L1, L2 Visa

Hi Friends,

I have a little long story but it may be very helpful to some of the people who are going through the phase I went with.

Initially I was provided with a blanket L1 petition by my company. When scheduling visa appointment, I missed some checkbox to check for my son's appointment so I and my wife got appointment on 18th Nov and my son got it on 2nd Dec. We were very upset with this and tried to call embassy/meed VFS to allow bringing my son with us on 18th Nov, but we were not allowed. So I and my wife went on 18th nov for interview. there were long long queues every where. Finally after struggling 3 hours we gone to VO window. There was a nice VO with smiling face. He gone through all our papers, didn't ask much and finally given us a blue paper saying your degree does not matches with yout future job so we cannot grant you L1 on blanket petition, please get individual petition. With our chin down we came back to home empty hands and cursing our luck.
Finally after 3 month I got my individual petition however my company had filed it with premium processing but it took more than 3 month time for me to get that anyway.
today I went to embassy with my wife and son, every window (security, document collection, VO etc) they asked my about my son, I tried to convince them that my son is minor and going to travel with me, i said that my son had a valid appointment which was lost due to my 221g refusal. people at Chennai Consulate are so great and friendly. They allowed me to bring my son.

The VO officer was very nice person. He was very friendly and after asking few questions like,
Why are you going there, What your company do, Did you already come here,When were you married, what happend to your sons application etc.

Finally he asked us to pay the fee and taken our passports.

I am very happy with the atitude of people at Chennai Consulate and very thankful to them for considering my son's case.

Best of luck to all of you who read this article and I will be glad if it helps.

The process at Chennai was very smooth. The queue outside was very short, and you dont need to go too early. They call people in according to appt time anyways. After checking the basic docs at the VFS counter, they put your papers in a folder and you queue outside the interview area. Docs taken from us: 1) I797 2)Yellow HDFC receipt copy 3) I129 Petition 4) Marr. cert. ( wife was accompanying) 5)Passport 6)DS 156 (both our DS157s were returned to us)

All this took about 20 minutes and we were given token ( paper with your token number on it having 3 parts ). We were told to proceed to next building for finger printing and interview. While waiting for the interview, we got our folder. We waited for about 45 minutes before we were allowed to enter. We sat for a while and then were asked to proceed for finger printing. That went smoothly - no cuts, no delays. The officer was very courteous. no problems. After that first part of the token was taken by an Indian lady, and when our turn came, she made us stand in front of counter 3 in a queue. The visa officer was again very courteous, very young ( must have been a new recruit).He seemed to be the most soft spoken of the lot. Asked only a few of questions :
VO : What will you be doing in the US?
Me: blah blah blah (a few sentences of what i will be doing.)
VO : Show me your original degree certs.
Me: <Handed them over>
VO: <Looks at the certs at an angle to see if they are real>
VO : You don't have children yet?
Me: No, not yet.
VO: <Presses the Enter key quite a few times>
VO : You've been granted a visa, have a safe trip!
Then he took second part of the token and returned all the docs, and the remaining token to us. Told us to pay at counter 1.
Thats it. We paid and were out of there. Total time taken for the whole process - 2 hours.

In my opinion, the VO's are only doing their job, and not necessarily out to get you. If your papers are in order, and you can answer the questions properly, there is no reason to refuse the visa. There were quite a few people that I saw, were refused. But those people were not able to answer the questions clearly. Do not "mug" the answers, that aint gonna help. Be confident, and if you are genuine you will get the visa without hassles.

Also, be sure to get as much documentation to prove the statements that you make. This makes the VO's job easy, and yours too!!
All the best, may the force be with you!
:-)

Hi everybody,
   I am very much thankful to the people who posted their experiences in this. My Experience is...

First time i went with L1B Blanket.

VO : How many years you are working with ZZZ?
me : 1 and 1/2 yrs
VO : What is the project you are going to do in US?
me : i told about the project in detail
VO : Y YYYY decided you to send? i mean what is the specialization you have?
me : i am working in the current system from past 8 months and i am experienced in J2EE... blah blah blah...

She is not at all satisfied with my explanation and she given me 221(g) asking me to get the L1B Individual petition.

i got my Individual petition and again reappeared on 5th Jan 2006.

VO : which client you are going to work?
me : yyy
VO : what are u going to do in US?
me : i told the description of the project.

Before i started telling my answer itself he started typing something in the computer and in middle of my answer he took 221(g) and asked me to come after preparing under the guidence of my supervisor.

i came to know about this site and i prepared myself this time because i dont want to lose it this time and i attended the interview on 19 Jan 2006.

i stood in the queue nearly 2 and 1/2 hrs... and the VO is very cool and i am praying to God that he has to be there in that counter till my turn completes. I dont know whether it is favour or not but he left the counter just before me and new VO came and i am little bit worried. But he given a sigh to come with a smile. i went there with a smile.

me : How r u sir?
VO : Hello fine
VO : How about u?
me : Fine thank you.
VO : Pass the folder please
me : (passed the folder) but still maintaining the smile on my face.
VO : (He saw the folder) with which petition you came to counsulate last time?
me : L1B Individual
VO : L1B Blanket right?(with a smile)
me : (with a smile) first time i came with blanket then asked for Individual so i came with individual and i got 221(g) again.
VO : so this is the third time you are coming
me : yes sir
VO : what happened last time?
me : they asked me "what am i going to do in US?" and i given the project entire description.
VO : for that they refused.
me : they need the answer in a single line.
VO : given a big smile and asked how many years u r working in the current company?
me : 2yrs
VO : which client you are going to work?
me : xxx
VO : what exactly xxx company will do?
me : blah blah blah...
VO : what are you going to do?
me : told about the project in single sentence.
VO : can you see your higher certificate?
me : i passed my MCA certificate to him.
VO : you are MCA graduate?
me : yes sir
VO : with a big smile go and pay the bill in counter 1 and you will receive the passport in 2 to 3 days
me : thank you very much(with a big smile)

friends i went with a smile and keep on smiling till my interview is completed and returned with a smile. the VO is very cool and friendly.

be confident and make the eye contact and please dont loose if u get 221(g). you will get VISA.

so all the best to you all and thanks once again to this site.

Regards,
Ramya

Can someone tell me if the option of collecting your passport personally after the Visa stamping is still available. If yes, then how long from the visa interview date does someone have to wait for to collect the same.

Thanks

My passport has a small stain or water like mark in the page that has my photo (1st page). I have the L1 visa interview in another 6 days. Anyone has experienced the same situation.... can someone advice wot wod be right for me to do..

Hi,

I am aware that as per new regulations for Blanket L1 petition there should be a manager at onsite who is on L1A or Greencard.

But my question is whether this requirement is only for blanket petition? or this is mandatory for individual L1 petition as well?

Please let me know.

Is L1 premium and L1 individual are same?

My sister went for her L2 visa interview on October 12th. The interviewing officer had confirmed the visa but she failed to pass the biometrics test as she had had a cut in her right index finger and the wound is curing. She has been asked to come again for biometrics. She is planning to go for Biometrics in the coming days. Her application has been accepted but they havent taken any other papers from her. Will she be given a visa? Can she opt to give any other finger for Biometrics? Please help her.

I went for L1 Blanket on 21st sep 05. I had blanket L1 2 times from the same company. I am MCA and B.Sc (MPC). This time, the interviewer asked me to get individual L Petition.

I am totally blind why ... he asked me to get indevidual L this time, although I had 2 Blanket L1s in my passport.

Any body is having any idea?

Thanks
Nandu

Hi,
This is for your information.


As per the new L1 visa regulations announced by the American Consulate General, Chennai on 26 Sep, 2005, Blanket L1 visas can be processed only if associates:

· Have a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science (BE, Computer Science, Information Technology or BSC-Computer Science or BCA , MCA if you hold a Bachelor’s in Computer Science)

· Are supervised by a Onsite Manager employed by the same petitioning company who is on an L1A or on Green Card (Supervisor should not be on a H1B or an L1B)

· The supervisor should physically be present on the same premises of work as the applicant

· Supervisor or Onsite Manager is defined as a person who has authority to evaluate the person reporting to him and decides on his appraisals.

· Onsite Coordinators are NOT considered as Supervisors.

· Should possess good communication skills