Not until the agreement is signed, the U.S. entity is formed with the required control terms, and premises are secured. The qualifying relationship must exist at filing. Use the negotiation period to complete the manager's qualifying-year record and the business plan.
The relationship must exist before the petition does
A petition filed on a term sheet describes a relationship that does not yet exist, and USCIS assesses eligibility as of the filing date. For the Harrison Hot Springs spa venture the order is fixed by the regulation: negotiate the operating agreement with equal control and veto power, form the U.S. entity and record the fifty-fifty ownership, sign the lease, capitalize the venture, and only then file.
Hypothetical example: the American partner wants to open in time for the summer season and presses the Canadian company to file early. Filing early produces a denial on the relationship, a wasted fee and a record that must be explained in the next petition. The manager's qualifying year, if already complete, does not expire in the meantime as long as it falls within the three years before the eventual filing.
Prepare everything that does not depend on the agreement—payroll records, organizational charts, the business plan and the premises search—so that signature and filing can follow each other within days.