Time spent in the United States on business trips or other short visits does not count toward the qualifying year, but it does not break continuity if the person remained employed by the foreign entity. The year must be complete before the petition is filed.
The year is counted abroad, and trips are subtracted, not disqualifying
The transferee must have been employed by a qualifying entity outside the United States for one continuous year within the three years before filing. USCIS treats brief trips to the United States for business or pleasure as not counting toward the year but as not interrupting it. Hypothetical example: a Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval sales director spent roughly four months of the past year at U.S.
trade shows and client visits for the Québec company. Those months are subtracted, so she may need additional time in Québec before the petition can be filed, and the company should count the days from travel records before setting a filing date. The remainder of the timeline follows: document gathering, drafting, USCIS processing with or without premium processing, then admission at a port of entry with the approval notice.
Resignation from any parallel role, notice on housing and school changes should wait for the approval notice, and for a new-office case the family should keep its Québec arrangements reversible until the first extension is granted.