L1, L2 Visa

We had the interview on tuesday on Feb 19 at chennai . I have my masters from US and have been with the company since 14 years .
Visa officer asked about the duties, my salary, number of direct reports and location. I dont work at the client location. If the case is genuine and you are not going there with a lesser than avg salary, it should boost your chances. Hope this helps .

After reading so many posts and experiences on the forum, I thought I was atleast better prepared than without reading. I was asked all the standard questions (location, salary, job role, who I'll report to etc.).
Unfortunately, the VO didn't seem convinced. My body language and responses were confident. Yet, VO removed a blue slip and marked 221(g), Visa is not clearly approvable.

I hope I have a better chance next time since I'm quite sure my cases is genuine and fulfils all the criteria.
Would love to hear from members with a similar experience, any advice. Maybe the individual route will give USCIS more insight into my case with thorough analysis? Instead of making a hasty decision?

- SmartD

Attended yesterday @ Chennai consulate

Questions:
which Company
Years of experience with company
Designation
US package
Will you work for client or your company in US?
What does your company do?
What will you do after going there?

Final response - sorry due to strict rules, we can’t approve the visa for your role.

I am assuming its because I am from QA background.
My wife also attended 5 years back but hers got rejected too. She was in BI though.

Wanted to share my experience applying for the L1B visa as an individual petition. I’d previously been in the US on a one year J1 internship program.

We began the application towards the end of my J1 visa, but had to end up going back to my home country for a month while the L1B was being finalized/approved before I was able to re-enter on my new visa.

Have read a LOT of horror stories here on the forums, but wanted to share my relatively efficient and straight forward timeline to hopefully instill some hope in others who may be in a similar situation.

I had six years experience at the company I work for, and had several strong examples of specialized and advanced knowledge as required for the visa type.

— Sent petition in early November 2018.
— Received an RFE request one week later.
— RFE respond submitted end of January 2019. This response included several letters, communications, and explanations totaling around 290 pages.
— Approval from USCIS was received 2 days after the receipt of the RFE in early Feb 2019 (this speed was surprising to me).

I had my consulate interview as soon as I could. The questioning was fairly straight forward:
— Whats your reason for entering the US?
— What does the company do?
— How many years at company?
— What is your title at the company?
— Did you previously enter the US on a J1 visa

Then the officer declared that my visa had been approved.

Thanks to everyone who has posted all sorts of helpful updates to millions of H1/L1 visa candidates. Time to give back to the forum. Here is my L1B extension experience..

Visa Type: L1 B Extension (had 2 weeks of existing visa validity)
Organization: Big 4 Consulting Firms in US
Extension Visa Processing Type: Chose Consular Processing vs Inland USCIS processing considering the rejection ratio at USCIS (scary)
Vancouver Visa Slot: This is a challenge. but keep checking the website every day several times a day (5 - 8AM EST is the best time to look for slots) I grabbed a slot after 4 weeks of DS 160 (I honestly selected the option as Not a resident of Canada). I also rescheduled my interview 2 times to grab a slot before my current visa validity.

Sequence of events on Day of Interview 11th Feb 2019 8:15 AM:
- Arrived at the Consulate at 7:30 AM and they were letting people in based on the time slot only. When I arrived they were still letting people in for 7 - 7:30 AM time slots.
- Appointment time does not matter be there 15 mins before your appointment time and you should be good.
- While in the line DS 160 Confirmation and Passport checked by Security
- Once the above check is done Security will check all your documents and coat to ensure you are not taking any non-permissable items with you
- Once the above 2 checks are done by Security you will be taken through a stair case where Airport style security is conducted
- Next proceed to the Window 1A/1B where the supporting documents are verified and sorted. It took a lot of time for me since it was L1 visa (NOTE: Only 2 copies are needed and not 3 copies)
- Please make sure you have a very recent photograph taken. The photo booth was not working and I had to step outside the Consulate to get an instant passport photo taken at the next block and entered back in again. Took me 20 mins all in all to be back in the document sorting queue.
- Next proceed to the finger prints counter and then wait to be taken to 20th Floor where the actual visa interview will take place.
- Visa Interview details mentioned below.
- Was out of the Consulate by 10:25 AM inspite of the fact that I had to step out to get my photo taken at a near by shop. I also made sure not to carry any keys, phones, watch, etc that could pose a problem. Went only with my visa papers and supporting documents.

Visa Interview:
- Officer was very warm and friendly. Not just the one I went to but the other officers also seemed polite and nice.

Me: Good Morning Officer..
VO: Good Morning.. How are you doing..
VO: Oh so you are here for renewal.
Me: Yes Officer..
VO: How long have you been in the US?
Me: I have been in the US for 2 yrs 9 months
VO: Oh ok so you work for <Company Name> What do you do for them?
Me: Mentioned my specialized skills which is my companies proprietory tools. Also mentioned how I have worked on customizing this tool for several other clients during my tenure with the firm
VO: So now do you work at your client location or companys office?
Me: Client location and not company office
VO: How long have you been with the Company?
Me: 7 years 8 months of which 2 yrs 9 months I spent in the US and the rest 4 yrs 11 months in India working on the same proprietory tools
VO: Oh ok. Which other clients have you customized this tool for?
Me: Mentioned my previous clients
VO: Here are your work rights during your stay in the US read it later. Also please proceed to pay the Fraud Prevention Fee so we can proceed with approving your visa. He also mentioned above retaining the receipt so that I can get reimbursed by my company. Surprised he was actually aware of my organization and what we do.
Me: Thank you Officer

Paid the Fraud Prevention at the Cashier counter and got back to the same VO.

VO: Welcome back. Lets get you sorted. Your visa is approved and I hope we can give your company the contract to better our visa online system.
Me: I will be glad and happy to help.
VO: That will be a huge contract for your firm. Handed over the Green Paper which has details on how to track passport and mentioned you will get your stamped passport in 3-5 business days until then enjoy your stay in Vancouver..
Me: Thank you Officer Have a great day.
VO: You too..

Visa Tracking Link: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx
11th Feb: Visa Interview Date.. Administrative Processing..
12th Feb: Administrative Processing.. (I believe the consulate was closed due to inclement weather on this date..hence the delay..)
13th Feb: Status changed to Issued around 4:30 PM..
14th Feb: Canada Post tracking # recieved around 9AM.. Tracking # activated around 3PM..
15th Feb: 8:35AM Ready for Pickup..

Confidence is key. Know your proprietory tools and win the confidence of the VO as well. Stay calm and put up a smile.. This is a difficult situation but not the end of the world..This option is much better than inland USCIS processing which has a high rejection rate currently. If any one needs any assistance feel free to reach out. All the very best! :)

Last week I successfully completed L1 VISA extension and stamping in Nogales Mexico. I am writing this blog to share the overall experience and detailed steps.

What was needed?

I am an Indian national, working in US on L1 VISA. My VISA was about to expire (In about a month) and was due for an extension.

As per the regular process, immigration team files the extension to USCIS. If the extension is successful, You are good to stay in US. You can get the VISA stamped on your next trip to India/Other countries. After carefully reviewing my case, Amex Immigration team advised to go for a Consulate interview.

Benefit of going for Consulate Interview:

One very important benefit is, if you go through USCIS extension, you will only get VISA extension approval receipt and not the actual VISA on your passport. You will get the VISA stamped on your passport once you go through stamping process on your next foreign trip. With Consulate interview process, you will get both VISA approval and stamping done in one go.

 
Why Nogales Mexico?

There were few key reasons:

1. I am living in Phoenix. Nogales is right at Mexico border, about 3-hour drive from Phoenix towards Tucson.
2. If you have a valid US VISA, you don’t need VISA for Mexico up-to a 7 day of stay.
3. Most of the consulates has VISA appointment wait time between 15 days to 2 months, however for Nogales it was just a day.
4. Nogales consulate has very few VISA applications, so it is very quick in-and-out time for any appointment. There is hardly any queue.
 

Note: Make sure your current VISA is valid for few additional days at the time of your travel, so you can enter in US on existing VISA, if extension is rejected.

Steps to secure VISA appointment and documentation:

1. Fill DS-160 form for yourself and each family member, if applicable. After completion, download the DS-160 confirmation page. Make sure you specify Nogales, Mexico as the consulate location.

Website for DS-160: https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/

2. Go to specified URL for securing VISA appointment at Nogales consulate.

https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-mx/niv

Here are the steps on above website:

1. Create account and sign-in. You need only one account for your family.
Add yourself as applicant. Later in process, you will be asked to add family members as additional applicants.
2. At VISA fee payment option, select “by cash” option.
Generate US VISA Fee MRV pdf form. You will automatically get this PDF on your email.
 

3. Next, you need to pay VISA fee for securing appointment with Nogales consulate, which is not a simple task. Someone needs to go to a bank in Mexico to pay the VISA fee on your behalf. There are plenty of companies providing this service and they charge a service fee. (Be assured, this is the only option you may have unless you have friends in Mexico)

I chose below website for making the payment. There were 2 prime reasons for the choice: 1. The fee was lower than others, 2. They gave invoice of full payment, which helped me in getting it reimbursed.

USVISAMEX - US Visa Application Fee Payment Service

The steps on website are easy and you should be able to follow.

Note: If you pay to USVISAMEX through Paypal account, make sure you pay using a credit card and not from checking/savings account. Checking account will take about 3 days for payment, however credit card payment will be instant.

 

4. Once the VISA Fee payment is received by bank in Mexico, you will get a mail notification to schedule your VISA appointments. Schedule your ASC and Interview appointments on subsequent day. (You are not allowed to schedule both appointments on same day)

 
Book your travel and stay:

1. Book Fairfield inn hotel - it’s an excellent hotel with very helpful English-speaking staff. US Consulate building is adjacent to this hotel. Just at walking distance. There is a Walmart store right in front of hotel. Nogales Mall is also adjacent, which has shopping options and eating places such as McDonald, Subway and Peter piper pizza.
2. You can drive to Nogales Mexico. Get Rental car from Hertz. They provide Mexico insurance, which is must if you want to drive in Nogales.
 

Travel, Stay and Procedures:
 

Day 1: Travel to Nogales:

Try and reach Nogales a day before.

When you enter Mexico at border, you wouldn’t need any document or immigration. Keep passports handy as the officers may ask to have a look.

Day 2: ASC Appointment:

You can either drive or book a cab to reach ASC center for first appointment. It’s about 10 minutes from Fairfield hotel. No cellphones, digital watch, electronics, jewelry, bags are allowed. You can keep the car keys. Its recommended to carry only documents in plastic bag. In-and-out time is about 15 minutes.

ASC Address:

Centro Corporativo Norte

Calle reforma Esquina con Periferico


Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta

Nogales

Sonora 84000

Map Location: https://goo.gl/maps/8WxrH5YChTS2

Documents Required:

Passports
Appointment confirmation
DS-160 Confirmation Pages
I797
I129S for L1 VISAs
 

Day 3: VISA Interview:

Consulate is adjacent to Fairfield hotel. One can simply walk to it. Once again, no cellphones, digital watch, electronics, jewelry, bags are allowed. Carry only documents in plastic bag. In-and-out time is about 1 hour. You need to pay VISA fee of $500 at the time of interview. You will be provided with a receipt. One should keep it safe.

Documents Required:

Passports
Appointment confirmation
DS160 Confirmation Pages
I797
I129S for L1 VISAs
Marriage Certificate (If applicable)
Birth Certificate of children (If applicable)
VISA Fee: $500 cash
Interview experience:

My interview was extremely simple. Most of the question were answered in yes/no only. For example, “If I am living in Phoenix?”, “If I am a Senior Engineer with Amex?”.

Few simple questions to my spouse such as “When we got married?”, “When we came to US?”

Finally, officer told me my VISA is approved and I can come at 4:00 PM to collect the Passports. She gave me a token and asked to bring it while collecting the passports.

 
Day 3: Passport Collection:

I had plans to leave Nogales on same day as soon as I get the passports back. Hotel staff was decent enough to allow a late checkout by max 2:00 PM. After checkout, I was waiting to collect the passports.

Out of curiosity, I went to Consulate to check if I could collect passport a little early. I found it was not a possible. I won’t be allowed in consulate a minute earlier than 4 PM.

Finally at 4:00 PM, I went alone to collect the passports and queued up with other people. Once again, no cellphones, electronics or bags are allowed. Overall about 40 minutes wait inside consulate and finally I got my passports.

 
Day 3: US Immigration:

We started to drove back to Phoenix and queued up at US border for immigration. The border officers were slightly confused as we were neither US national, nor from Mexico. I told them I need my new VISA to be stamped as well as need a new I-94 document. Finally officers asked me to park my car and escorted us one floor up for immigration. After successful immigration we drove out of Nogales. Overall time at border was about 2 hours.

Documents required:

Passports
I797
I129S
VISA fee receipt ($500)
Immigration fee $6 per person (I would suggest keeping the exact change)

Hi All,
My Spouse had given an opportunity to apply for L1 A individual ( Premium Visa Process) after rejection of L1 A blanket ( normal process) and h1b visas at Chennai embassy. My Spouse works for a service based MNC at Chennai and this visa chance employer had provided for the final time ( after Rejection of L1 A blanket and h1b).

Do any one suggest us how long will the process happen and do let us know the possibilities of getting the VISA approved. Please share your comments. Thanks in advance.

Hardly see any news about L1B Blanket approval since beginning of the month. I had interview in Chennai, and L1B was rejected stating "Not clearly approvable and has a narrow margin". The time i was in embassy, i see almost everyone going out with blue slips/passport in hand and believe me, all i could see in my counter and nearby are rejections whether it is L/B. And the VO doesn't really go through the petition / supporting documents and whatever comes rejecting outright. Don't know if there are any other factors like political / any other things for this high rejection rate.

US company, Parent company (not client location), salary in range of 120k+ range, ~10 yrs experience with current company and 14 years overall experience, went with family, small kid still no luck.

Im working with my attorney, but does someone in the forum know about the following

1) If i go for Individual, which is the best place to go? Is Hyderabad / Mumbai better option than Chennai?
2) If i go for H1B premium processing, how are the chances? what would be the average processing time? If i apply in regular application period in April, when i would be able to go for interview / start work in US?

Me (L1) and My husband (L2) together attended interview at New Delhi US Consulate on 10-Jan. I was given a 221g slip and the document submission was done on 24-Jan, post that only my case started updating, but for my husband (dependent L2) the Case Created and Last Updated date never changed for him since interview, 10-Jan

Interview: 10-Jan (221g slip given)
Document Submitted: 24-Jan
Email received to submit passports for both L1 and L2: 4-Feb
Visa Issued (only for L1): 7-Feb
L2 still in administrative processing

My husband dependent (L2) passport is still showing at Embassy with status at CEAC as Administrative Processing. The Case Created and Last Updated date never changed for him since interview, 10-Jan

Anyone who has faced similar situation? Any idea how soon we can get his VISA?

Hello,

My L1B blanket petition was not approved in February 2019 with remarks- NOT CLEARLY APPROVABLE.
I want to appeal this decision. I understand that the appeal is usually processed in 6 months.
Whether am I eligible to apply for H1B visa in April 2019 (while my L1B blanket petition is under appeal?)

Please help.

Regards,
Akhil Shah