No automatic conclusion should be drawn from a trip alone. Assess the actual dates and applicable qualifying-year rules.
Keep both questions distinct
A trip may not break continuity while its U.S. days still do not count as foreign employment.
Gather employment records showing the qualifying overseas period, then select training logs, internal manuals, product history, project assignments, and supervisor declarations that reveal the claimed knowledge. Request the specific project files, training certificates, or internal documentation the colleague's account points to, and confirm dates and the employee's actual role in each. Version histories of procedure documents naming the employee, records of revisions made after incidents, decision notes explaining changes, and escalation logs showing which questions reach them. Corporate records may establish the qualifying relationship and active operations, but the worker needs an individual chronology of foreign employment, training, system access, projects, authored materials and problem-solving. Organizational records showing the specialist as the custodian or primary author of these internal documents, distinct from a general roster of certified welders, help the adjudicator see the specialized-knowledge claim as tied to the company's own system rather than restated industry competence.
- USCIS — L classification documentation and evidence
- Department of State — 9 FAM 402.12
- 8 USC 1184 — specialized knowledge definition
- USCIS — employment authorization for certain spouses
- ICE — nonimmigrant classes that may study
- USCIS — fee schedule
- Official regulatory L foreign-capacity and new-office standards