L1, L2 Visa

Just out of curiosity, I started looking for some help on Visa interview tips on Google and I saw this forum just a day before my interview and I was lucky that I came across it.
My L1A Blanket OFC and PAI (interview) was on same day - 30-Sep-14. I guess for all Blankets it happens on the same day.
Below is my interview experience.
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OFC:
Not much things to worry about but surely few points
-Arrive no more than 15 min as mentioned else you will end up sweating like you ran some marathon in Chennai weather
-Just keep you original Passport, Appointment letter and DS 160. Keep all other documents in your file. Not needed at all (No photocopies or any other doc)
-Please make sure to double check your name, DS 160 # with appointment number, DOB and whatever is in your DS 160 to match Interview letter and Passport else you will end up running on Chennai streets figuring out who will help you.
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PAI (Personal Appearance Interview): Again, arrive only 15-30 minutes before if you don;t mind standing in queue and getting frustrated.
There are enough people to help you but few points would be worth mentioning

-Keep 3 sets of I-129S and (Petition OR Approval Notice OR I-797 whatever you want to call) i.e. 1 set would consist of one I-129S and Approval Notice and keep them together. Ignore the Addendum part of I-129S.

-If you have multiple Passports use rubber band to tie it together.

-If you are paying by AMEX, rest assured most of the times it won't work so get DD ready.

-Please carry photograph of 51X51 without fail. They actually asked during PAI.

Following are the questions that I was asked

1. Which Company do you work for? <If you forget this you don't deserve Visa :)>
2. Who is your client? <Tricky one but I said I work for YYYY client but I would be reporting to Associate Director of my company and associates who would be reporting to me would also be from my company>
3. Is there a Cognizant office nearby? <This is where I screwed :(. I did not know if there was my company's office nearby and you would be surprised what was my reply..I said yes there's Cognizant office...VO asked where and I replied "Near by" but I was confident on my face. >
4. Client's location? <That's easy>
5. Salary in US? <Mentioned but I suggest for L1A your salary has to be somewhat 80+ minimum to be at least considered executive>
6. How many people would report to you and breakup of them?<Answered and gave break-up of total Managers and Project Leads that would report to me as Directs and In directs. I did not give break up of Onsite v/s Offshore>

and then he said your Visa is "Approved". I know I was kind of lucky but I was confident too. I said him thanks and left and thanked God.

Few suggestions/takeaways
-As most of the folks on this forum might have said 1000+ times...confidence is THE KEY.
-Do not use the word Project Manager. Project Managers (I am not going by designation but by role) "usually" manage only single project. If you are managing multiple projects you are Program Manager.
-Be sure to mention Program Manager in DS 160 as well
-Ensure that you have at least 4-5 employees reporting to you at onsite else your case may be difficult to go through if VO specifically digs in that area.
-You should clearly know the role you are going to perform at onsite and how would that be different from what you are currently doing. This question can be re-framed as - "Purpose of Travel"
-Ensure that you can explain your current role OR proposed role in proper way in case asked which will be asked alomst 98% of the time. I was in rest 2% :)
-Please memorize your Org chart with direct/Indirect reports for both Offshore and Onsite.
-One of the other aspect is not directly related but what happens is that many folks tend to memorize roles which is good but while presenting to VO it sounds as if someone just vomited the words back-to-back without thinking. Please ensure to frame and present your sentence in a way that it sounds that you have not memorized but actually thinking and saying it over there. I know folks who are actually Program Managers and performing all the roles needed for L1A but they tend to fail interview for the reasons I mentioned above. Please prepare and present in natural way.
-Be to the point and this is one mantra that I can definitely say because if you try to say too many sentences VO will derive more questions from what you are stating.

Last but not the least if you are applying for L1A it is assumed and expected that you are performing that role which in itself should give you enough confidence to crack interview with some minimum preparation. If you are confident of what you are doing and that it fits L1A requirements, you will have better chances to crack.

   Hello

   I am following this forum from past 2 months. It is very useful forum for all US Visas

 My Interview on 29 September 2014

VO: Are you going to work at client site?
Me: Explained

VO: How many years you are intended to stay in USA?
Me: XX

VO: Highest Qualifications?
Me: Explained

VO: It is an internal role or client based role?
Me: It is an internal role.

VO: Number of people reporting to you?
Me: XX Number

 VO: How many Employees in US?
Me: XX Number

VO: Why they are sending you instead of other employees?
Me: Explained in Detail

VO: What does your Company Do? (Or) What your organizations do?
Me: Explained in Detail

 VO said the golden words your visa is Approved.

Tips:

a) Please go 20 Minutes before interview. If you made any mistakes in DS160 this 20 min will help you.
b) Eye to Eye Contact with VO
c) I have seen F1 & visiting visas are getting rejected don’t observe others
d) Be confident you will get the Visa.

Thanks Immi Help. Thanks every one.

Hi Guys,

I never post any suggestion or feedback but, experiences posted here were gr8 help to prepare for my interview. Hence here goes my experience.

First Day OFC Session: Nothing much, only your boimetric will be taken here. Just be 15 min before your schedule time. everything will be done in 5 min.

One suggestion is to check your Passport Name and Name in DS160. One guy was sent back to change as he had these different. But not to panic. You need to ask auto guys outside to take you to Browsing center and they would know everything as they see these kind of cases mostly everyday.

Second Day Main Interview : Just be either 15-30 min before the interview. People with kids will be allowed earlier then others in the second que, just before entering the consulate.

Token number will be allocated to you once you enter and one Office staff will help you to sort your documents.
You will be asked to submit your DD in one counter and she will tie all the document and give you. These will be the one you need to carry further for main interview.

My Interview

VO: Hello there Good Morning, Good Morning Champ how are you doing today (to my son)
Me: Good Morning(with smile)

VO: How long you have been working with this company?
Me: said

VO: What is your Indian and US salary?
Me: Indian Salary said in INR and US one is USD. (I dont think they expect you to say your Indian salary in USD)

VO: What is your specialization?
Me: Explained. (he kept eye contact while listening to me, and i maintained the same and said with confidence)

VO: How long you have been involved with this?
Me: so and so years. (same maintaining eye contact. Guys, have in depth knowledge of your proprietary stuff including development/initial stage)

After this he started typing something in system and banded our passport and kept in tray. He stamped the i129s and said "hand over one copy to your HR and carry one while travelling. Hey btw your Visa is Approved have safe trip."

I suggest to prepare really well for your interview and say it loud to your spouse or friends while preparing.

Guys I personally feel there is no better time than now for your L1 B's in chennai also keeping in mind India trying to strengthen relations with US with prime ministers visit. Thanks everyone for your advice on this portal.

VO : Who is your client.

VO: Will you working at client location ?

L2 Spouse : Are you working right now ?

VO : Your Visa has been approved.

Then came the golden words. Your Visa has been approved. 3 Years L1B.

My two cents. Prepare for the worst. Expect the best. All your answers are right here on this portal. Thanks Immi Help. Thanks Everyone. God Bless.

Here is my experience..

VO: Good Afternoon. How are you doing?
Me: I am Good. How r u doing?

VO: Which company you’re working?
Me: YYYY

VO: Which Visa you are going for ?
Me: L1A
VO: You Will be working in Client place or Parent office?
Me: Client Place Managing the team from my company

VO: What is your Indian Salary and US Salary?
Me: XX Lakhs in India and XX K in US

VO: What is your Title?
    

Thanks your Visa is Approved. Heard the golden word from VO Officer.

a) Please don't go 20 Minutes before your appoinment. I was waiting for 3 Hrs. and I got totally exhausted.
b) Be confidence and you will get the Visa

Got my L1 A approved last week. Thanks to the suggestions and inputs posted by members of this forum.

Below were the questions asked:

Where do you work?
Duration of stay in US
US salary
No. of reportees in US
Designation of reportees
For how long do you know your reportees?
For how long are you working with your company?

It is important to prepare well for the interview and be in the most positive frame of mind. You need to be confident and composed and you will get the visa.

First of all thanks to this forum to give me some good idea about the whole process and expectations.

OFC: shouldn't reach before 15 min, Indian peoples(outsourced), they just need to take your fingerprints and photo thats
it.
Doc reqd:
1. passport
2. DS160 confirmation
3. appointment letter.
This is all

Visa Interview:
As most of the people said already in this forum that confidence is the key. You just need to beat your anxiety, hold your nerve, keep patience and remain cool. If your mind is cool, you can correlate things and can answer to the point.

Procedure is already very well defined in other threads and pretty much the same.

Answering to the point with confidence is important as they will drill you down only if they found any thing missing, or lack of confidence.

Mine Questions were easy ones:
1. Company name
2. Indian and US Samary
3. Client name and Location
4. Specialized skills
    - post 2 lines he stopped me and ask me to explain in real plain language about the technology and domain of my frameworks
5. asked how many people have developed this framework

And then come the golden word.

The VO was a real decent and good guy, greeting everyone and understanding each case with patience. He helped one to relax and answer, even though every VO cannot be of his type.

Best of Luck for those preparing for it.

Thanks for this forum for helping thousands of aspirants over several years.

As many have noted , Don't reach OFC more than 30mins before your time slot. You wil just waste your time.

My interview was short .

very few questions asked . Mostly they were around what I work on, My experience . He was trying assess why my profile is rare to find in US.

My 2 cents to all :
be confident. Dont show desperation. Listen to VO carefully and answer to the point. Guy infront of me was getting grilled for not answering to point.

For L1 : Your number of exp in the current company also matters.

Keep smiling!

First of all thanks to all the people who took the burden to post their interview experiences which is immensely useful for people like us who are going to have their interviews. Going thru the experiences in this forum really helps to prepare for all kind of possiblities.

I had my L1A Blanket interview on 5th Sept. The biometric part at OFC on 4th Sept is pretty simple as lots of others have already written so I am
not elaborating. One suggestion - don't reach before more than 30 minutes unless you love to stand in queue under Chennai sun.

My interview was at 10:30 AM on 5th. I reached at 10 AM and joined the queue. Was not carrying anything apart from docs and a small water bottle which I had planned to just throw before the check point.

Entered the enclosed area after around 45 min I guess. There will be 2-3 rounds of doc check (just passport, DS160 and app confirmation), just
comply with the officials patiently. During this phase they will stick a slip on top of your passport with your token number. The token number
might say L1B even if you are applying L1A - so don't get worried about that,

After that I have entered the waiting lounge and sat keeping an eye on the board. Then an official asked who are all here for L1 blanket please
come and stand in a queue for DD collection. There were just 4/5 applicants. I got a little concerned noticing that the other guys are like quite senior to me and look middle-aged (came with family). I was thinking whether I will be able to convince VO about my eligibility of L1A. They asked to make a bunch of three copies of the petition (I-129 and I-797), DD and passport and then we had to submit that in one counter. As soon as that was finished, I returned to the waiting lounge and withing 5 minutes I saw my token number flashing on screen!

So I had felt a few butterflies fluttering in my stomach when I joined the queue but controlled myself. The guy before me was a B1 applicant and
he got it approved. When my turn came I went there, passed the documents.

VO - How are you doing?
Me - bla bla

VO - which company you are working for?
Me - answered

VO - which location you would be working in?
Me- answered

VO - who will be your client?
Me- I will not be working for a client project. I am a business development professional. I will be relationship manager for one of the
large automotive account and I will also grow the automotive business by acquiring new clients.
 
VO - hmm... sales and business development.. so you are a manager? how many people will report to you?
Me - approx 60 but I have 3 Project Managers reporting for me others will be in their team

VO - what would be your salary?

Now that was the tricky part. My onsite salary is still under negotiation. The petition was filed almost a month back and it contains the initial salary offered by HR which is a little low for managerial standard. I knew this one will come and I have to convince the VO so I have prepared.

Me - Well my salary is XX thousand dollars which is the fixed component. As I will be in sales profile, I will carry target and earn incentives. I will earn a minimum of XY thousand dollars as incentive so that will make my yearly pay as YYYY thousand dollars.

VO - so how long you are going to stay in the US?
Me - I want to be in the US for three years as of now.

VO - <started stamping> murmured something in low voice which I missed... later I felt he told something like I am approving your visa. Then he told I am keeping one petition copy with me, give one copy back to your office and one for your journey. Good luck.

Me- Thanks, have a nice day.

I would like to give only one suggestion. Be very positive, always think you are eligible for the category you have applied for. I have seen a lot of concern about visa issuance is based on VO's mood etc. but believe me VO is not there to deny your request rather they want to allow you to go. They only check your eligibility and if you can explain that well there is no reason they will reject your visa. Go thru this forum and get a thorough understanding, prepare well and exude confidence when you face the VO - I am sure you will crack it.

P.S. - My visa status was showing as "Administrative Processing" for the rest of the day and I was scared what went wrong. By night it was updated to "Issued".

Thanks to everyone for posting their experience.

Here is the question list they had asked from me.
1) Company name
2) US Salary
3) Which Product you are working for.
4) US office location
5) How long have you been married ?
6) How long this assignment is ?

L2 (Spouse)
1) What is your education qualification.

Thanks,
Anant