L1, L2 Visa

Hi guys,

My visa interview was on 13th May, and it was a pretty bad experience overall. There was a separate queue for L1B/A blanket applicants, which was moving excruciatingly slowly, while B1/B2 and other applicants were sent along. It also gets extremely hot and humid, as they take you to the AC building only in the end, so the wait was super frustrating for all of us.

Coming to the interview, the VO asked 3-4 questions on my role, company, salary, assignment duration and handed out a rejection. He never came to the specialization question at all, and I was super well prepared and confident during the interview.

A lot of people facing this would be too dejected to come and narrate the experience here, but it's a reality that it is super tough. The VOs keep having discussions among themselves and there is no way of determining what can go in your favour and what can't. Good luck to all those applying!

To others who have faced this, is there any point in appealing the decision or trying for the L1 individual visa at all?

Hey All ,

First - a shout-out and kudos to this forum ... and all the active participants - it truly is a blessing for visa aspirants to get an insider look of how the interviews actually go and prepare accordingly .

My L1A Blanket got approved on 13th May at chennai location . I would not be explaining about the Biometrics since its a very simple process . Only tip here would be - no need to strictly be on time for this one since they allow early comers in too . Go half hour early and get it over with in 15 mins at the max

Over to Consulate Interview :

Got Delayed by a 1.5 hours since too much of a wait period . Had slot at 11 am but ended up near the VO around 1 pm :( . Tip here : If going to Chennai and you intend to wear a coat/Jacket - have a few handkerchiefs handy as its really humid and hot . The wait period till you get into the second building is excruciating . All staff in there is very courteous and friendly though .

INTERVIEW

VO : Can i have your docs pls
Me : Hello , how are you doing ? (Handed docs over and VO responded to the greetings) - TIP : Start the conversation on a positive note

VO : How long with ABC (Top IT MNC)company ?
Me : 2.3 yrs to be precise with overall 11.5 years IT exp

VO : How Many Direct Reportees in US ?
Me : 4 direct - Team leads

VO : US Designation ?
Me : YYYY

VO : US Salary ?
Me : 1xx,xxx$/yr (Above 120 K)

VO : Work Location ?
Me : YYYY

VO : Client Name ?
Me : YYYY

VO : Previous US visit ?
Me : Had an L1B Blanket and was in US for 5 yrs (They had this info and also the client name with them - this surprised me :) )

A minute of Silence where VO thoroughly looked at both mine and Wife's Passport

No Questions to Dependent !

Started Stamping 3 sets - "Your visa is Approved" and the usual line - Keep this copy , give this copy to HR

KEY Takeaways : Folks - i feel salary is a major factor coupled with your prior US visits if any . Your confidence while talking to the VO is important too . Number of years with current employer needs to be high - THIS Is not TRUE (mine was 2.3 yrs)

Hope this Helps .. All the Very best Guys !

Hi All

My company filed a petition on my behalf for an L1A individual visa under premium processing route. I have researched a lot about the conditions of this visa on various forums, and I am very skeptical whether my case would succeed though my employer and the attorney are fairly confident about my case.

Your inputs / opinions would be highly appreciated!

I have listed down the Pros and Cons in my case:

Pros:
1. I am a highly qualified finance professional with multiple professional qualifications and memberships.
2. I manage an entire finance sub-function for the company's India business division with critical activities including pricing, M&A, and profitability management.
3. I work closely with the senior leaders of the business and I directly report into the global CFO of the business.
4. I indirectly administer and oversee the work of cross functional team members (design, sourcing and sales) on various assignments, however I have no direct reportees.
5. I am proposed to be transferred as the Finance Head for our US geography. I would be responsible for financial reporting, compliance, investment decisions, pricing, P&L and cash flow management, etc. In short, I would be the CFO for the US geo.
6. I would continue to report into the global CFO and would work with the US geo's Business Head on a day-to-day basis.
7. In the US role, I would have the authority to hire and fire employees within my department.
8. Only 1 reportee in the US as of now (accountant), however my job nature involves influencing work of employees from across functions of the business.

Cons
1. I have been employed with the company for 2.5 years only (this is also my overall work experience, excluding all 3 years of internships which do not count here)
2. I would be paid less than $80k for my proposed role
3. I have no direct reportees in India. And only 1 reportee in the US as of now, though we plan to hire more as the US business expands.
4. I have excellent understanding of the business, have demonstrated outstanding managerial capabilities and have been a star performer (which is obviously why i have been given this opportunity). But these attributes cannot be evidenced in documentation to the Consulate.
5. I haven't hired or fired any employees in my current role in India

Our organisation has a lean heirarchy, small business with annual revenues of ~$400 million globally, ~$15mn in the US currently - though US plans to expand 3 times in next 3 years (that would still be small though). Product based company.

Is anyone waiting for L1B extension at Texas Center?
I filled in Dec 2018 and still waiting,
I know the center is taking long time to process, just wondering for which months/dates they processing now to get an idea.

So let me know if someone here in same queue.

Thanks.

I need few inputs on OFC .
1. does i need to take my kid for OFC who's age is under 14.
 2. what are the documents i need to carry for my kid. ex. birth certificate.
3. In case OFC is not required for my son, will they allow us to take our kid along with us for the bio- metrics.

It looks Chennai center is extremely busy and wait time is about 2months..

is anyone currently waiting to book an appointment? i have got mine on July 08th. hope the dates get moved !!

anyone in the same boat as me?

Questions asked:

I work at a well renowned MNC.

Most of the other procedural details have already been shared in this forum and it was the same for me. Sharing the questions that were asked to me,

1. Which product line do you work for?
2. Where would you be travelling to?
3. What is your specialization?
4. What is your US salary?

Hi All ,

I have L1B Blanket visa from my company .
My husband is applying for L2 dependent visa . I would like to know that if it is mandatory to apply it from Chennai consulate or it can be applied from Delhi / Mumbai consulate as well ?

I got my Visa from Chennai Consulate.
I am from Delhi and would like to know my options . Please provide your valuable inputs.

Regards,
Jay

Hi all,
My L1B blanket has gotten approved. This forum helped me a lot to gain confidence by seeing a lot of previous interview questions. My interview was very simple as compared to ones listed here but still reading all the questions and preparing all the answers mentally helped me be confident. I read about 50 pages of previous interview experiences two days before the interview from here (not recommended, please do it in a bit more advance so you don't get stressed out like I did).

BIOMETRICS INTERVIEW
I had my Biometrics in Chennai one day before the main interview, we only need these three documents for the biometrics:
1. DS-160
2. Appointment Confirmation
3. Passport

You can take your phone, just make sure its switched off. I went to this one hour before my time-slot because everyone here said you get entry early which I did. They attached a slip behind my passport and at the counter I got my fingerprints and digital photograph taken. The guy asked my name and dob for verification and verified that my details in DS-160/appointment confirmation match with my passport.

CONSULATE INTERVIEW
For the main interview, I reached 20 minutes ahead of time, which was not a good decision, lol. There was a line outside the consulate (there are batches for every 15 min time-slot, so stand with your batch, ask a police man where is your batch). Even though you stand in the shade, it was really humid, so I kept drinking water (bring water with you, I brought two bottles)
Please make sure you don't have phone, watch or anything digital with you. Strictly not allowed. Once you enter inside, there is security check and after that a guy is there who asks you to arrange your papers in the following order:
1. I-129S (8 pages) and I-797 (first page). Three Sets
2. DS-160 confirmation
3. passport.
NOTE: You, need to put $500 DD in this somewhere, I don't remember the position, because I paid by cash.

He will fold these papers and put a rubber band around them. Once you are done, you can go to the washroom or something if you want before proceeding ahead as there are going to be long queues in the next stage also.

After that, you exit this building and move on to the main building where you will make payments and get interviewed. First I waited in a queue for making payment (people with little kids got moved ahead). I made payment using INR cash and the guy started shaking his head and kept mumbling something in Tamil (no f**ks were given by me). He gave me two receipts and put them in the rubber band documents.
 
After this there is a queue for the interview and I mostly got bored there but tried to amuse myself by hearing other people's interesting interviews (I feel they do have a soft corner for married people with kids which is cute, most of the laughs were coming from such counters, I am single, and this is totally my opinion).

So finally, here is the interview:
I arrived at the counter and greeted the VO "Hello, how are you?"
VO: Please give me your passport and the other documents (the ones in the rubber band, read the parts before if you skipped to questions, lol. He gave me back one of the fraud fee receipts)

VO: How long have you been working for the company?
Me: xx years and yy months

VO: What is your salary in the US?
Me: My annualized salary is $xxx,xxx and (I was gonna talk about other benefits, but he moved on to the next question)

VO: What is the product you are working on?
Me: I work on xxx algorithms (I think it was literally these 5 words that I said).

VO: Which kind of thing does xxx algorithms work on?
Me: (didn't understand the question I think, So I started explaining what kind of algorithm it is)

VO: (Interrupted me) No, no, you still haven't answered my question, I am asking what thing (as in physical thing) do these algorithms apply to? Is it aaa, bbb, ccc or what?
Me: (understood the question, answered in one word)

VO: And you are going to YYYY state?
Me: Yes

VO: And what are you going to be working on in the U.S?
Me: I will be working on similar kind of algorithms in the US

VO: I am approving your visa (gave me two copies of stamped I-129S, kept one with him and also kept my passport)

The VO didn't ask for any other documents apart from the I-129S, I-797 and DS-160 and the
All in all, I prepared a lot for my interview, to feel confident that I could answer ANY possible question that could be asked but at the end of the day, it was easy. Its totally on your luck, so....Bye, Good luck.

I am currently on my L1B first term and my wife is on L2. I got my H1 few months back but I am going for L1B renewal instead so that EAD is a little easier for my wife.

I have my interview scheduled in Mexico City in a couple of weeks time and wondering if anyone has been on a similar boat where you got your L1 extended instead of switching to H1.
If the officer asks why are you not wanting to go to H1, what will be a convincing answer because saying that it is for my wife's EAD may not be the best reason I guess.

Any suggestions?