L1, L2 Visa

First of all I would like to thank everyone for sharing their experiences on this forum. It was certainly a big help.

I work in Hyderabad a large multinational BPO company, but the interview was in Chennai as my application was based on a blanket petition. I already have a B1 visa issued 7 years ago in Chennai (there was no consulate in Hyderabad in those days) but never traveled to US.

My company prepared the petition documents for me, paid the visa fee and scheduled the interview. Documents that I carried were: Passport, DS-160 confirmation, Appointment confirmation, Visa fee payment receipt, a DD of INR 31000 ($500), 3 copies of Form I-797 (Blanket Petition Approval notice), 3 copies of Form I-129S, Support Letter from Company, India and US Org Chart, Detailed Resume, Educational Certificates/marksheets (Original and 1 xerox copy each), last 3 months payslips, one 50mmx50mm color photograph taken as per US Visa standard. I carried all these documents in two clear plastic folders - essential documents in one, supporting documents in the other.

Coming to my experience:

OFC

My OFC interview was scheduled for today (14-Oct-2014) morning at 8:30am. Arrived 30 mins before the scheduled time, a guard guided me to stand in the 8:30 queue (there were two queues, one for 8am and another for 8:30) and I waited for my turn. Soon I was allowed into the building. The process is quiet smooth. You stand in a queue in the courtyard of the building for document check. An attendant matches the information on your DS-160 confirmation with your Passport, and then allows to to go to the first floor. Once you reach the first floor, you go through a brief security check. Following that an attendant at the reception desk attached a sticker on the back of my passport and gave me a token number. I was curious as the sticker said L1B, where I was appearing for L1A. She clarified saying L1B stands for “L1 Blanket” in this case, so nothing to worry. As soon as I entered the next room, my token number started flashing on the screen. Went to the indicated counter, the officer helped me record the photograph and finger-prints. He also asked me to read out loud my Passport number, my date of birth and my place of birth, which I presume were also recorded (or maybe it was just for confirmation’s sake, not sure). He stamped by DS160 and I exited the OFC building. All you need at the OFC is your Passport, the DS-160 confirmation and the Appointment confirmation. The whole process took less than 15 mins.

CONSULATE

After the OFC, I had 1.5 hours to kill, as my appointment at the consulate was at 10:30am. As my brother (who happens to live in Chennai) was driving me around, he knew just the right place to have breakfast. It was just 9:30am when we reached the consulate, and there was a HUGE queue. Asked a policeman and stood at the end of the line. Soon a consulate attendant came and asked us to stand in two queues, one for 10am and the other for 10:30am. Soon the 10am queue started moving, and then the 10:30am. Reached a small stall where deposited my cell-phone for a nominal fee of INR 10 - good thing I knew the function of this stall after reading through the previous posts on this forum, many people had to just come back from security check and waste their time. We were asked to stand in another queue for the security check on the other side of the gate – still outside the consulate. Once I reached the door there was a security check with metal detector. Once I went inside, my wallet was thoroughly checked by a lady security guard followed by full x-ray scan of all belongings. I was asked to go the next building.

A soon as you enter this building, there’s a reception desk which asked me my Visa category, scanned the bar code on the back, and pasted a large sticker (a temporary one) on the face of my passport. The sticker had details similar to the one on the back like name, passport number, visa category, and a large barcode. In the next room there were many counters, and a lot of attendants who are really fantastic and helpful. I was first asked to go to one of the counters for fingerprints – yes again, as they need to verify if it’s the same person appearing for the interview as the one who gave fingerprints at the OFC. The lady on the other side of the counter scanned the barcode on my passport and said something to the attendant who wrote something on the label and asked me go to counter 25. Apparently the details taken at the OFC hadn’t updated yet in the system, there were many such cases. The lady in the counter 25 took my passport along with a few others, asked us to sit and disappeared for a few minutes.

While I was waiting, interviews were happening all around me in different counters. A Tibetan lady was crying in front of one of the counters, and heard an American visa officer speak impeccable Hindi to a middle-aged Indian couple on another. Average length on an interview was 2-3 mins. Saw a rejection, and some approvals. Meanwhile the lady in counter 25 came back, called my name and gave back my passport to me. I asked an attendant what to do now, he asked me to go back where I came from. I returned to the counter, and gave my finger prints – this time it worked. Voila!

A few attendants were helping L1 applicants arrange their documents and I was asked to meet them. They asked me to take out the 3 copies of I-797, 3 copies of I-129S, and the DD. They folded the forms in the center, arranged in an appropriate manner and banded all together with the DS-160, passport, and the DD making a bunch. They next asked me to stand in the queue for submitting the DD. The lady in the counter took the DD, issued a receipt and attached it to the bunch. A couple of people were having trouble paying with Credit Card and were asked to come the next day, so don’t forget to bring the DD.

Next I was asked to go and sit in the waiting area, and await my token number. I had barely sat down when my token started flashing and I went to the indicated counter.

The Visa officer was a very nice middle-aged lady. She was having some issues with her computer, so she very politely asked me to wait reassuring me saying “don’t worry, nothing wrong with you, it’s my computer”. Anyways she got help, and it started working again, and she asked for my passport and the bunch of the documents that the attendants had prepared. I stood patiently in a natural posture, with my folders on the platform, and my hands flat on the platform. Then the questions started:

VO: So you work for ZZZ?
Me: Yes
VO: How long have you worked there?
Me: I've worked with YYYY for 8 years and 6 months.
VO: Is your designation "software Engineer"?
Me: No, my designation is Assistant Manager (Operations and Service Delivery)
VO: Excuse me, how long did you say you worked for this company? Was it 4 years or 7 years?
Me: No, I have worked with this company for 8 years and 6 months.
VO: So almost 9 years, huh?
Me: Yes, that's right.
VO: How many people will be reporting to you in US?
Me: Two (2) people, both are leads with individual teams reporting to them.
VO: What are their designations?
Me: One is a Management Trainee, he leads the deskside services team. The other is an Assistant Manager - he is the lead for the IT Helpdesk team.
VO: And who will you report to?
Me: Mr. ABC, Manager IT. He works out of Danbury CT.
VO: Is he a Senior Manager?
Me: That's right.
VO: Who does he report to?
Me: Mr. XYZ, Assistant Vice President (Technology)
VO: What are they paying you in US?
Me: $72,000
VO: How much?
Me: $72,000

*Then came the GOLDEN words*

VO: Your Visa is approved! Please wait for a few moments, I'll stamp and give you your documents.
Me: Thank you!
VO: I'm giving back two sets of approved petition. One is for your HR, and the other you should keep with you when you travel for the border protection check. Have a nice trip!
Me: Thanks, and have a nice day!

That’s it! That’s how simple the interview was, I was prepared to answer each and every question that this great forum has thrown at me so far, and probably that confidence counted and I was never subjected to a grilling session.

Left the building, did a victory punch, collected my phone, made call to my brother to come pick me up, and other calls to loved ones to tell them how it went.

TIPS

Everyone says “confidence is key”, but how to be confident? These are some of the steps that helped me:

YOU prepare the inputs for the documents. The company will fill the petition and take the print, but you should be involved in every step of the way. Every comma that goes into the petition document or the support letter must first go through your scrutiny. This way you will be aware of the subject matter, and be ready to answer any questions.

Go through this forum thread, read about experiences, make a list of questions and prepare answers. DON’T write the answers, you’ll be tempted to mug them at the risk of sounding scripted. Just know the answers, and be spontaneous when answering. You surely have good communications skills or wouldn’t have made this far anyway.

Have a mock interview round with a colleague, family or friend. Listen to the feedback.

Clothes don’t matter. I was wearing formal shirt and pants, with my company badge around my neck. Be comfortable.

Don’t listen to the naysayers. Shut them out.

Have breakfast, please. If you have a headache (like I did) take a pill. Be fit and energetic, you’ll need it.

Don’t come too early or too late, the waiting will sap out the energy out of you. Being late will make you more nervous.

NOTE: My Visa application is still saying under “Administrative Processing”, as per a previous post that’s normal. Just wondering how long should I wait before I panic.

Thanks again everyone!