L1, L2 Visa

Can the $500 fraud prevention fee be paid by credit card in Chennai? Thanks

Hello,

I am applying for L1B Individual visa extension and while trying to book appointment I have listed with many questions.
I would like to clarify one of the question which displayed as below:

1:
“Have you ever been refused a L-1 visa (individual intracompany transferee) visa before?”

My initial L1 Blanket was rejected and later I have applied for L1-B individual which was approved. Not sure whether I have to select “Yes” or “No” for above question.

At present my L1B individual was valid till 20Dec2018 and I am applying for extension.

2:
I have received another question "Whether your visa has annoted with "Clearance received" etc.
I have checked my Passport/VISA page and i couldn't see any text like that.

Whether it will be printed anywhere else in passport or any other approval notice?

3:
Was L1B Individual eligible for drop-box? Since after answering all questions, Finally I have been presented for Interview Waiver Program and no need of appointment.

Please help to clarify my above questions.

Regards,
Karthick. R

OFC Chennai: It's straight forward, only ds160, appointment letter and passports are required. One photo(2inchx2inch) for my daughter.

Consulate:
Documents mentioned in appointment confirmation letter and any supporting documents. People at consulate with guide you through the process, just make sure to reach 15min before the appointment not before.

Greet office before and after the interview.

Questions:
1. Do you work for YYYY company ?
Ans: Yes

2. Do you work in client location ?
Ans: No

3. What is your salary ?
Ans: $xxx Base package + $xxx bonus + benefits.

4. What project are going to work on ?
Ans: Explain the project.

5. What are you specialised in ?
Ans: Explain your specialisation, keep elaborating until officer asks you to stop. Mention if you have patents.

6. How many years is the stay ?
Ans: Confidently say xx years instead of saying around/rough estimates

7. Where is your company located ?
Ans: City, State. Whole address is not required.

Wife:
1. How long you both were married ?
Ans: xx years.

Book your appointment early in the morning for better chances, dress like professional and be confident.

Current status:
Me: In US, +7 yrs on H1B with green card priority date April 2016. I own a house in Texas. Recently got married.
Wife: is trying to come to US through her company to US as sales manager. She has both option H1b (Cap exempt) and L1A blanket

we decide to go for L1A option as it would have a lot of benefits.

Pros:-
-She has 14+ yrs experience in same company with 4+ yrs as sales manager.
-Expected salary $110K+
-She has been in use for 3+ yrs on H1B and went back before.
-In US, she will be reporting to 2 people and will have 4 people reporting to her.
-I have have a base in US.( not sure if this is a plus point)

Cons:-
-if rejected, she will have to wait 6 months before they can apply for L1A individual or H1B.

Question:
-I am taking a risk in going for L1A.
-If her L1A blanket gets rejected, will her H1B cap exempt get nullified (i.e. if she can still use it to come on H1B)
-if she gets rejected then, can she leave her company to come to US on H4 and get EAD and apply for the same company from her (if they still will accept her) if so, how long is the process to get her EAD. or can she immidiately try to get on h1b or L1A individual.

Please advice.
-Jarus

My L1A Blanket got rejected in Jan 2018 at Chennai. I applied in individual category in Feb and after clearing RFE got approved petition in Oct first week. I went with my wife and 2 yr kid for my PA, Conversation went like below:

Me: Good Morning Mam
VO: Please provide your passport
VO: What category Visa you are applying for
Me: L1A individual
VO :Who is your End client
Me: XX organization
VO: When did you travel US last time:
Me: told <Month> and <Year>
VO: In which category VISA you last travelled,
Me: L1A
VO: How long you are working in your company
Me: 12 years 3 months
VO: What will be your salary abroad
Me: told salary as per petition( 80-90 K range + other benefits)
VO: How many persons reporting to you
Me; told as per petition ( which is 8)
VO: Where will you be working?
Me: told City and State as per petition
VO: What is your highest Qualification
Me: told as per petition (Master in Computer..)
VO: To may wife - What's your highest qualification madam
Me: She answered.

From beginning of the conversation she is typing in computer and in between she placed the passports inside a tray besides her. After last questions she stopped for sometime and keep typing. After some awkward moments she looked back to us and told 'your visa is approved'. I asked no further questions and said Thank You and returned from the window.

I guess unlike L1A Blanket interview they are not scrutiny your application rather just verifying the details from your L1A individual petition. (My company Visa cell told the same to me before the interview). So unless someone goofed up or provided some false information he/she should get visa stamped without issue with an approved L1A individual petition.

Good Luck!

Hi everyone -

I used this forum extensively and also did a lot of online research on the function manager category in L!A so posting my broader learnings for others' benefit.

My L1A was approved in Chennai a month or so back - no direct reports.

Learning 1: Be clear about which category within L1A you are applying under. While this is not a "defined category" there are 3 broad categories - Executives (Applies to CXO roles), Personnel Manager (Managing team of professionals/ supervisors etc.) or Functional Manager (Manage a function end-to-end)

Learning 2: Be consistent with the criteria for the category in your petition and don't try to fall under all categories. For e.g.no bonus points for proving people management if you are a functional manager or vice versa. I was told originally that L1A = people management and upon doing research and reading up USCIS judgements I understand this is not true if you are applying under a function manager category. I categorically told the visa officer I had no direct reports and there was no issue. To be clear, read the criteria on the USCIS site. For function managers there is a recent policy memorandum released - google for this memorandum and read this to understand the criteria clearly. USCIS publishes sample accepts and rejects so reading through those will help you understand the criteria like an attorney would. I think that helps a lot when you go for an interview.

Learning 3: Be very explicit to the Visa officer which Category you are applying under. For e.g. in my case I introduced myself as I am a functional manager in YYYY overseeing YYY function for all of ZZZ's business in the US. The officer repeated after me - "So you are a functional manager - got it."

Learning 4: You need to keep your narrative very simple since the officers have really no time/ patience and they hear the same things over and over again. They form an immediate opinion looking at you/ your title/ salary/ company etc. and then focus to understand one or two areas where they have doubts. So even if for e.g. your role is very complicated spanning multiple projects etc. pick the simplest areas and make it simple enough for someone with very low attention span to understand.

- Rehearse answers to standard questions (Your role, decisions you take, num of people reporting to you, who do you report to) beforehand.
- When they ask you follow-up questions, know that they are probing one of the criteria - so if you know the criteria well you can answer according to that.

Learning 5: In my mind the process is very draining if moving to the US is important for you so be mentally prepared for both getting an approval and getting an RFE as you prep - I also found it to help to not assume that the process is random but that there is a method to their assessment, and try preparing on those lines.

The other pieces of advice given below do apply but the above are the ones I found different from what is listed in the forum by other folks.

All the best!

Hi, What is the salary range for L1A individual visa that they are looking for now? Do they approve just managers or expect a senior level of managers/executives with a six digit USD salary range? Please pour your experiences/suggestions. Thanks!

A big thank you to everyone who had shared their experiences and that's a great way to analyse and prepare oneself. Its time for payback

28th - Biometrics went smooth. Just reached the center 30 mins before and the security just allowed me inside before my time. It was just 30 mins process. They take photo and fingerprints of you, verified passport, appointment letter and told me to carry the same documents on the next day

29th - interview was at 9:45, gemini circle. Luckily I parked my car to one of my friend's office nearby and dumped all my things, wallets, mobile phones in my car and gave the keys to my friend. That saved me a 500 bucks. Never wear a smart watch, or carry your car keys with you.

I reached at 9:10, There was a huge crowd outside the consulate and I felt I am gonna burn in the heat. Then I realised there are people who are waiting for different time slots. So don't be dumb to stand last on the queue. There will be a time board where they change the slot timings every 15 mins. I just stood near that board and it was showing 9:15 and 9:30 timings to enter in that queue. So when they change it to 9:45 I just peeped inside and stood on the right queue at 9:20 after 10 mins of wait near the time board. I stood until my time 9:45 then it slowly started to move. There are two checks on that queue before you reach the main security and consulate entrance. It was just a passport and appointment letter check.

Entered inside consulate at 10 AM, Submitted my files for scanning and had my security check. Once done the person in the corridor asked me what visa you are in. I said L-1B individual, they asked my i797 to validate. Similary they asked i797 at multiple security points. Keep it handy with your passports. I had to take it Everytime from my file.

So I validated the finger print inside and stood on the final queue. It took nearly 30 mins of wait in that queue. At last the person before me found a counter for the interview and the feel inside your tummy that you are gonna be next person is a real Halloween. There is a guy who routes everyone to the free counter. He asked me what visa, I said L1-B individual. He asked for i797 and told me to go to a counter which was free.

Vo - Give me your passport
Me - Hello good morning, here it is
Vo - you are working for ?
Me - xx company
Vo - how long you have been working?
Me - 2 years and x months and overall 4 years and xx months
Vo - is it a blanket or individual.
Me - it's individual and gave him i797, he smiled
Vo - where in xx company you work?
Me - I asked him to repeat and I said I work in Chennai
Vo - oh Chennai, that's fine
Vo- where will you be staying in USA?
Me - xx location
Vo - what's your pay in American dollars?
Me - xx,xxx $ per annum
Vo - your Visa is approved.
Me - couldn't realise that moment and standing like a dumb with little smile. ( I haven't overreacted and that came naturally)
He said wait a sec and looked at monitor and verified something and said yeah it's approved by giving a green slip. That's it. I aksed him how long it takes to get my passport. He said in a week probably. I just smiled and left the place.

Points to note- Be just 15 to 30 mins before the interview like everyone says, eat your breakfast or your energies will be drained. Keep some cash in your file and leave your wallet, mobile and keys in safe place. Be patient until your turn comes and don't rehearse your answers when you stand on the queue and that's gonna make u tense and it's of no use. Never listen to anyone and rephrase your answers, stick to your petition. Just relax and go for your turn. Don't lean too forward to listen to them. There is a speaker which is very much audible and a mic will be there. So just stand near to the counter and speak up openly and it should be fine. Have a smile and be confident with your answers. Confident means not like you should convey what all things you prepared in a single stretch. Just listen and answer confidently. Last and final, dress up well for God sake. It's not a small company interview, spend some bucks on clothing. I was wearing a tie which was initially uncomfortable but later got used to it. I am seeing people with bad dressing sense and wearing sandals for formal Wear for the interview and thats really gonna make it worse for them, So yeah that's it, perfect everything and you are just gonna be okay. All the best folks.

Firstly thanks to everyone who has ever shared their experience on this website, it is very helpful. I will be honest that reading the experiences made me somewhat scared and horrified as I felt I tick all the wrong boxes - I am unmarried, my US Salary was <70k$, my total experience was <5 years (with the petitioner's affiliate itself).

To cut it short : I got my L1B Blanket petition approved. Everyone has shared the right questions in this forum and I just prepared for them to a level that the answers come naturally to me.

So, to be honest I do not believe that they look at your marital status (as it is a dual intent visa). Yes, Salary and Experience matters but what matters most is if you have specialized skills or knowledge.

I wish all the best to all applicants! I know it can get intense but just be confident and honest.

Thanks

AK

(P.S - Please do not ask for any documents or answers.)

Hi,

I work as a AI and Data Science specialist in xxx company fro 7 years and i have prepared very well for the interview, but after reading thru many posts here i see most the visas got approved for Married people case.

As i am unmarried i dont know to what extent it will affect my chance of getting the visa approved.

can someone share thoughts on this