L1, L2 Visa

Hi Folks,

My L1B Blanket Visa has been approved. I would like to thank Immihelp for setting up a great platform. As usual I have benefited and trying to pay it back in kind.

My background:
I have been travelling all around the world for various customer assignments and had been to US for more than five times. I had a H1B in early 2000, but did not travel to US. I had a got a B1 in 2011 and H1B rejected in 2013. This time around I was applying for a L1B-Blanket with my spouse and 2 kids (10 and 5 year old).

My Petitioning Process:
It was a long painstaking process for 6 months (I dont know why it took 6 months) for me to get the required documentation from my company. I got it in early April and was ready in 3 days for booking my visa appointment. I finally booked it on May 16th (VAC) and May 17th (Visa Interview). I had to get it done in Chennai as it was a L1B-Blanket. I had my flight and hotel bookings done for Chennai and was ready.

My Preparation:
Had a couple of calls with my US Attorneys. Did a couple of mockups with my spouse. Self-prep standing before the mirror. Prepared an exhaustive set of questionnaire with all possible answers. Refined the answers to be precise communicate more with less words. Sparsely populated the responses with technical terms to sound very specialized in those skills and not overdoing to raise further questions. Precisely prepared answers in such a way to expect the next question if the VO want to explore further. All the documentation was set in order (with sticky notes) in a folder. Packed the bags 3 days in advance and shoved it under the bed not to disturb them.
Stopped thinking about it 3 days before. Enjoyed the weekend with a couple of movies (to relax myself). Having kids around helps with a relaxing diversion. Boarded the flight to Chennai on May 15th afternoon and settled in the hotel by evening. Watched the IPL matches and slept

May 16th (VAC):
There was a slight drizzle in the morning, and my appointment was at 8:00 am, was there by 7:30 am. There was a line and close to 15 people in the queue. The gates opened at 7:45 and I was the first one to get it (because of the family & kids) headed straight to the verification counter.

Following are the few checks
1. Verification of the appointment date and time
2. Verification of the details on the passport and DS160.
3. A bar coded sticker attached to the passport
4. Four tokens issued for four of us
5. My spouse was the first to go, next my elder kid and last myself and the younger one.
Following are the steps:
1. Ten Printing
2. Photograph
3. Verification of details again
4. Stamp on the DS160 that the VAC has been done.
5. No Ten printing for kids for 10 years and below.

We are out by 8:00 AM and were in the hotel by 8:15 AM. Rest of day at leisure. Again watched the IPL match and slept

May 17th (Interview):
Now it was raining on this day and my appointment was at 10:00 am and I was there at the consulate by 9:30. A VFS person came and stamped all the DS160. We cleared the security and since was a L1B we were asked to wait. After few mins the VFS person asked to take the first 4 pages of I-129S and firs page of I797, stapled them and did the same for all the 3 sets. He tied them with all 4 passports and created a bundle. He then asked me the demand draft for the Anti-Fraud fee and asked to write my Passport No and name on the back of it. He added this to the bundle and directed me to the next building. There was a long queue to get into the building, but I was allowed to go directly by skipping the line (because of family and kids). In the building I was again allowed to skip another long queue and get directly to the first counter where the gentleman collected the demand draft and printed two receipts and directed me to the next counter. At the next counter my finger prints were checked, put a red check mark on the bar coded sticker on passport and asked me to move to the next counter. At the third counter they verified the details in the passport and put a green check again on the bar coded sticker. Post this I was asked to move to the next queue (which was another long queue) for the Visa interview. Believe me, I was allowed to skip this and was provided a place to sit. Waited for 5 mins, and our turn came for the big show.

The VO was a good looking person around 45. During the entire interview he did not smile or maintain an eye contact with me. Was always glued to his system. The entire interview was a 15 mins with very long pauses between questions.

VO: Good Morning, Can I have your documents
Ans: Good Morning Sir, How are your doing today (while handing over the document bundle)

VO: I am doing good, thanks !!! How about you?
Ans: Thanks, I am doing good as well.

VO: Which company are you working for?
Ans: YYYY X

VO: Since how long
Ans: More than 5 years now

(deadly pause)

VO: Where in US are you going?
Ans: Atlanta

VO: What is your US Salary?
Ans: YYYY XX

(manageable pause)

VO: Which client are you going to work for?
Ans: There may be a need to visit multiple clients, but I will working out of YYYY X office in Atlanta.

(again deadly pause)

VO; So you will be working from your office?
Ans: Yes

VO: So you are going to Georgia?
Ans: Yes

(another deadly pause)

VO: What will you do in US?
Ans: I will be utilizing the YYYY proprietary tools, YYYY Engine and YYYY portal for configuring customers business

VO: Have you been part of designing this tools?
Ans: Yes

VO: What does your company do?
Ans: YYYY provides solutions to its customers around YYYY including, YYYY , YYYY , and YYYY .

VO: Why are you needed there?
Ans: Utilize my YYYY skills to reduce the latency in Customer go live on YYYY suite of products.

VO: Since how long are you with YYYY (again)
Ans: 5 years and 4 months

VO: Have you ever worked for YYYY (I had a H1B rejected earlier which was filed by this YYYY company)
Ans: No, they have filed my H1B petition and the Visa officer suggested me that I may be at risk of being benched and asked me to revoke my petition and I did.

By this time, I got a sense that its going well, as he started making some notes from my documents and he placed my passports in a different tray and took the stamp out and while checking the date and stuff on the stamp, he started asking the following questions to my spouse (For a change he was looking at my spouse this time)

VO: What is your highest qualification?
Ans: YYYY in YYYY

VO: Since how long have you been married?
Ans: YYYY years

VO: How many kids do you have?
Ans: 2

At this point he was ready to stamp my I-129S, but for some reason stopped and was again glued to his system. My confidence that it’s through was eroding really quick, but then he broke the silence with a Thud (Stamping both my I-129S) and the golden words.

VO: I am approving your Visas. Welcome to the United States!!! these are your 2 stamped copies, one for your HR, and the other needs to be produced at the Port of Entry
We: Thanks a lot, and Have a great day

VO: Sure, I will and you too.
We: Thanks

At this time, my younger kid who was silent from the moment we entered the consulate spoke for the first time, by saying "Bye" to the VO. For a change the VO reciprocated with "Smile".

Interestingly by 10:00 AM I was out of the Consulate with the stamping done. It only took 30 mins out of which 15 mins was the interview. Taking the family with me helped.

I know its kind of long but will help on the areas to focus more.

Following are my key takeaways:
1. Over preparation may make you nervous but definitely helps.
2. Mock interview will improve your responses to be more precise.
3. Be relaxed and don’t think about the interview at least 3 to 4 days leading to the interview.
4. If you have a family and intend to get them stamped, please take them with you (it certainly helps)
5. Your job experience, longevity in the company, your current and future designation, your current and US Salary will also play an important role in creating a sense of confidence to the VO.

Thanks and Good Luck !!!

Regards,
MVR