The ordinary foreign qualifying role can be managerial, executive or specialized knowledge, while the U.S. role must meet L-1A.
Check whether the new-office rule changes the answer
A new-office L-1A case specifically requires the foreign year to be managerial or executive. Establish one continuous full-time qualifying foreign year within the relevant preceding three years and determine the U.S. business stage before applying the ordinary rule.
For a petition involving an already-operating qualifying U.S. entity, initial L-1A approval periods are typically longer than the one-year period given to a genuinely new U.S. office; the exact validity period depends on the petition and the evidence of the U.S. operation submitted. Confirm the actual approval and status dates from the underlying documents, keep the submitted business plan on file, and record changes to staffing, duties, or operations as they occur rather than reconstructing them later. Ask explicitly whether waiting a few months would improve the chronology, since continuing in the qualifying role abroad may complete a cleaner period of service while further United States business travel may complicate one.