A period of leave while remaining employed does not necessarily break continuity, but the qualifying year must consist of one continuous year of employment abroad within the three years before the petition. Document the employment relationship during the leave and identify the year being relied on.
Continuity of employment, shown through records
Hypothetical example: the Oromocto manager took eight months of parental leave two years ago and returned to the same position. The one-year requirement looks at continuous employment with the qualifying organization abroad, so the file should show that employment continued through the leave, with records of the leave, the return date and the duties after the return. If the leave makes the most recent continuous year uncertain, identify an earlier continuous year that falls within the three-year window and rely on that instead. The duties during the qualifying year should also be documented, because the year must be with a qualifying organization and the U.S. position must be managerial or executive. A qualifying relationship between the two companies and active operations on both sides remain separate tests that the manager's own history does not answer.
Hypothetical example: a regional food-distribution director is called a vice president, yet spends most days preparing customer quotes and arranging deliveries. Collect the foreign payroll record, position descriptions, subordinate list, calendar, and examples of hiring, budget, and policy decisions. Those records decide whether the person primarily managed people or an essential function, rather than merely carried an impressive title. Separately, calculate the uninterrupted foreign-employment period within the three-year lookback and document the qualifying relationship between the companies. A proposed U.S. role needs the same discipline: name the staff or function managed and show who performs the routine operational work. Titles alone do not resolve either issue.