L1, L2 Visa

This could probably be the last thing I could do by contributing to this forum. Thanks one & all who shared their interview experiences & suggestions in this forum. It was really helpful. Me, my spouse & My child had L1B & L2 VISAs approved.

My experience at Chennai consulate:

We got priority sticker attached on our passport, as we have child (Thank you Daughter ?) & the entire process completed in less than 20 min!

We had our OFC & interview on the same day – OFC at 8 AM & Interview at 10:30 AM. My kid’s photo is not as per the requirement, hence the OFC executive asked us to get a new one as per US VISA specification. Due to this reason we got late, reached the consulate in the last minute & this turned out to be a boon for us ? ?.No queue, no waiting under the typical sweltering Chennai morning. We were rushed into the consulate in couple of minutes after our docs were checked (Passport, Appointment letter, DS-160). Once we entered. We were frisked by the security & the folders we carried were scanned (we carried some cash, ATM card with & baby food, which they allowed inside). This entire process took less than 10 minutes.

Once the scanning is done, we moved to next building for interview. Same docs were checked again by the staff & there we got lucky with the Priority sticker (smiley sticker). The staff were extremely courteous & helped every candidate with arranging documents and guiding them to respective counters for next process. We had our finger prints checked once again here. Post which the staff bundled I129, I797 and our passports asked me to write my name & passport number behind the DD & was asked to submit it at respective counter.

Final & the most important phase – Interview Experience: There was a big line for the interview & we bypassed the line due to the priority sticker. There was a lady before us who applied for Visit VISA, the officer had questioned her for some time & approved the VISA. I carefully heard him to get a hang of his accent.

Interview:

We greeted the officer & the VO greeted us back, asked for docs.

VO: Are you going to work at client location?
Me: I will be joining my company office & will be working from my company office.
VO: So no client?
Me: Yes.
VO: No client, Sir?
Me: Yes Sir.
VO: No Client. Say it Sir (with a smile).
Me: Yes Sir. No client (got worried a bit then)
VO: How long have you been working with your current organization:
VO: What is your specialization?
Me: Answered for around 2 – 3 lineS. VO heard it patiently & maintained eye to eye contact during this point.
VO: What is the purpose of your travel?
Me: abbabbabbb…
VO: Where are you going to work at US:
Me: Answered the address of work office.
VO: What is the duration of your assignment?
Me: the duration was mentioned differently is I129 to what was entered in DS160. I had decided to answer based on which document he refers to. He was checking in system while I was answering (Assumed he was checking my DS160). Hence answered as per what was mentioned in DS160.
VO: What is the salary you will be getting in dollars?
Me: Answered as per I129.

There were no questions asked to my wife.

Finally the most awaited words: Sir, I am approving your VISA. Have a safe trip & safe stay in US. He took our passports & one copy of I129, I797 and returned two copies of stamped I129 to us, asked us to carry one copy at the time of travel. We thanked the officer twice & stepped out.

The entire process completed in 20 min & the overall experience at VFS was fantastic.

As we didn’t carry our phone, we were supposed to call our cab driver from nearby STD booth. The booth was closed for the day & the nearby Autowalas were fighting amongst each other as to who will give me the phone to call the cab driver. I had to acknowledge their offer as there was no other option & did tip them nicely.

Suggestion:
• It is better to hire a cab for hourly package to avoid that last minute tensions.
• Don’t reach the consulate very early. Reaching very early means waiting that much time under sun. it is convenient to reach 10- 15 minutes before the appointment time. The security will open the slot 15 minutes before the appointment slot & will finish security checks very quickly. Once you enter VISA interview building, you will even find people from previous slots waiting for interview, so apparently no difference on appointment slots at the time of interview.