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CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH · L-1A FIELD GUIDE

Does time with a British affiliate count toward the qualifying year for a Conception Bay South transfer?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

Yes, provided the affiliate was part of the qualifying organisation at the time and the employment was full-time, continuous and outside the United States.

The organisation is the unit, not the individual company

The requirement is one continuous year of full-time employment with a qualifying organisation within the three years immediately preceding the petition, and a qualifying organisation includes the petitioner and its parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate. Service abroad with a group affiliate therefore counts, which frequently rescues a case where an employee moved between group companies. Two conditions constrain it.

First, the corporate relationship must have existed during the period being counted; employment with a company the group acquired afterwards does not retroactively qualify for the earlier years. Second, the year must fall within the three years before filing, so a long gap between leaving the affiliate and the petition can move it out of range. Build a timeline with two rows, one for the employee's dates and one for the corporate structure, and read them together before drafting anything.