L-1A time is capped at seven years in total, counted across all periods in that status. File once the American structure supports the described authority and the qualifying year is documented, because an early petition against a thin chart usually returns as a request for evidence and costs more time than the delay would have.
Sequence the corporate work ahead of the filing
Two clocks run at once. The backward clock is the qualifying year, which must be continuous and must fall within the three years before the petition, so an employee who has already been working in the United States for an extended period may find the window closing. The forward clock is the seven-year maximum for L-1A, from which every earlier period in L status is subtracted.
Between them sits the work that determines whether a petition succeeds: hiring or assigning the people who will report to Thibault, documenting the ownership chain, and putting real projects and payroll behind the claim that both companies are trading. A group that files in the week it decides to expand is filing against intentions. A group that spends a quarter building the structure files against facts.
Where the American entity is newly established, expect an initial approval of one year and plan the extension evidence from the first day rather than the eleventh month.