L1, L2 Visa

Hi All,

Posting my expereince here.

Visa Official: Hi, how are you?
My response: I am fine, Thanks.

Visa Official: Which company do you work for?
My response: I work for YYYY X.

Visa Official: What is your job designation?
My response: My designation is Senior Software Engineer.

Visa Official: What specialized knowledge do you have?
My response: I have over 6 years of experience in ZZZZZZ project, where we modify clients existing system to our product.

Visa Official: Can you please elaborate that in layman terms?
My response: I work in a project where we migrate client’s existing business to ZZZ's proprietary product.

Visa Official: Ok, basically you do technical support?
My response: Yes, but it is not only technical support of the existing system, I work on client requested enhancements for ZZZs product.

Visa Official: Ok that’s fine. I am approving your Visa. You need to carry these two copies of I129s and I797 and submit one at POE and one to your HR.
My response: Thanks a lot.

My Take - I think they matched two criteria for my profile for acceptance – experience on proprietary product and specialized knowledg.

Follow simple principles: Be confident - being said that, your voice should be calm and you should avoid signs of nervousness like pauses and fillers while speaking.
Dress well – Formals you are habitual of and that suit you well
Rehearse answers to some frequently asked questions.
Keep a positive approach; they are taking an interview just to evaluate you.

All the best!!

Hello all,

Thanks to this forum for all the helpful tips and useful info.

Today I went for my L1-B stamping. all questions asked are already discussed here.
I just wanted to thank each one of you for taking out time and posting your experience.

After the security check, went inside for paying the DD and subsequently it was my turn for the interview.

VO: Which company?
me: xxx

what is your client name?
xxxx

Indian and US salary
ZZZ YYY

Whats your specialization?
Described the skill (domain knowledge, application knowledge, tools)

Do you do design?
No, pure dev. Design done by client.

Why are you going now?
to perform UAT, it cant be done from here because it needs client interaction.

where are u going in US?
xxx

Ok, visa approved. have a nice day.


I believe, if your case is genuine, your visa will be approved.
Be confident, and speak clearly.

All the best!

XYZ

Hi,
 I am appearing for the L1 (individual petion) interview with my family. I have earlier stayed in U.S for 2 months (B1) and another 18 months on L1 VISA.
Does it gives me advantage of getting my L1 approved, on the basis of my earlier L1 VISA approva and subsequent stay?

My experience was totally different from other L1A applicants mentioned in this forum. My interview was scheduled on 15 Oct in Chennai. The process is organized well but the facility is very small. The consulate resembles a fish market and we appear to be a part of a school of fish.
I had to wait for nearly 1 hour for my interview after submitting the DD. The officer was checking for organization chart from all L1 A applicants.

Questions asked:
Which company do you work for ?
Who is your Client ? It's a well known product based company, that she didn't seem to even know how to pronounce.
How many reportees in US ? 7 direct supervisors.
Can I see your Organization chart.
What is your designation ? Manager
What is your managers role ? Account Manager
Where is he located ? Onsite ? Yes.
 
Not clearly approvable. Ask your company to apply in a different category.

There were no questions on my duties or no. of years of experience as manager ! I have 11 years of IT experience. 5 yrs as managerial.

I had shown my manager plays the role of Account manager. The chart didn't reflect that I am delivery manager managing multiple project managers. Apparently it gave an impression that I am project manager. But I didn't even get a chance to clarify this.

The officer was very quick and spent hardly 2 minutes per applicant without bothering to ask responsibilities and duties of the candidates. Simply judging your role and duties based on the org chart and your managers role is not accurate.

Moreover, the manager right in front of me was asked where his manager sits ? He answered 'outside client location'. This seemed to be very imp. And his visa was approved.
The officer seemed like a junior who was trying to cover up her lack of experience by acting over smart and judging based on where your manager sits and his role.

From my experience I can advice you to -
1. Show you are second in the hierarchy of the org chart. If you appear lower than than, you aren't senior enough to be qualified for this visa.
2. Clearly mention your role in the chart. It has to be account manager or sr. Delivery manager. Else its a sure reject. Some dumb officer would interpret your role as project manager and not even bother clarifying.
3. Do not mention your manager sits at client location.
4. If your designation is just Manager in a service based organization, do not have high hopes of getting an L1A blanket approved in Chennai.

The officers seriously need rigorous training and supervision, so as not to reject genuine candidates.

Thank you so much to everyone who all shared their experiences and gave a clear idea what exactly is happening...

We have attended for visa interview on 18th oct and everything fall in the place..!

As my husband( L1-B) is busy with his office work, i followed this forum and used to share with him..its really helped us a lot..we prepared the interview for all the questions posted in this forum..thanks ones again to all..!!

Our experiences are:

It was heavy raining on the day of the interview, every1 suffered a lot..our actual appointment time is 10.00 am ,we reached 45 min before the interview time, but due to rain the whole process got down, and we are allowed inside at 11.10 A.m,Anyhow they will not allow to the interview prior than 30 min so better to go just 30 to 40 min of the actual interview time.

As every1 said the process is same prior to the interview ..its very simple need to worry.

Please don't take any last minute tensions by taking the belongings with you except the file ,because they will not allow it inside and we will ask us to go back and drop it outside.

Initially we were very much tensed, but should make ourself confident .Please don't get tensed else we will forget what we need to say.

The VO next to ur panel is a guy..he is very cool,he approved almost all the visa's that we have seen ,only 1 got rejected ,he is just asking the questions for less than a minute and approving the visa's.By seeing that we thought we should have been in that line..!!
.
The VO who interviewed us is a lady ,she is cool,but she asked all the questions when she had a doubt in any of the cases and so sweet that she is ready to hear what the people are saying .

The questions asked are..

My Husband: Hi, Good morning mam
VO : Good Morning

ME : hi madam
VO : hello

VO : She asked to my husband from which company you are?
My Husband: xxxxxx

VO : Years of experience
My Husband: xx years and xx months( 7+ years )

VO : Are you going to work to any client?
My Husband: No

VO : So ur going to ur parent company?
My Husband: Yes i am going to work for my parent company i.e.,.head quarters

VO :To which place ur going?
My Husband: ZZZ

VO : What will you do there?
My Husband: He started explaining about his exp in present company which helped him to gain specialized skills ,(he said about the propritery tools and frameworks) and with this knowledge he will work at the head quarters for the upcoming features.

 for our surprise she(VO) said its perfect..!

Then we got some relaxed by hearing that,i thing she got impressed for the answer.

VO :Madam how many years you have been married
ME :1 yr and 5 months


Then finally the golden words came: visa's got approved..!! and she gave 2 copies of i-129s . with her words we were so happy and said thanku so much and we left from there.

The complete process took 3 To 4 min.

paid 600 rs for the premium post for pp's and left for the day.

Our Observations:

The reputation of the company plays a major role.. the way we answer the questions,finally and most important the luck should favour.

In our case my husband is from top most product based company and with good exp, and she got satisfied with the ans and with god's grace the visa got approved.

so our suggestions are :

1.Prepare very well to all the FAQ's ,mainly to specialized knowledge.
2.Don't get tensed.
3.Try to be explinatory when required.
4.There were people who got there visa approved though they doesn't meet the criteria but they were able to convinced the VO's with the answers.
5.Finally our luck.

I wish you a very good luck to all ..!!

Thanku bye bye..!!

Thank you so much to everyone who all shared their experiences and gave a clear idea what exactly is happening...

We have attended for visa interview on 18th oct and everything fall in the place..!

As my husband( L1-B) is busy with his office work, i followed this forum and used to share with him..its really helped us a lot..we prepared the interview for all the questions posted in this forum..thanks ones again to all..!!

Our experiences are:

It was heavy raining on the day of the interview, every1 suffered a lot..our actual appointment time is 10.00 am ,we reached 45 min before the interview time, but due to rain the whole process got down, and we are allowed inside at 11.10 A.m,Anyhow they will not allow to the interview prior than 30 min so better to go just 30 to 40 min of the actual interview time.

As every1 said the process is same prior to the interview ..its very simple need to worry.

Please don't take any last minute tensions by taking the belongings with you except the file ,because they will not allow it inside and we will ask us to go back and drop it outside.

Initially we were very much tensed, but should make ourself confident .Please don't get tensed else we will forget what we need to say.

The VO next to ur panel is a guy..he is very cool,he approved almost all the visa's that we have seen ,only 1 got rejected ,he is just asking the questions for less than a minute and approving the visa's.By seeing that we thought we should have been in that line..!!
.
The VO who interviewed us is a lady ,she is cool,but she asked all the questions when she had a doubt in any of the cases and so sweet that she is ready to hear what the people are saying .

The questions asked are..

My Husband: Hi, Good morning mam
VO : Good Morning

ME : hi madam
VO : hello

VO : She asked to my husband from which company you are?
My Husband: xxxxxx

VO : Years of experience
My Husband: xx years and xx months( 7+ years )

VO : Are you going to work to any client?
My Husband: No

VO : So ur going to ur parent company?
My Husband: Yes i am going to work for my parent company i.e.,.head quarters

VO :To which place ur going?
My Husband: ZZZ

VO : What will you do there?
My Husband: He started explaining about his exp in present company which helped him to gain specialized skills ,(he said about the propritery tools and frameworks) and with this knowledge he will work at the head quarters for the upcoming features.

 for our surprise she(VO) said its perfect..!

Then we got some relaxed by hearing that,i thing she got impressed for the answer.

VO :Madam how many years you have been married
ME :1 yr and 5 months


Then finally the golden words came: visa's got approved..!! and she gave 2 copies of i-129s . with her words we were so happy and said thanku so much and we left from there.

The complete process took 3 To 4 min.

paid 600 rs for the premium post for pp's and left for the day.

Our Observations:

The reputation of the company plays a major role.. the way we answer the questions,finally and most important the luck should favour.

In our case my husband is from top most product based company and with good exp, and she got satisfied with the ans and with god's grace the visa got approved.

so our suggestions are :

1.Prepare very well to all the FAQ's ,mainly to specialized knowledge.
2.Don't get tensed.
3.Try to be explinatory when required.
4.There were people who got there visa approved though they doesn't meet the criteria but they were able to convinced the VO's with the answers.
5.Finally our luck.

I wish you a very good luck to all ..!!

Thanku bye bye..!!

First thing first. Thanks to all the people who initiated this forum and a big thanks to the people who share their experience here.
I attended my Visa interview at US Consulate and here is the experience.

The OFC interview is pretty much straight forward and do not need to panic. Just Reach to the OFC Centre 30 min before, gaurd will allow you inside. Security people will do your document verification and your body scanning. After that you will be given a token and will be allowed to enter a Hall.There will be one person who will call the counter number against your token and straight away go to the counter.In counter all indian people are sitting so no need to panic. They will ask your full name, date of Birth and place of birth.Just answer them. Later they will take your finger printing. Finger scanning happens in 3 parts. First - 4 finger of left hand, Second - 4 finger of right hand and third - 2 thumbs together. Then they will click one picture of yours with the help of Camera. After all these, they will handover you documents to you and will ask you to leave.

Points to Note for OFC -
Only DS-160 CONFIRMATION, APPOINTMENT Letter and passport is required. However you can carry other documents, there is no harm in that.
You can go without formal but it is good to maintian formal.
Mobile is allowed but you need to switch it off.

Now lets come to main Interview:
Mine was on just next day. i reach 30 min before the time. Security people outside the consulate verify my documents (DS-160 Cconfirmation, Appointment letter and Passport) and allowed me to go inside. It was raining so i got little wet. next is security check. They will check your folder and will do your scannig and will allow you to go inside. Here you will see so many counters with the indian people sittinig on the opposite side. Dont get panic, this counter is for your help to arrange the documents in correct order. Just go to the counter number 7 and collect one token. There is a screen which will display which counter is assigned for your token. Go to the assigned counter and give your folder documents.Here is what officer will do -

1> He will just take your passport, 3 COPY OF I-129 and 3 COPY of the last page of i-797 and the BEP letter and DD.
2>He will not even take your petition letter which is provided your mobility team. Do not get panic. i got panic but later i came to know that this is not reuired.
3>whatever documents he collected in first point, he will put a rubber band in that and will handover to you and will ask you to go to counter number 12.

Go to counter number 12 and give your finger prints. In this counter you will find an American. Just greet her/him and give the finger scanning. Only left hand 4 finger.

Then go to the next building where actual interview happens. Go to counter number 14 and submit your DD. Once the person at counter 14 takes your DD, he will give you a recipt which says you have paid the DD. Put it along with the other documents which was their in the rubber band. Now wait and watch the screen where they will show the counter number against your token. This is the counter where your interview will happen and will decide you future. Do not get panic just keep yourself Calm. I know it is not at possible but try your best.

My turn came and i went to the counter (Go with straight face, eye contact and with confident - It helps and most of the VO takes 40 % of their decision on this basis) and said -

Me: Good Morning, How is going?
VO:Good Morning, Pretty good.
VO:What is your company name
Me: YYYY
VO:What is your specilization?
Me: Started talking about my company tool and within 15 seconds, he interuptted and ask what this tool do?and i answered
VO:Who is your Client?
Me: YYYY XX
as soon as he hear the client name, he asked me to wait for sometime and he went inside and called one another guy,
Other Guy:Sir, we need to ask few more questions to you?
Me:Sure
Other Guy: Which place you are going
Me:i could not hear properly and said sorry.
Other Guy:Which place you are going?
Me:xxxx
Other Guy:For what purpose you are going?
Me:Explained him in detailed
Other Guy:What is your Indian and US salary?
Me: YYYY (If your company is giving some other benifit then pls highlight that as well).

Then they put the speaker in mute and they both started discussing. AFTER 1 MIN

Other Guy: Sir, we need to ask few more questions to you:

Me:Sure

Other Guy: Who is your client?
Me: YYYY
Other Guy: What is your specilaization?
Me:xxx Mentioned about my company tool
Other Guy: Who develop this?
Me:xxxx
Other Guy: Is there any other client who is using this tool?
Me:xxxx
Other Guy: Are you going for Deveopment?
Me:xxxx
Other Guy: Who is your client?
Me:xxxx

They again mute the speaker and started discussing with each other and after 1 minute the other guy left.

Once he left, the person who was taking my case started typing something on his system and i was just praying.after 15 seconds he took the stamp machine and put it on my I-129 but as he was about to touch the I-129, he asked, who is your client?
Me:xxx

and stamped.

Here comes the Golden Words, YOUR VISA IS APPROVED, YOU WILL RECIEVE YOUR PASSPORT IN 3 DAYS. YOU WILL ALSO BE NOTIFIED WITH MESSAGE AND MAIL.

Me:SUP-AWE-CELLENT

Yeepee, Feels like dream come true. I just said thanks and left the counter.

I would say the mantra should be :

1> Be confident and try to make eye contact. If they ask question, answer them immediately. Dont wait and think and answer.

2>It is not the question that why only you are going to US. The question is "Why only you are going to US from <your company name>". I mean to say that only talk about the company tool. Try to bring the word < your company name> tools in each of your sentence.If they allow further to talk then add your domain knowledge and your experience with this client.

3> Believe in God.Luck place a major role here. what ever happens in whole process but try to calm yourself just before the interview.If you are not ready to face interview, wait sometime and calm yourself. It is not important to go and attend the counter as soon as it display your token. I was completly wait and my docs got scattered. I got nervous because of this. My token number was showing in the screen but i went after 10 minutes.

4>Dont be in a impression that luck will do everything. Try to go through all the question in this forum and prepeare your answer. If possible, try to speak infront of mirror.

First convince yourself and then takes on the VO.

I hope the story will help you, All the Best. You have something, It just needs to comeout and for that you need to believe yourself.

If you need further help, please let me know, i will keep checking this site and if possible i will reply also.

Thanks
ABC

Thanks for the immigration help for all your suuports. Its really noce. But unfortunately it didn't worked for me.

questions asked are
 
Me: good morning.
VO: Good morning, What is your experience YYYY company.
Me: xx year and xxonth
VO: What is your specialised knowledge
ME : I had 3 properitery tools i have explained about that. He didn't wait for completing that.
VO: what is your previous organisation.
Me: xx and I worked as xx engineer there.
VO: What is your project.
Me: i have explained about my project. He asked @ its application and explained about it.
VO: who is your client,
Me: xxx, he asked client name one again.
VO: What they r doing.
Me: They are developer and supplier for xxx. Explained in 2 lines.
VO: how do u got trained in these specialised tools.
Me: Explainied in 2 lines (told @ on job traing and handled different project xxxx)
Vo asked me again prevoius organiisation
Me: explained the same
VO: what you did there
Me: Explained about my previous work experience.

That was the last question. I thought he will be approving my visa. but he told I am sorry, I can't approve your visa

i think reason for my rejection may be my previous work experience is not relating with specialsed skills and tools.

All the best guys.

Thanks
SSK

Thanks BD! Nice to hear that!

I was able to call support center today and they told me that this has been delivered to OFC and asked me to wait for sms or email. Now email status has also chnaged to "Ready For Pickup". But my company has not picked up the PP . They are waiting for confirmation from OFC