The year must be one continuous year of qualifying employment falling within the three years immediately before the petition is filed, so it can slip out of range if the filing keeps being postponed. Periods spent working in the United States raise questions about accrual and should be checked rather than assumed.
A window that closes while nobody is watching
The requirement has two edges, and delay can catch either one. The year has to be continuous, and it has to sit inside the three years preceding the petition. An employee who did the qualifying year, then moved to a different role outside the group, can find the eligible period receding as months pass.
Hypothetical example: a logistics lead near Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford completes fourteen months with the Canadian entity, then spends two years seconded to an unrelated client before the group revives the U.S. plan, and by filing the qualifying year is no longer within reach. Time already spent in the United States is the second edge and it is genuinely technical.
Depending on the status held and who the work was for, U.S. time may not count toward the year, and there are interactions between prior L and H time and the ceiling. Put that to counsel with the actual travel history in hand.
Plan the seven-year L-1A limit from the beginning too, because it arrives whether or not anyone has decided what follows it.