It can summarize the history, but the relevant dates, capacity and supporting records require assessment. Year-only descriptions may leave important facts unresolved.
Separate the facts used in the calculation
Identify the legal employer, actual work, location and relevant status history. Do not assume time is counted solely because it appears on a résumé or payroll record. Obtain case-specific timing analysis rather than estimating from rounded dates.
A first review of a résumé-based timeline generally produces one finding: the years shown are calendar years, and the underlying employment did not begin in January. That single distinction moves eligibility dates by months. The record that settles it is the payroll register for the relevant period, naming the legal employer and showing continuous remuneration, because it was created for a purpose unrelated to this application.
Where the applicant sat on a secondment, the assignment letter names both the home and the host entity and does the same work. Set the requirement out without softening it: L-1 requires one continuous year of qualifying employment abroad with a qualifying related entity within the three years preceding the request, and L-1A additionally requires that the year have been in a managerial or executive capacity. Hypothetical example: a corporate treasury analyst’s résumé reads 2023–2024, while the payroll register shows a start in late April and an unpaid leave in November; both facts belong in the analysis rather than one.