L1, L2 Visa

Hi,

I have my Visa interview on July 9th, in my I-129S document my Annual salary is given in Weekly salary column. Will it be a problem in my Visa interview? Or is it ok.. Can you please anyone reply me ASAP.

Thanks

Dear All,

I would like to share my experience regarding my L1A Blanket Visa Interview which was held at Chennai on 23rd June, 2014.

First of all, many thanks to all those who have shared their experiences in the forum. This has helped me immensely to prepare for the interview. Before I visited this forum, I was under the impression that the L1 Blanket visa approval or rejection is purely based on luck. However, after going through posts in the forum, I realised that though luck plays some role, it is not the sole criterion for getting through.

Let me describe my process. My interview was scheduled in early morning, at 7.30 a.m. I reached US consulate around 7.10. There was a long queue, mainly because of student visa. Security guards helped us to form different line for 7.30 batch. Around 7.35, they opened the gate and started checking our passports. After that, we were asked to go through the metal detector, and then enter the consulate.

Once we were inside the consulate, after another round of checking through the metal detector and validating appointment confirmation page, they gave a token number to each applicant. For every category, the token numbers began with different alphabets. Like for L category, it was L. Then we were asked to get the token stamped from one counter.

For L category Visa applicants, Anti-fraud fee ($500) needs to be submitted next. For that, one has to submit the draft (in favour of Chennai US consulate), passport, 3 sets of I-129S and I-797 to the designated counter. Once that is done, I had to wait in the waiting lobby before my token number to be flashed against a counter number. After that I went and stood in the queue in-front of that counter. After a wait of around 10 minutes, my turn came for the interview.

VO: Good Morning.

Me: Very good morning ma’am, how are you doing?

VO: I am doing well. Please give me your set of documents.

I handed all my documents (3 sets of I-797 and I-192S) and my passport.

VO: So you are applying for L1A Blanket?

Me: Yes

VO: How long have you been working for your current organization?

Me: 1 year and 6 months.

VO: What is the purpose of your visit?

I explained the requirements and my future profile for US in three four lines.

VO: How many people would report to you?

Me: 16, 9 direct and 7 indirect (I also had my organizational chart for US ready, in case the VO asked for it)

VO: What will be your designation in US?

I told the designation which was also mentioned in my support letter from the company.

VO: Why does your designation and role not match?

Me: They are two different things. Designation depends on Organizational Hierarchy and Role depends on project requirements. (I also mentioned the designations of the people who will report to me and the designation of the people I will report to)

VO: Will you be in Indian Payroll or in US Payroll?

Me: US payroll

VO: What will be your US salary?

I told the salary, which was also mentioned in my support letter from the company.

VO: How long do you intent to stay in US? Is it a long term or short term assignment?

Me: It’s a short term assignment, for around 8 months (Those facts were also mentioned in DS-160 form and I-129S form.)

VO: How can you perform your job responsibilities in such a short stint?

Me: Since I have already performed similar job duties in India, it would not be difficult for me to replicate the same in US.

The VO then remained silent and kept on typing in her system. Finally she stamped on my I-129S documents and signed on them.

And then came the golden words “I am approving your Visa, get these two stamped copies for I-129S , one for your future reference and the other needs to be given to your HR. Please collect your passport from your pickup location after 4 business working days”

I was very happy.

Me: Thank you. Have a great day.

A few suggestions I would like to make:

1. Be confident. Body language does count and plays a vital role in such interview.

2. You need to be convinced yourself that you are eligible for L1A Blanket visa which is meant for higher managerial role. If you have performed the same in India, your answers will reflect the same.

3. Be truthful. Please remember that these VOs are taking such interviews for long time and they can easily understand when you are telling the truth and when you are not.

4. Be calm and composed during the whole interview process, right from beginning, when you have to stand in a queue outside consulate.

5. Do not get influenced by what is happening to the others. Don’t change your answers at the last moment just by listening to other candidates inside the consulate.

6. Do not ever deviate from the actual facts and whatever was documented in your I-129S form and DS-160 form.

All the best.

First of all I would like to thank everyone for information shared.
I had my L1-B visa interview recently and it was a good experience.
I scheduled my OFC and Visa Interview at Chennai

OFC:-
I reached OFC office 45 minutes before appointment time along with my family. I have small kid so security came and told us to go directly instead of waiting in Queue.
We went inside OFC office and entered to the first floor. There is another small line and we stood in that line.
Two employees are assisting all applicants. One employee is informing to all members to take out Appointment Confirmation Letter and DS-160 and passport and other employee is verifying the appointment details and DS-160 details against passport.
After verifying your details you will be allowed to go inside by security. At reception you should give your passport and they will provide you token number.
After getting token number you will be allowed to big hall and according to token you should go to appropriate counter.
Note: If you have kid under 14 years then you should carry 2 passport size photo graphs of your kid. Parent who is holding the kid should carry the photographs.
Once you reach for appropriate counter you need to give passport and token. They may ask your name, date of birth and place of birth, etc.., and verify those details against passport.
They will take your photo graph and biometric and put stamp on DS-160. They will inform you to carry the same DS-160 for your Visa Interview.

Visa Interview:
We reached Visa office little early that is one hour before the scheduled time. There is a long queue outside Visa Office. Initially all people are standing in same queue and after some time security people informed all to form 2 different lines depending on Visa Interview timing.
People who has appointment at 7:30 A.M given priority and they allowed to another queue which is at entrance of Visa Office. Once that line is completed 8:00 A.M scheduled people are allowed.
Again at entrance people who carrying kids are getting allowed directly instead of standing in line.
After security check you will allowed inside. Inside Visa Office employees are helping to arrange documents in order as required by Visa Officer.
For L1-B you need to pay Fraud Prevention Fee. My company provided me DD for the same. One employee informed me to pay the Fraud Prevention Fee at one counter and did the same.
After paying fee they will provide you a token and allow you to go inside for Visa interview.
Your token number and counter number information will be displayed on the screen. We need to wait for our turn.

V.O: Good Morning with smiling face
Me: I also gave smile and greeted him with Good Morning

V.O: Which company is sponsoring your Petition?
Me: I told my company name

V.O: What your company do?
Me: I explained company nature of business

V.O: What is your specialized knowledge?
Me: I explained about my specialized knowledge in 2 sentences

Some more questions about company product and what is my role in product i.e., building H/W or S/W.

V.O: How many days you will stay in U.S?
Me: 3 Years

And he started doing paper work and finally golden words from him saying “I am approving your Visa and he provided 2 copies of I-129S one for me and another copy for employer. He also informed me to carry I-129S while travelling to U.S. He kept our passports for stamping’

He didn’t asked any question to my wife (L2 Visa)

I said Thank You Sir and Have a good day.

Finally I can say one thing i.e., prepare well about specialized knowledge and your roles and responsibilities. All the very best!

Im probably the most least work experienced to get through in my company. For all the senior folks visa had been rejected, Im the only one to get through in my project.

The same old questions were asked which are there in this forum. Im going to talk about other things which would really help you, I had only 1.1 years total exp and got through.

First your attire, be smart simple formal shirt and pant, thats it.

Do not try to mug up answers to questions in this forum. Only take them as teference and practice extempo. Trust me if you mug up you would surely go blank when you face the officers. They are trained to cross question you in a manner where they would not let you finish an answer and break you in between and ask more questions. That is where you need to be prepared for. Good communication is a must. I was 6 people getting rejected in front of me still my magic worked.

Second be lond and clear, although I kinda fumbled a lot but my confidence was high and I was loud and clear. People in the waiting bay were all looking at me when I was being interviewd as i was kinda loud :) but in a very amicable sound.

Be very well.prepared with ypu specialized skill, remember the skill should be scarcly available in US and should bring recognition to your company.

I still cant believe i got it, God Bless the Officer, nice lady but did not wish me back when i said goodmorning.

This forum has helped me a lot. Thanks all for posting your exp.

Hi All,

Below are the details regarding my PA at US Consulate Chennai for my L-1B visa stamping. My PA time was 9.00 AM and as there was huge crowd, I entered the consulate at around 9.45 AM.

After paying the required FEES ( 2 DDs are required for L1B), I was waiting for my turn.

My Turn had come and I was waiting in the Interview queue.

Consular Officer called me and We greeted each other. Below are the question he asked.

Q>Which Company do you work?
                I work for YYYY YYYY

Q> Looks like L1 has been applied for you in 2009?
                Yes Sir. - (In My case there was a previous L1B filed and approved)

 Q> Which Client are you going?
                 YYYY YYYY
 
Q> What's Your total Experience with your client?
                X years. ( I have mentioned my experience with client in my I-129s so mentioned the same)
 
Q> But System shows you worked for other client while applying your last L1 application?
                No Sir. My last L1 was also filed for same client YYYY . ( I know that my last petition was also field for same client and this was a tricky question asked by officer whether I will stumble or not)
 
Q> Will you work at client location?
                Yes Sir. ( My Petition says that I will work at Client location and my supervision will be done by parent company manager)
 
Q> Where is the client location?
                 YYYY YYYY
 
Q> What is the duration of the project?
                12-14 months sir. ( Told the months based on the I-129S dates)
 
Q> What is your US Salary?
                <Told my salary that was mentioned in my Petition>
 
Q> Which Department or Unit you work in your parent company?
                 YYYY YYYY . ( In my I-129s, I mentioned that I have been working in YYYY XX unit since my joining of Parent company )
 
Q> Ok, Coming to your specialization, What are your special skills?
I have briefed my specialization in 2 lines and waited for further questions. ( Be Very precise and use simple words when officer asks for the specialization.)
 
Q> Can you please explain me a little more about your solution?
                Here in this follow-up question , I explained my solution in 2-3 sentences using common and simple words that are easily understandable to anyone.

Q> Ok, Good. You are all set. Your VISA is Approved. Enjoy your trip to USA.
                Thank You Sir.

My 2 cents for the future applicants are :

? You should be knowing in and out of what you have mentioned in your I-129S.
? If you have previously applied for any other visa, please be aware of those details.
? Always give 1-2 liner answers to the questions.
? Don’t be in a hurry to explain the details about your specialization.
? Always use the simple and common words in your sentences while explaining your specialization. In my case , I used the terms reports, charts to explain the Business Intelligence solution.
? Never use abbreviations in your answers. Always elaborate the abbreviation while talking.
? Keep Eye Contact.

I personally believe in GOD. So I did my best in preparing for Interview and rest all was done by GOD.

Wish You all the BEST.

Thanks ,
Sri

Hi All,

My PA time was 10.30 am and it started around 11.15 am. We greeted each other and then he started to go through the documents.

Question: How long you have been working with Current Company?

Answer: 2 Years and 6 Months

Question: For which client you are travelling?

Answer: ZZZ

Question: How long you have been working with this client?

Answer: The entire duration i.e. 2 Years and 6 Months in this company with the Client ZZZ

Question: What would be your Job title in US?

Answer: ZZZ

Question: How long will you stay in US to complete the project?

Answer: 12 Months

He took some pause and started doing something on his computer. I tried to elaborate the answer thinking that he may not be satisfied with short answer. Once I finished couple of sentences about the Project I would be working on in next 12 months.

Here goes the Golden words "Your Visa approved sir, give me 2 minutes while I prepare the documents".

As someone said earlier here CONFIDENCE is definitely the key. But you should prepare the prd very well and story line should be inline with prd and well formed.

All the Best !!!

Thanks,
Sagar

Visa Officer took the passport and i797.
Greeted the Visa Officer and mentioned about the current weather.

Q: What is your role ?
A: Will be working as a Program Manager.
Q: Who is your client ??
A: Mentioned the client name YYYY and about the client in detail

Q: Asked much in detail about the Project or Account.
A: Mentioned about the account and its relative projects

Q: How many Direct and Indirect ??
A: 4 direct and 12 in direct

Q:How many subordinates under each direct
A: 4 under each Direct Reportees

Q: Is this a part of large engagement
A: Yes initially a small one but there are also 2 programs starting next quarter

Q: What are your roles being a program manager ??
A: Mentioned One as Hire / Fire policy, VISA Officer was surprised and asked whether the current role is superior than a HR. Yes the HR reports to me with confidence.

Only success Mantra is the CONFIDENCE which is portrayed in the entire process.

Officer started working on his Computer for a min and later he mentioned the start date and end date in i797 forms and gave two to me and kept one with him and took the new passport and returned the old passport to me.

Finally the Golden words, Your VISA is Approved Sir.

Have a Pleasant journey to United States.

Thanks to this forum, as I was constantly reading various experiences of others and this site has helped in an excellent way through out the interview process.

Thank you !!

Sree

He<Visa Officer> asked my passport and copies of form 129 and 179, I wished him, then VO started asking questions

Q: Which Company you work for?
Ans: YYYY ZZZ Pvt Ltd.
Q:What is your designation?
Ans: Project Manager
Q: Who is your client?
Ans: Its not for any specific client. I am a product manager I am going to my Parent company in US. We have developed a new version of our product. As our all customers for this product are in US so for integration of this product we need to hire more people in US. Also there are few retirements planned in July. So My presence is required there.
Q: What is name of your parent company?
Ans: YYYY YYYY X
Q: Which location your going to?
Ans: YYYY YYYY X
Q: How many people will report you in US?
Ans: 25
Q: What will be your role in US?
Ans: Project Coordinator , Liaisoning officer and project manager
Q: Whom you will be reporting in US, his designation?
Ans: Director

Then he said your VISA is approved kindly wait for some more time for few documentation work

Hi Guys,
Hope it was my Day on June 6th. Just 3 mins and got my L1 B visa approved alone with my dependent.
One tip Pray to God and Believe in yourself.
Very happy to get L1 B approved. The only one to get it in the past one year from my concern.
Thanks to the Officer.

Hi All,

I am scheduled with L1B visa interview and i want to get clear on the below clarifications,

1. I am going to integrate my parent company's proprietary tool with client product for performance improvement and i am the only guy who have experience in both tool and client product. I will work from my parent office.

I have two options, i can work in client place or i can work from my parent office..

Please let me know which one i should prefer, whether work from my parent office or in client place?

Regards,