Simply preparing a patent application for filing can take a
non-trivial amount of time. I'd suggest that you should ask your
patent attorney whether he is planning on filing internationally, or
just in the US.
If he (or she) is only planning only in the US, unlike the rest of the
world, the US is not a first-to-file, so as long as you have proof of
when you invented it --- for example, getting a description of your
invention notarized --- you might be able to get clearance from your
legal department to submit the patch while the patent application is
getting prepared.