L1, L2 Visa

My L1B blanket visa got approved in Chennai consulate.

Biometric center:
Initially made to stand in a queue for 10 - 15 mins. Since we had gone with kids, later we were allowed to cut the queue and proceed and after that it was pretty smooth.
Docs required: Passports of each applicant, DS160 of each applicant, Appointment confirmation letter, VISA specification photo for kids.

Consulate:
Appointment was in the morning and we reached 45 mins before time. Since we had kids we cut all the queues, finished the process and came out in roughly 15-20 mins.

Questions asked:
1. Which company do you work for.
2. How long are you with the company.
3. Where did you work before that
4. Are you traveling to a Client location
5. Salary in the US
6. Specialization
7.. What will you work on in the US

No questions asked to wife or kids. After a couple of mins checking some data in the computer, the officer stamped visa on the forms and returned two copies of the forms.

Overall experience at the consulate was very smooth (and quick since we had kids). It appears that the approval depends on the following,

1.Company credibility (current and previous)
2.Total years of experience
3.Working at parent company in the US is preferred
4. Salary in the US
5. If you have travelled before to the US
6. Ability to provide clear and to the point answers confidently.

One does not need to prepare too much for the interview. Just be able to explain the specialized knowledge and how you would apply it and why the work needs to be done from the US.

I had my BioMetrics scheduled for 19th and Interview on the 20th.

19th:
Has a 1:30 pm appointment. Arrived at the centre at 1:15 pm.
Entry through the back gate. Clear directions pasted to guide one to the processing centre.
Do not carry anything other than the documents, else pay Rs 50 for locker at one of the photo copying shops.
Passport and appointment letter checked (twice)
Asked to join a queue. Waited 15 mins, then guided to a counter. Finger printing / photo finished and I was back in the hotel by 2:15

Tips
- Carry cash for your return trip. Leave everything apart from your documents in the hotel including cell phones.

20th Visa Interview
Arrived at 9:15 am for 9:30 am interview slot
Did not carry anything apart from documents and some cash (for trip back to hotel). Do not wear watch.
L1A Blanket applicants need to stop at the 2nd building and separate 3 sets of I129 and DS160. Each set is stapled and one set has your receipt attached
The set with the receipt to be presented at another window and a receipt to be collected
Then asked to join a queue. Had around 50 applicants (various categories) ahead of me and the consular officers were doing a great job in pushing applications quickly.

VO : Good morning
I: Good morning
VO : Pass me the docket
I : passed all 3 sets and the passport
VO : Who is the petitioner?
I: My company name
VO: Where will you be going?
I: Company HQ
VO: Annual Salary
I: $1X6,000 (above $150k/year)
VO: How many direct reports?
I : 4
VO: How many indirect reports?
I: 29

You visa is approved

Hi,
First of all I would like to thank the various experiences posted in this forum. They helped me frame my questions. I did not need any extra coaching or something like that to crack the interview.

My L1B visa interview was scheduled on 10th October. I went along with my wife as she is also traveling with me. Our slot was 10:30 AM but we went much ahead of time and they do not even care what is your slot. They will let you in.

Make sure you do not carry any mobiles or electronic devices including wearable like fitbit etc.

First there was a queue where we were asked to arrange the documents in 3 sets in following order:
1. I129S
2. I-797 (only first page)
3. DD (for the anti fraud fee. Write your passport number on the backside)
P.S: They accept cash as well as credit card. But to be safe I carried cash.
4. DS-160 (1 copy only.)

Then we were again sent to another queue where we were waiting for some time outside the next building. After that we were sent inside the final building and had to wait another 30 minutes or so.

Here you have to go to a counter to pay the fee of $500. They will give 2 receipts. One for you and another for the VO. (Visa officer)
Then we had to go to another counter where our finger prints were verified.

After this step you are in the main queue for interview. This queue was running pretty fast. You can actually hear what the VO are asking others in front of you.

Finally we were sent to one counter where the interview happened. The interviewer was a decent person. Here is how the interview went:

VO: Good Morning.
ME: Good morning sir.

VO: Can I see your documents and passports please?
ME: Handed over the documents that we stacked before and the passports. He did not ask any other documents.

VO: So you work for YYYY (After typing something on his computer and scanning our passports)
ME: Yes sir. ( I work for an American retail giant )

VO: How long have you been working for YYYY ?
ME: X years and Y months.

VO: So what do you do in YYYY India?
ME: Explained my daily job duties and what my team does in 2/3 sentences. ( Frame your answer such that when they ask you what you are going to do in US or something like that, then you can relate your current work experience with what you will do in US. This is the key thing for L1 visas. Specialized knowledge that you already have and you are going to do similar thing in US.)

VO: What is the work you will do in US?
ME: Answered again in simple terms and short to the point sentences. Related my previous answer so that he gets the special knowledge hint.

VO: What is the annual salary in US?
ME: YYYY XX USD per annum plus corporate benefits.

VO: I am approving both of yours visas.
ME: Thank you sir.

VO: Handed over 2 copies of stamped I-129s to me with I-797s. This is needed for HR and POE (Port of Entry) purpose.

I had prepared for many other questions but he did not ask. He did not ask any question to my wife.

My take on this is:

1. Be confident about what you say. ( I know this is easy to say and hard to follow. I was too tensed a lot for the past few days..But when you stand in front of the counter make sure you are confident and don't fumble.)
2. Always keep eye-contact.
3. Prepare the questions and answers well before you go there. Ask someone to do a mock interview so that you know how well you are prepared.
4. Keep in mind that they are here to approve visas. If your case is genuine then you have nothing to fear.

Hope this helps someone. All the best!!

I filed L-1B individual visa in USCIS and got approved.

I went for an interview yesterday and managed to answer all the questions by VO. VO can not find my information in their system and said that this happens often. He kept my passport and said that I will be granted visa once my information appears in their system. If there are any problems, they will contact me.

I checked today the status online and it said my visa is under "Administrative Processing".

Does anyone have the same experience? How long did you have to wait for an update?

I visited Chennai consulate in June 2017 for L1B interview but that time I got rejected and I have 10 years of experience both technical and PM domain. So planning to start L1A individual process from Jan 2018 but have few queries:

1.Can I go for L1A individual after L1B blanket rejection?
2. If yes, how long I should wait to start L1A process.

Thanks
Raj

Would like to share my experience for L1-A Blanket visa (functional manager) at Chennai Consulate.

I had my visa interview on 06-Oct-2017 and the visa got approved.

These were the questions asked in the Visa Interview-

VO : Good Morning , How are you doing?
Me : Good Morning Mam, Doing Good Thank you , How about you?
VO : I am good.

VO : What is your petitioning company
Me : XYZ (Reputed US Product Company)

VO : How long have you been with the company and total experience.
Me : 4 years and 2 Months ; 10 Years

VO : What would be your salary in the US.
Me : XYZ USD

VO : Designation in US
Me : Technical Program Manager

VO : Where would you be traveling?
Me : XYZ , US

VO : What would you do? (Your Role and Responsibility)
Me : Explained in 2 lines.
     Manage ABC functions and XYZ Automation Platform for PQR Team which has LMN Impact on the Company.
Follow up questions-
VO : What is the XYZ Automation Platform
Me : Explained in 2 lines along with business impact
VO : What is your role in this area.
Me : Manage the platform

 
VO : How many direct reports?
Me : I am a Functional Manager, I oversee resources and manage functions, I don’t have any direct reports.
Follow up Question-
VO : What kind of functions and its impact?
Me : ABC, PQR and XYZ Functions and impact of each of them

VO : Whom would you report in the US? (Designation)
Me : Senior Manager

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Silence for couple of minutes as VO kept typing and then said "Your visa is approved" !!

hope this helps. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences !

I would like to know from the experts what should be the best possible practise for the below 2 questions. i am yet to file the case and would like your views and suggestions on this:

(1) what should be MIN & MAX salary compensation for 9 to 10 years of experience? considering the standard IT services firms in India.
(2) Considering the fact that most employees works @ client place in IT Services companies, what should be the reporting manager locations. US office location OR client place?

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences. It was really useful. Here's mine at Chennai today :

Biometrics : Overall pretty straightforward. For an 8 AM appointment, was allowed to enter at 7:30 AM itself and the whole process finished by 7:50 AM.

Interview : Was allowed to enter at 9:30 AM for a 10 AM appointment. Don't carry any mobile phones or watches - They allow plastic bags to carry your documents - carry only whatever is required.

There are multiple checkpoints that you pass through -
1. One person arranges 3 sets of i797 and i129s, draft along with the DS160 confirmation.
2. The draft is taken and receipt is given
3. Finger printing for validation
4. the actual interview.

The only thing that really takes a long time is the queue for the interview - This took around 25 mins for me. There are around 4-5 counters in total - I don't know if there was a separate counter for all blanket petitions. All interviewers were generally well natured and I couldn't see anyone rejecting any petition as such.

Questions:
1. Name of the Client ? Which company is filing the petition ? Which city will you be travelling to ?
2. Your role ? How many direct and indirect reportees
3. Salary ?
4. Who's your supervisor ? Which office will he work out off ?
5. Who's the decision making authority ?
6. You had an L1 visa before ?

That was pretty much it - in total around 3 mins or so and all the time, the officer will be typing on her screen.

Overall, from what I feel :
1. The experience was mostly good for all. Pretty smooth process and the consulate team make an attempt to make you comfortable - so be relaxed. Make sure that you explain your role in the simplest possible manner - the easier it is to understand, the more your chances are.

2. For L1 blanket visas - I felt that if you have a visa before or have had a travel to the US before, you are at an advantage. Alternately, you'd be better off in the interview with a high salary (I could hear salaries in the range of $150K - $ 200K for cases that were getting approved. Mine isn't that high though :-) ).
 
3. Make sure that you smile and don't feel nervous. I think that helps during the interview - the interaction is much better then.

4. Finally, remember that it is not the end of the world if your visa is rejected. You can always do it again and it generally gets approved.

Hope this helps - Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences !

Thanks to this forum. I had to do this particularly after what I went through. I had the most weird experience at the interview. This is how it went in chennai consulate...

After taking in the passport and 797...

Q: Is this for your L1A individual?
A: YES
Q: What does your company do?
A: Explained in crips three lines
Q: Salary?
A: xK / year + benefits
Q: Reportees direct?
A: Just a number - Which match the number in petition.
Q: Reportees Indirect?
A: Another number matching the petition.
Q: Position?
A: Answered.

After these questions he was trying to get the computer to respond to something. And I anxiously wait for a complete two minutes. He was rolling my passport between his fingers.

I was like oh oh...

After couple of minutes he says the following " I am sorry I am facing some technical issues with my computer. I am gonna try one more time after you leave and I am gonna hold on to your passport. It might mostly be approved. Check the status online. You may go now ". He returned the 797.

I went in with an attitude of a returned passport is fine. I came out of the consulate not knowing what to expect, react, say or do.This happened on a friday had to endure a weekend with this hanging status.

Good thing was the passport was with him.

My educated mind did not help me, thousands of forum reading, 15 thousands opinions and next worst thing I was getting ready was a pending status for 6 month minimum.

On tuesday status changed, Visa was issued passports were picked up in a hurry.

And this message is shared for folks who under go the same situation to relax themselves. The least I could do for you guys.

Hope it is better for you guys...

Thanks a Ton

I received a 221g for administrative processing, and on followup with support team I received the following response. Is this the standard response ?

Consular records show that your visa is under processing and the passports with the visa will be returned to you shortly through visa application center.