L1, L2 Visa

Hi All,

My wife and I had our OFC appointment on 11 Aug 2012 and Visa interview on 12 Aug 2012 at Chennai. I was the L1B applicant. We had a smooth experience.

The questions I was asked:
1. Name of the company you are working for?
2. Place you will be working at in the US?
3. Specialization/ What is your role in the US?
4. What is your US salary?

Thanks all for sharing your experiences. It really helped me for the preparation.

Here I will share only the interview experience.

I was standing in a line for almost 30 min, and it looks like the guy who is interviewing was rejecting everyone. I don't blame him for that. When you are applying for L1B you should never mention that I am expertise in say Java, Oracle tool. Two person in front of me was saying these things and immediately the officer rejected them.

And finally I was called,

Me: Good Morning,
VO: Good morning, How are you doing?
Me: fine, how abt you?
VO: fine, thanks. your documents please...
Me: I gave the documents

VO: Which company you are from?
Me: XYZ
VO: What is your specialization?
Me: gave the answer in one line
VO: asked lot of cross questions about the tool
Me: answered all of it.
VO: Which language the tool was developed?
Me: gave the answer. (again , here DONOT specify anything like java, c etc..)
VO: Did u developed this tool?
Me: Yes, i was part of development team.
VO: The tool developed belongs to the client or your company?
Me: XYZ only
VO: Any other client has used this tool?
Me: I told one other client has used it.

VO: What is your salary?
Me: gave US salary
VO: Indian salary?
Me: answered that as well
VO: What is total experience in this company?
Me: 7 years
VO: He asked to wait for 2 min and went inside.

(At this point, VO hasn't made up his mind whether to approve/deny the visa)

He came back after 5 min and then started typing on the computer. Why typing he must have noticed that I had travelled previously on L1B.

VO: So, u were in US before?
Me: Yes, i was working for the same client.
VO: Which client?
Me: gave the answer.
VO: Which location?
Me: gave the answer.

VO: After long time (almost 5 min) he sealed on the approval column and gave the documents back and mentioned, your visa is approved.

Me: thank you

 
From my exp, I am pretty sure that the officer is trying to see if you are eligible or not at that point only (and not pre-determined). So prepare yourself for the questions and present your specialization neatly.

Best of luck to everyone!!

Hi All,

Thanks for sharing all your experiences which helped me a lot to prepare for my L1B interview.

On Aug 11th we had OFC at 1:30, we reached there by 1 and allowed inside by 1:30 and were out by 1:40 ( yes only 10 minutes).

They just asked for passport/appointment confirmation letter and DS160. After taking pictures and finger prints they
will put seal on the DS-160 which needs to be carried for Interview with US Consulate.

On Aug 12th we had interview at 7:30AM. I dressed up in formals( white shirt and cream trouser : all time favourite)
and reached there by 6:30.( though embassy was just on the other side of our hotel ( the park )). When we reached there
there were around 50ppl standing in the queue already for 7:30 appointment. within few minutes the queue grew to around 150ppl.

Exactly at 7:15 they allowed us inside after checking passport/DS 160 and appointment confirmation. Before entering they will allocate a token number outside. Since i went along with my wife we got single token. As soon as you enter the building, there is a security check and later that you will enter into a big hall where around 10 counters are there to check your documents and take a finger print again.Here we were asked to show DD of 30,000/-rs, I-129s and I-797s documents. After verifying the details they gave it back to us.

Next step is we are directed to a different building just back side of the entry hall, where Visa interview takes place.
It was 8AM already but none of the counters were open for interview. There were around 100 ppl inside already. At 8:15 counters were opened and interviews were kicked off. Token numbers were announced in groups of 5 for each counter to line up.

Real tension started to build up and my heart beat was high. I just revised in my mind the common questions i was prepared for.
I tried to keep my calm by talking to my wife and cracking some jokes with her( as she was tensed as well..:) ).

Only thing i was worried was i just had 1.6 yrs of exp with current company ( 6yrs overall exp ). So i had to present
a solid case with specialization in short time.

OK. here comes our number. We rushed to the counter number and queued in line. I was little relieved to see the interviewer
seemed to be cool guy and asking very less questions. ( As we saw with few other counters, they were asking many questions ).

ME: Good morning Sir,
VO: Good morning, your documents please.

Me: handed over my petition documents( I-129s and I-797s ) and handed over the DD.

VO: which company you are working for?.
ME: XYZ company.

VO: What is your specialization?.
ME: Crisp one line answer ( they were only looking for product names ).

VO: What domain is it?.
ME: Enterprise data storage solutions.

VO: What is your experience with this tool?.
ME: XYZ...

VO: which place you are planning to travel?.
ME: XYZ..

VO: Did you develop this product?.
ME: Answered part of it.

VO: What is your salary in US?.
ME: XYZ..

VO: Your visa has been approved!!!!!..

They didn't asked a single question to my wife...:-)..

This was the best moment of my life and great sense of accomplishment.

Few tips:
Do the documentation part well. ( As this will keep your confidence up ). Any mistakes will diminish your chances.
Dress neatly and look clean.
Its always better to attend with family for L1. I saw no rejections for families( along with kids ).
Once in the line to counter, look calm and don't get into any conversation with your partner or anyone in front of the queue.( it will distract the interviewer looking at the queue ).
Maintain your body language and prepare all documents in order.
Write your name/pp number/phone number on the back side of your DD.
Answer to the point and keep them very crisp with layman words. No technical jargons here.
Revise within yourself for common set of questions as below and prepare for a solid case to present,

1. what is your specialization?.
2. Did you invent ths tool?.
3. Why can't your colleages in US can't do it?.

All The Best to everyone.

Hi Team,

I need your great help to finalize the checklist for documents. This website shows other list which is not current one. Can someone post list of documents to be carried for OFC & Interview?

Scenario: Company got approval in L1-B Blanket and they booked the slot in BEP pgrogram

Please let me know the mandatory documents to be taken along with me for Visa interview.

If possible make two groups one is for mandatory and other is optional

Thanks in advance.

If you want to send details directly to my e-mail ID: [email protected]

Hi,
    Thanks to everyone who posted here. This site has been helpful. Today I got my L1B approved. Here are a few points for others who are in the process of going for an interview.

1. I went to Delhi consulate though I am working in Bangalore. Please DO NOT carry any bags. Since most of us carry a lot of documents, its better to put them in a paper or poly bags as that is all they let you take in. Cell phones are OK, as you can deposit and collect them later.

2. I work for a small company (was a start-up a few years back, but now making decent money) so I was little skeptical on whether they will accept my VISA. What I learned is that once the individual petition is approved, there is very little chance of rejection. All the VISA officer does is to verify your documents.

3. When my company first applied in April, the USCIS sent a long letter asking for more evidence (RFE). We prepared an equally long reply with all details. Not sure what made the most impression but here are a few things you can try.

        a. If your company has patents that you have been involved in, please do mention it.

        b. Get a letter from the top most executive that you can, stating that you are an expert in your field.
    
        c. If you got any award for your work in your company (however small it may be) please do mention it.
    
        d. Proprietary knowledge of any kind is always helpful. See if you carry any and is relevant to your work.

        e. USCIS expects that you are among the very few in your company who know the technology. This is a hard expectation as generally a successful project is a team work. But you can always make a case by asking your supervisor write good recommendations for you.

4. In the interview, he just asked about my salary and how long I have been working for my company. In addition, I just added a few more lines on my "special" knowledge. It was slightly easy for me as I work on proprietary system software and have a few patents granted to my company for the product we developed. I believe, the proprietary knowledge and patents are of great help in making a strong case.

5. Please dress neatly, no special dress code as such, but in general a smartly dressed person gives good first impression. Given that you get very few minutes at best to present your case, so the way you look and the way you talk will always help your case.

6. Try to keep your cool. I know it's a make or break situation for most of us, but keeping your cool and trying to hide your nervousness helps (in my view). I went with my wife and both of us were cracking jokes a few minutes before the interview.

7. When explaining your role or technology you work in, please use simple language. Sometimes it may be difficult, but remember the guy asking you questions is not an expert in your field. It is better to use layman terms instead of tech. jargon. I tried explaining my work to my wife (she has limited computer knowledge), she pointed out the hi-fi terms I was using and helped me simplify it.

8. If you do not get the VISA, it's not the end of the world ! you would still have a good paying job in India. Keep that in mind. It helps in remaining positive in the stressful time.

Do share your experience here whether it is good or bad, a lot of people would be reading it :-) !

Good luck to everyone !

Hi Guys,
          Got one more to share again. My L1B was approved on July 11th. And then i applied for my Husband and Kid for August 1st and Aug.2nd

For Kids around 3 to4 yrs or below, we done need to bring them for OCF. Just a Appointment, DS160 and Photo (DS 160 Visa format Photo) is all enough. They are not allowed for finger Prints.

Aug.2dn interview Questions to my Husband:

VO: Are you working
He: Yes.
Vo: What is the purpose of the Travel?
He: To accompany and help my wife to settle there along with my KID.
VO: Are you going to leave your JOB?
HEe: No i have applied 8 months Leave

Your Visa is approved sir.

His visa is valid till the same date as in my pettion. Thankyou

Thanks for each and everyone who has shared their important experiences in this forum. This really help you to get more confidence.
My experience was the shorted ever heard interview:

Me:Good Morning sir,
VO: very good morning
VO: how long you will be staying in US?
Me: 3 years
VO: ok, you visa got approved.

My application was really strong. I'm working on my proprietary product from last 4 years. I went to my US office on B1 before 3.8 yrs and came back on time. and yes.. be confident.
all the best guys... this forum really help a lot.

First of all I would like to thank everyone who posted their experiences on this forum.

I had my L1B visa appointment on 5th August (OFC and Visa on the same day)

The consulate interviewer asked me below questions,
Q. Was you visa rejected before?
Q. To my wife, which company were you working for when the visa was rejected?
Q. Which client would you be working for?
Q. What is your specialization?
Q. What does the product do?

My best wishes for all the applicants...

Hi All,

First of all, thanks to all the folks who have shared their experience. It was certainly helpful in terms of preparing myself and stay current.

Background:
3 Applications ( myself, my wife and 3.5 years old son)

OFC Experience on 4th Aug:
We had an appointment scheduled for sunday, 4th aug at 2.30pm. I had one additional extra space between my first names on my DS-160 and I am asked to correct my DS-160 before I was let inside. So, in case you have any issues with DS-160, you can certainly approach the auto drivers outside who knows the Net Café nearby ( even on sundays) where you can get the details corrected and resubmit your DS-160 on the same day. You are allowed to OFC till 4pm on sundays and it takes 15minutes to finish the fingerprint/photo process. So, do not panic if there are any corrections to be made.

Visa Interview on 5th:
Appointment was at 8.30am & reached the premise at around 8.15am.

Question asked:

To me:
VO: So, you work for XYZ Company ?
VO : What is your salary in the US?
VO: What is your designation in the US?

To my wife:
VO: Ma'm, How long are you married?
VO: What is your highest qualification?

VO: Your visa has been approved. You will get a sms when your passports are dispatched.
VO : Have a wonderful stay in the US.

One quick observations:
During the 10mins I spent inside the final interview hall, I did not see anyone getting rejected and all my applicants in my queue got visa ( I believe they were L1, J1, B1 and myself L1)

My best wishes to all the applicants.

Cheers

First of all i would like to thank all the folks who have shared their individual Visa interview expereince which has helped me a lot in preparing for my Visa Interview.

I had my L1 A visa appointment on July 25th (Both OFC and Visa Interview).

Below are the list of questions asked to me by VO:

1) How long you are working with YYYY company?
2) Have you been to US earlier?
3) What will be your role and responsibilities in US.
4) What is your Indian & US salary
5) Which client I will be working for?
6) To whom I will be reporting at onsite?
7) To whom my reporting manager will report to?
8) How many direct reportees at onsite along with team size at offshore.
9) He asked to show me the Org chart to understand the reporting structure.

Finally he approved the Visa.

Overall duration was around 3-4 min. It went pretty well.

My 2 cents to prospective applicants, Please be confident and articulate your answers cleary.

Good Luck :)