L1, L2 Visa

I went through the visa interview and the officer stamped on I-129S as L1A and also provided dates for 3 years and mentioned visa is approved and I will be getting the passport within a week.

But he also mentioned that he will have to check with his supervisor if it would be an L1A or L1B? I am not sure what it means.

Appointment - 6th April 11AM

He asked me a standard set of questions

VO - Company name
Me - XXX
VO - Which type of visa
Me - L1A
VO - How long with the company?
Me - 9 + years
VO - How many years of managerial experience?
Me - 5 years
VO - Do you manage people?
Me- I mentioned I manage people as well as projects
VO - Have you been earlier on L1 or any other visa?
Me - I Mentioned all my previous visas (B1, H1B, and F1) (Note: All more than 9 years back)
VO - What is your highest education
Me - I replied
VO - Which location you will be going to?
Me - I answered
VO - Where is it located exactly?
Me - I explained it to him.
VO - How many people are you managing?
Me - I told him my current reports (8) and my future role (11)
VO - He again asked me what would be doing other than people management?
Me - I mentioned the project management part as well.
VO - I am approving your visa as requested as L1A and you will get your passports within a week. Although I have to check with my supervisor if you would qualify for L1A or L1B. He then gave me 1 stamped copy of the I-129S form with L1A circled and the dates as well and kept my passport.

It's been 3 business days since the interview. My status on the website still shows "Administrative processing".

Any pointers would be of great help.

Appointment - 5th April 2022 ; 10 AM

VO – Good Morning
 
Me – Good Morning Officer , How are you ?
 
VO : Doing good , thanks !
 
VO – Name
 
Me – ABCD
 
VO – So you are working with XYZ Company
 
Me – Yes , Officer, I've been working with XYZ company for 3 years as a Manager AAA & have an expertise in XYZ domain . Currently managing a team and leading an engagement for the client.
 
VO : Did you join XYZ company as a manager
 
Me – Yes, I have overall 15 years of experience and 8.5 years as a Manager
 
VO : Where were you working before XYZ company ?
 
Me – ABC Company as a Manager as well ( with brief details about the company & my role )
 
VO : How did XYZ company hire you ? Were you looking for a job or did they reach out ?
 
Me : They approached me via Linked and hired me
 
VO : So they made an offer you couldn’t refuse haan ? ( Chuckles )
 
Me : Haha yes true
 
VO : Do you have any direct reports ?
 
Me : yes 11 Direct , 6 indirect reports & I'm responsible for hiring and performance management of my direct reports.
 
VO : Okay 11 direct reports ( looks at me for few seconds )
 
Me : yes Officer & I have budget to hire 5 more consultants once in US
 
VO : What is your Salary in the US
 
Me : XX K
 
VO : Married ?
 
Me : Yes
 
VO : Why is your wife not here for the interview ?
 
Me : She is already in US working on non-immigrant visa
 
VO : Same Employer as yours ?
 
Me : No , Different Employer
 
VO : Where is she in the US
 
ME : XYZ State
 
VO : Oh are you going to the same place ( Looks at the application )
 
ME : No , She is in X state and I will be travelling to Y State and since we have work commitments with our respective employers we are planning to meet during Holidays
 
VO : Okay, At Least you will be in the same country ( Smiles ) , Will you be able to move to X state where your wife is working ?
 
Me : No , I have to work only from the Y state as per my current Project and will not be able to move as of now.
 
VO : What about your wife ? Can she move you wherever you are working ?
 
Me : She currently can't move since she also has her work commitments , but can try that once she is done with her project
 
VO : Okay, At Least you have direct Flights from X to Y state ( Smiles )
 
Me : Yes. That’s good
 
VO : Your Visa is approved , Safe travels !
 
Me : Thank you , have a good day !

Attire - Blazer ( I think it makes a difference at least for L1A )
Duration - I entered the Embassy by 9:30 AM and was out by 10:20 AM

Hi,
I recently attended interview for L1A at Chennai. There were typical questions like yrs of exp, ‘Managerial role profile, Salary etc. All that went well and got it approved.

I got passport with stamp on third day. The stamp doesn’t show L1A on it. It show L1: Blanket. Is this normal ? On I-797 the official clearly showed approved L1A.
Where and how can I see it is L1A ?

Thank you Immihelp!

Immihelp is one of the contributor for my succes. Reviews on the Immihelp are very helpful. I got detailed Idea of how Interviews are conducted by USCIS.

1. It was my first chance for L1B interview
2. Prepared from the Immihelps experiences and few questions which are related to my specialization
3. First day the biometric was done
4. Final day arrived. I wore the formal wear usually I used it for my office.
5. There was line for visa interview outside the USCIS office in Chennai according to appointment time. Weather was hot and sweating .
6. The formal documentation check was done and I went into the another line which was of USCIS officers window where interview conducts,
7. The line was splitted and I was never know on which window should I get pulled.
8. Finally, I could hear the officer was asking questions to my next participant and pressure was building on me. Probably next participants Visa got in trouble and my pressure doubled. But I prayed to god and believed on Myself.
9. Now, My turn arrived and she asked " How are you" , Me: I m good. I asked her " How are you " She replied "I am good". She only took I129 and returned the covering letter given by my company
10. For which company you are working? , I replied about my company and client for I am working.
11. She asked " which type of product you are working and why you want to go there? I explained everything,.
12. She "Tell me name of one of the product your client has in Portfolio? I replied their most popular product
13. Then she took my passport and retuned one stamped copy of I129 and that's It ...I got my visa approved for first 3 years.

Wish you and Immihelp all the best!

1. First time L1B Blanket (fresh)
2. Have Canada PR + Had Previous H1B(expired), B1 etc visas.
3. Tried to take appointment at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-ca/niv/. To my surprise, after answering all questions correct, it gave drop box option for L1B Blanket (first time). This was confusing for me, because first time L1B Blanket will have to have interview.
4. Anyways, just followed courier instructions with drop-box couriered all documents.
5. After 10 days, DS-160 status changed from "No Status" to "Refused".
6. In couple of days after, received 2 emails back2back, email to attend in-person interview and interview slot was booked by consulate for date within next 1 week.
7. Attended interview with family, paid $500 (Credit card only please). I took 500 USD cash, but officer wanted credit card. Few regular L1B blanket interview questions and done for the day.
8. On interview day, later in the evening, status changed from "Refused" to "Admin Processing".
9. Next day, status changes to "Issued" and received passport shipping email. Received passports with stamp within 2 days after interview.

In Summary, If you filled https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-ca/niv/ correctly, and it it send you to courier instructions. Dont think too much, just follow instructions and courier the documents and then the US consulate will lead you though the process. In worst case they will book an appointment for in person interview within few weeks.
Another note(though repeated email exchange with OttawaNIV) , it looks like Canada US consulates are working hard to prioritize work visas. They say it takes from 4 to 6 weeks, in my case I got everything done within 4 weeks.

Most of the experience was same as other nicely described in this forum already, so I'm not going to repeat it.

There was just one change though. For $500 fraud detection fees, they were not accepting cash anymore. There was a lady ahead of me who only brought cash (no DD or Credit Card) and she was sent back. The cashier told her to go to any banks nearby the consulate building, pay the cash and get the DD. I went with the cash and credit card, again they did not accept cash. Credit Card payment went smoothly, charged in USD. Make sure you have international transaction enabled.

Hope This Helps!

Hi All - I recently tried to book appointment for L1 blanket Visa in Chennai. The date I was able to book for the earliest was October 2024. It seems pretty crazy to book date 2.5 years from now. What is the experience of others who have been trying to book appointment recently. Is there any hope I will be able to find earlier slots?

Thanks.

Hi All - I have my visa interview on 14th March and just realized that in my DS 160, instead of monthly salary, I have filled in annual salary. What should I do now? Would this result in my visa denial? Can suggestion or help will be highly appreciated.

Hello, I am going to schedule a L1A Blanket interview in Canada soon. I need your inputs for my current scenario. I have been on L1A visa and my extension got denied hence I moved to Canada with the work permit. I am trying to reapply the L1A Blanket visa again. Will this denial have any impact during my visa interview. Please let me know your suggestion if anyone had the same scenario.

Hi Everyone,

I have attended L1A Blanket Visa in Canada, I have answered all the questions and the visa officer have updated the I-129S and approved it. He also mentioned dates with 3 years of validity, however, he said he will need to find more information and said he is going to keep it under Admin processing and returned 2 copies of 129S and Passports. The officer is very nice and mentioned that they will reach out to me once the Admin processing is done and then I can submit my passports. I was not given any 221g document as well, and no additional documentation was requested. Did anyone face this kind of situation? Also any guess on how long this Admin Processing going to take? Appreciate any guidance on this.