That the ownership documents establish a qualifying relationship and that payroll shows twelve unbroken months of qualifying employment abroad inside the closing three-year window.
Two facts gate everything downstream
Announcing a posting before the corporate relationship and foreign-employment year are confirmed creates a commitment the company may not be able to honour. Prove the relationship from the actual ownership and control documents rather than an assumed group structure. Then read payroll and travel records together: a seasonal interruption or contractor period may interrupt qualifying employment, a move between qualifying related entities does not automatically do so, and days physically spent in the United States do not count toward the foreign year even though a brief trip need not break continuity. A defect may require corporate work or additional qualifying employment abroad, so it should be identified before the drilling season is planned around the posting.
The first review should create an ownership-and-employment matrix, with one row for each entity and each month of the worker’s history. Share records settle the relationship; payroll, tax, and assignment records settle the continuous qualifying year. Then test the intended role using a current organizational chart, budget authority, and reporting lines. The decision is whether the facts support an executive or managerial transfer now, whether the role needs restructuring, or whether it is not an L-1A case. Hypothetical example: a museum-exhibit fabricator’s production director supervises vendors but no employees, so the company documents the managed function and decision authority before promising an overseas posting.