Several weeks to gather the specialized-knowledge exhibits, then USCIS processing, which premium processing can shorten for a fee. He must not begin the assignment until the petition is approved and he has been admitted in L-1 status.
Work backward from the receiving plant's implementation date
The American plant's implementation schedule is the fixed point, so plan against it. Evidence gathering is the slowest stage and the easiest to underestimate, because the records live in several systems and the people who can retrieve them are busy. Allow a few weeks for that, then the adjudication period, then a margin for a request for evidence, which stops the premium-processing clock until a response is filed.
His qualifying year abroad is measured at the time of filing, so the filing date must fall after it is complete. As a Canadian citizen he needs no visa stamp; the approval notice is presented at the port of entry. Where the implementation date cannot move, the group should consider whether some preparatory work can lawfully be done from Powassan while the petition is pending.
- USCIS: L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2 Part L, Intracompany Transferees
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.2(l), Intracompany transferees
- USCIS translation requirement, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)
- USCIS: employment authorization for certain spouses, Policy Manual Volume 10 Part B Chapter 2