Not necessarily. U.S. days do not count, and the actual full-time qualifying foreign chronology must satisfy the relevant rule.
Check the period before relying on an anniversary
Brief visits may preserve continuity without contributing qualifying days. Identify the real dates and capacity of employment. A transfer deadline cannot waive the foreign-year condition or guarantee a decision.
For a petition involving an already-operating qualifying U.S. entity, initial L-1A approval periods are typically longer than the one-year period given to a genuinely new U.S. office; the exact validity period depends on the petition and the evidence of the U.S. operation submitted. L-1A eligibility also rests on a continuous qualifying foreign year within the previous three and a qualifying parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate relationship, with the foreign organization doing business; for a new-office L-1A petition, that foreign year itself must have been managerial or executive. For a new office, the initial period lasts one year, the filing must show sufficient premises and financial ability to remunerate the beneficiary and commence doing business, and the business must develop enough to sustain qualifying management; the L-1A limit is seven years.