L1, L2 Visa

I don't think I can thank this forum enough for helping out hundreds of visa applicants such as myself.
I would not go into the details of the OFC and the visa process since those have been exhaustively covered on this forum already. However I would like to write about things I believe are essential for every visa applicant to know.

One should be aware that the L1 visa is a special skillset visa and should be applied for accordingly.It is meant for intra-company transfers only and the applicant should avoid mentioning anything around working from a client location. The documents prepared by the attorney and letter for support provided by the petitioner could play a major role during the interview . If you have applied in the right category and you are able to convince the VO to believe in the below mentioned bullets, you should not have any problems in getting the L1 approved:

-What you have acquired is in fact specialized knowledge.
-This knowledge is not available in the open market and gives the company a competitive advantage among its competitors
-It would cause the company significant economic harm (spending of time and economic resources) to impart this knowledge to another hired from outside.

So basically you have to weave your story around the above mentioned points(with data per your individual case) and make sure you include explanations for these in your answers to questions such as " What is your special skill-set", "what are your roles and responsibilities", " what will you do in the US" etc.. My advise to you all is be as precise as possible in your answers and only elaborate when asked to.Any extra/ unecessary information given voluntarily could invite more questions. Software development/testing technologies may not fall into the specialized knowledge category. Try to stress on the domain knowledge that you have acquired by working on proprietary tools and by interacting with SME's and product owners.
It is always wise to learn / cram basic points and structure them into your head for the specialized skill-set question. You should have 2 answers prepared for this question. The first one being short and crisp and the second one being an elaborate version of the first one .( Note: You may never need the longer version but you would feel all comfy knowing that you have it just in case !!.).

-Impact of previous B1 visits on L1 : This topic has been widely discussed on many forums.As far as my understanding on this subject goes, previous B1 visits are of no consequence to an L1/H1 visa application.However if the B1 visits have been prolonged ones , meaning more that 3-4 weeks , the VO may ask you to state reasons for the extended trips. At that point all you need to do is to convince the VO that your visits on the business visa were confined to B1 activites only and that you did not do any productive work during that trip.Based on your answer the visa office may take a judgement call. I had been to the US on a B1 visa twice before I applied for the L1 . Both the trips were about 10 weeks each(for the same company) but those involved discussions and knowledge sharing sessions only. The VO did not ask me anything about those trips and I got my L1 anyway.

-Always talk about your Indian salary in lakhs and the US salary in dollars.
-Look at the VO while you are talking even if the officer is looking elsewhere
-Never fake an accent
-Dress formally . A tie always make that shirt on a man look good.
-Be confident and polite while talking . A smile goes a long way

Here is a bird's eye view of my profile and my interview experience:

Petitioner: A huge oil company based in the US
Current Work place: This office is a wholly owned subsidiary(sister company) of the petitioner.We just have one office in India
Experience with the sister company :18 months(with about 5 months in the US on a B1 visa)
Total experience: 3.5 yrs
Designation: specially skilled professional :)

Interview at the Chennai consulate:I was wearing my ID with the company name written in bold all across it.

VO: Good morning sir . How are you doing?
Me: Good morning sir. I am doing just fine. Yourself?
VO:I am good . Thank you.Please give me you petition documents
Me: (Handing over the petition bundle) Here they are.
VO: So you work for ZZZ?
Me: yes sir I do
VO: How long have you been working with ZZZ?
Me: 18 months
VO: (smiling and Stamping my I 129's ) I think you are good to go sir.Your visa has been approved.
Me: Thanks a lot. Have a good one

Yes. it lasted for 40 seconds flat.
So much for all that 3 week long interview preparation !!!! I guess I got it based on the company's reputation but I am glad I was prepared for a nasty interview nevertheless.

Before I end this really long post, all I would say is that no matter how confident or nervous you think you were during the interview, you would not know whether you got the visa until the VO tells you about it. So do not give up or take the VO for granted until you are done answering the last question. Remember: It is not over until you hear the bell ring !!!

All the best,, Go get your visa !!

Regards
Romeo