a first U.S. office and sending a manager or executive to set it up and run it. See L-1 for Turkish companies for the Ankara and Istanbul steps and Turkish documents.
• Groups with an existing U.S. parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate moving managers, executives or specialized-knowledge staff.
• HR and global-mobility teams of larger groups that may use a blanket L petition.

Key requirements

• One continuous year of full-time work for the Turkish company (or a related company) within the three years before filing. Lawful time in the U.S. and short visits do not break the year, but they do not count toward it.
• A qualifying relationship: the U.S. company is the parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of the Turkish company, and both keep doing business (the regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods or services) for the whole stay.
• The U.S. job is managerial or executive (L-1A) or needs specialized knowledge (L-1B). For a new-office L-1A, the year abroad must also have been managerial or executive.
• New office: premises secured, and evidence that within one year of approval the U.S. office will support a managerial or executive job: its scope and structure, financial goals, the size of the U.S. investment, and the Turkish company's ability to pay.
• Blanket L: a group with a U.S. office doing business for a year, three or more branches, subsidiaries or affiliates, and 10 L approvals in the last 12 months, $25 million in combined U.S. sales or 1,000 U.S. employees may file one blanket petition. Employees then apply at the consulate with Form I-129S.

What to check with an attorney

• Whether the year abroad is met on the actual dates, for which company and in what role.
• Whether the ownership chain meets the subsidiary or affiliate definition exactly.
• Whether the lease, budget and hiring plan show a manager's job within one year.
• Whether L-1A or E-2 fits the group better, and how the L-1A connects to an EB-1C green card later.

Fees and rules reviewed 16 Oct 2026. Sources below.

Official sources:

1. USCIS: L-1A intracompany transferee executive or manager (reviewed 31 Aug 2026)
2. USCIS: L-1B intracompany transferee specialized knowledge (reviewed 31 Aug 2026)
3. 8 CFR 214.2(l): intracompany transferees (eCFR)
4. USCIS Form G-1055, fee schedule (edition 10/16/26)
5. USCIS: How do I request premium processing? (reviewed 23 Mar 2026)
6. 8 CFR 106.1: small employer definition (eCFR)
7. 22 CFR 22.1: State Department visa fee schedule (eCFR)
8. USCIS: Form I-129 (edition 09/09/26)
9. 8 CFR 214.2(e): treaty traders and investors (eCFR)
10. 9 FAM 402.9: E visa treaty countries (Türkiye E-2 in force 18 May 1990)
11. 8 CFR 204.5(j): multinational executives and managers (EB-1C)
12. 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3): translations

What changed: added the new-office rules for Turkish companies, 2026 USCIS fees, typical times, documents, common reasons for denial and the L-1A or E-2 comparison.