O-1 vs L-1: the transfer you can't run

What the L-1 requires of you

• A qualifying foreign entity — parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate — that actually employs people.
• The candidate on that entity's payroll for a continuous year, in a managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge role.
• Your company as petitioner, with the compliance record that follows.

The common reality

The person you want has never worked for you abroad — you found them in a paper, a repository, a competition. There is nothing to transfer; there is a record to engage. That is the O-1's shape: the case rides on their evidence, the petition rides on an authorized agent, and your company's part is one page.

If you do have a foreign entity

Run the comparison per person: existing employee, year served, moving permanently into a U.S. role → L-1 is natural. New talent, stellar record, possibly serving several engagements → agent-based O-1. Talk it through with the specifics.