File once the qualifying year is complete and the corporate and product evidence is ready, allowing for either premium processing or the standard adjudication time before the first commissioning date. Canadians can also present an approved petition, or in blanket cases the petition itself, at a port of entry.
Fix the first commissioning date and count backwards
Hospitals schedule installations around clinical downtime, and a missed window can push a project by months, so the petition timeline should be built from the first site date. Allow time for the employer to gather internal documents, for the manager's comparison letter, and for counsel to draft; then add the adjudication period, or premium processing if the budget allows, and time for any L-2 visa appointments. If the U.S. subsidiary is new, the first approval will be for one year and an extension must be planned. Check that Nadia's qualifying year is complete at filing: if she joined the company recently, the filing date moves, not the rule. Also confirm the customer contract is signed before filing, because a petition describing offsite work at a hospital that has not yet contracted for the system is harder to support than one with a signed order.
Hypothetical example: A wastewater-treatment-system configurator must support an installation date. The first review counts backward from commissioning and confirms the full qualifying year abroad falls within the applicable three-year period. It then schedules employer declarations, technical exhibits, client-site contracts and travel. The five-year classification limit should be checked early if the worker has prior L time. A rushed petition often describes only the customer deadline and never explains why the company needs this particular knowledge holder, which is the question the evidence must answer.