Only after closing, because the qualifying relationship does not exist until ownership has actually transferred, and only once the transferee's one continuous year abroad falls within the prior three years. Filing can follow closing quickly if the corporate documents are ready.
Closing date and qualifying-year date both have to have passed
Two calendars control the filing. The first is the acquisition: a petition submitted before the shares change hands relies on a relationship that does not yet exist, and a signed but unclosed agreement is not enough. The second is Tomasz's own employment: the petition must be filed at a moment when he has one continuous qualifying year within the previous three. If both dates have passed, the group can file as soon as the corporate records are assembled, and Canadians can present the petition at a port of entry or preclearance for an immediate decision instead of waiting for a service-centre adjudication. The dealership's peak season matters too: an approval that lands mid-season is worth less than one before it. Work backwards from the intended start, allow time to obtain certified corporate documents from both countries, and file once closing has occurred.
Hypothetical example: A manager from a Canadian industrial-cleaning company is scheduled to open a U.S. unit after a lease closes. The first review should set milestones for acquisition records, corporate registrations, the qualifying employment proof and a staffed organization plan. The employee must have completed the required full year abroad within the relevant three-year lookback before the petition is filed. For a new office, the company should schedule hiring and revenue checkpoints well before the one-year extension review. Waiting until month ten to build the organization leaves little time to correct a weak operating record.