Start with the evidence rather than the calendar. Assembling and attributing the technical record commonly takes longer than the petition and cannot be rushed at the end.
Two clocks, and the slower one is internal
The published processing time governs the filing, and faster processing can compress it. The other clock belongs to the company: locating dated versions of a procedure, confirming who developed each part, obtaining any customer permissions and drafting a comparison with published practice is weeks of work in a business where nobody's job is document control. Begin there. In parallel, confirm that the qualifying year is complete and continuous and that the corporate relationship is documented as it stands today rather than as it once did. Where a commissioning schedule sets the U.S. start date, tell the affiliate early what evidence is still outstanding, because moving a date costs less than filing a thin petition. Track admissions and departures from the first entry so the five-year limit never arrives as a surprise.
Hypothetical example: a ceramic-glaze manufacturer wants its process specialist in the U.S. before a new kiln is commissioned. The first review should produce a milestones list for protecting technical material, collecting the foreign payroll evidence, confirming the related entities, and finalizing the task sequence. The technical records settle when the knowledge developed; commercial contracts establish the installation date. Start evidence work before the commissioning schedule is fixed. A common error is treating urgency as proof of eligibility, when a customer deadline cannot create specialized knowledge or cure a missing qualifying employment period.