Resolve the discrepancy using accurate records and an explanation of the actual arrangement.
Do not choose a date for convenience
Identify whether the records refer to different events. The proposed start schedule should not drive an invented foreign-service history or a promise that the requirement is met.
Use the foreign employment chronology to set the earliest sensible filing date. Count actual continuous full-time employment, not anticipated anniversaries, informal work, or dates copied from a résumé. Then align the US assignment with the product launch, client implementation, or internal deployment it will support. A first review should identify any gap caused by leave, change of employer, or time spent in a nonqualifying arrangement and should preserve the underlying records before they become difficult to obtain. If the US role changes from implementation to ordinary staffing, reassess whether the specialized-knowledge explanation still fits. The individual must have the required uninterrupted foreign year in the relevant three-year timeframe, and L-1B time is generally limited to five years. Hypothetical example: a grain-testing company wants its assay-method specialist in the US for an autumn harvest project, but her payroll anniversary falls two months later. The decision record is the payroll and leave history. Moving the project description forward does not create the missing period; the company must decide whether to delay the transfer, use another qualified employee, or reconsider the operational schedule.