Start when the corporate and employment facts are being created, not when the opening date is set. The continuous year abroad and the qualifying relationship must already exist before the petition, and neither can be arranged retroactively.
Some facts must exist before the calendar starts
Two dates dominate. The employee must have completed one continuous year of qualifying employment with a qualifying entity within the three years before the petition, so if that year is still accruing, the filing date is fixed by arithmetic rather than by business preference. The qualifying relationship must also exist and both entities must be doing business, so a U.S. subsidiary incorporated the week before filing carries less weight than one that has been operating. Around those, allow time for premises, a staffing plan and the corporate records described above. Adjudication times vary and premium processing changes only the decision speed, not the readiness of the underlying facts. Announcing an opening date before those dates are checked is the common sequencing error.
Hypothetical example: a medical-device packaging firm wants its director in the United States for a spring launch, but her qualifying year abroad ends after the target filing date. Put the qualifying-employment calculation first, then map entity formation, premises, corporate records, and the role description around that date. The first review delivers a filing window and a list of facts that must exist by then. For a new office, add a month-eleven review of hires and duties, because the initial approval does not remove the need to show a supportable managerial role later. Premium processing cannot create qualifying employment that has not yet accrued.