Review the actual employment and duties at the relevant stage. Continuing investment income does not automatically establish continuing qualifying service.
Date the change accurately
Provide the work transition and role records. Do not leave a former managerial appointment described as current solely because payments continue.
The first clock is the beneficiary's: one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad must fall within the three years immediately preceding the petition, so a long-serving manager has flexibility, while someone recently promoted may not. A U.S. new office involves less than one year of doing business and additional L-1A requirements, including a managerial or executive foreign year, sufficient premises and support for the qualifying role within one year of approval. The employee must have completed one continuous year of qualifying employment with a qualifying entity within the three years before the petition, so if that year is still accruing, the filing date is fixed by arithmetic rather than by business preference. Chart the qualifying foreign year, petition stage, premises availability, initial one-year new-office period, hiring milestones, and extension evidence deadlines. For a person initially admitted in specialized-knowledge capacity and later promoted, eligibility for the seven-year total requires at least six months employed in the managerial or executive position, with the change approved in an amended, new or extended petition when it occurs.