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L1B Blanket approved at Chennai Consulate
Of course like everyone else has mentioned, this site was of immense help for me when I was preparing for my VISA interview. Sharing my experience though there was nothing out of the ordinary in my interview.

I was applying for L1B Blanket & L2 for my Spouse & kids.

27th Sept : Biometrics. Happened pretty smoothly.

28th Sept : Appointment was @ 9:30, reached there around 20 mins early since I was staying close by. Stood in the designated queue for a few minutes before a guy saw us with Small kids & asked us to skip the queue. From there on we skipped multiple queues.

First up post the queue was arranging the documents. Did that & then stood in the queue for paying the fee. After that we were again asked to skip the queue & directly go to the next available VO.

ME : Good Morning!
VO : Good Morning!

VO : Can I have your documents?
ME : Sure. Here you go.

VO : So you work for ZZZ?
ME : Yes.

VO : How long?
ME : 4 Years.

VO : Do they have a office in YYYY X?
ME : Yes.

VO : What's your role there?
ME : Explained about role & specialization. I was about to start about development of some new stuff (VO Interrupted & then asked me to continue since she was about to ask about the same thing).

VO : What's your salary there?
ME : $ZZZ + Benefits

VO : How long would you be there?
ME : The assignment is for 2 years.

VO : How old are these guys (pointing to my kids)?
ME : told their ages & also asked my son to tell her how old he is.

ME : "Naughty bunch" I said
VO : "They won't agree"

VO : Stamps the docs & says "I'm approving your VISA, You will receive your passport in a few days"
ME : Thanks a lot.

Tips :
Confidence though I was sweating like a pig (partly due to Chennai heat & partly nervousness inside.
Never fumbled.
Smile.
The person before me was rejected (Hair dresser) too many red flags like low salary etc.
Be prepared to explain about your specialization if they ask.

I'm bad at sharing experiences but I wanted to share it here since this site was extremely helpful. Let me know if you guys have any questions & I might respond occasionally in the forum (no emails pls).

All Replies (3)
L1A biometric and interview scheduling?
Hi Team,

I've been following this website for a few days now since my L1A interview is about to be scheduled soon now. I wanted some clarifications on this interview/biometric process:

- For visa interviews, do the biometric and interview happen on the same day? When I choose my appointment do I need to choose 2 days for the same or just select one day and both biometric and interviews will be scheduled on the same day itself?

Any help in this regards will be highly appreciated.
All Replies (2)
My L-1b documentation is approved
My L-1b Individual documentation is approved on mid of Sep. I have submitted my bachelor's degree certificates during my initial filing but now I have received my masters certificates, which was not mentioned or submitted earlier. Would it be okay if I say my highest qualification as masters or should I go with bachelors. Need your advice ? Thanks in advance
All Replies (3)
L1-B blanket petition
Hello all,

Time to give my feedback of the L1 B ( blanket ) visa interview.

My timeslot was 11:00 AM, 27th Sep 2018. I did my bio matrix in morning 8:00 AM. I reached the consulate around 10:45 AM. There were huge crowd waiting for their turn, since my interview slot was at 11, i was allowed to pass through and i joined the long queue for interview slot 10:45, 11, 11:15.

Learning : Dont go too early, 15 min before your interview time should be good enough.

It took me almost 1 hour and 15 min just to reach the consulate main entry door, but after that, it was smooth.

Learning : Be patient, and dont bring any electronics items/car keys with remote. Security will not allow these items.

Right at the entrance of the main building, there was a desk which helped me rearrange my visa document. They just made 3 sets of the following documents, put them in a rubber band and handover to me.
 I-129 , 8 pages, I-729., First page.

One main set also had DS 160 and my passport.
They asked me to jump the queue ( L1 B blanket visa) and directed to a smaller line.
Then, i paid the $500 fees ( anti fraud fees) for L1 blanket visa ( using the DD my company gave)
Then got my fingerprint scanned again and sent to main hall for interview.

It took another 20 min of waiting. Here is the interview questions

VO : Can i have the passport?
Me : Goodafternoon, Here it is.

VO : And the rest of the documents as well.
Me : Just passed all of 3 sets of documents

VO : How long you are working in this organization?
Me: I have been working in this organization for xx years and yy months. But in total , i have zz years of experience working with this group of companies ( i have worked for same company 2 times before)

VO : Where will be your onsite location in USA?
Me : My company office at xx city in yy state

VO : Why you are selected for this visa?
I explained him that i am going for knowledge transfer for the company's proprietary products and service to my counterpart USA engineers.

VO : Can you explaing what does it mean?
I explained him in simple terms

As ususal, he typed on the computer for some time

VO : How much will be your salary?
Me : xxxxx $ per annuam

VO: Your visa is approved. Dont forget to carry these 2 stamped copies of I129 when travel to USA.
Me: thanks , have a good day.

I had a previous L1 B from my previous company, but VO did not asked about it.
I was wearing a business suite, though it was hot but i think it did made its impact. My suggestion is to wear suit only if you are comfortable.

In brief, be confident, relax and smile, its going to be fine.

 
All Replies (2)
L1 B blanket visa "Not clearly Approvable"
Hello All,

Many thanks for all your contribution to this community.
I am sharing this information by beliving this could help someone attempting to get visa in similar circumstances.(Not married, Not owning any property in India, 7 years of total experiance in IT industry with decent salary)

I have attended a visa interview on Sep 17, 2018 at chennai consulate. My interaction with VO had gone as described below,

On Visa interview day, (8.30 am)
a) L1B blanket candidates were asked to queue in separate line other than L1B individual.
b) Asked us to give triplets of these forms [8-page I129S & 1st page of I-797]
c) After submitting demand draft of $500 at finance counter, biometric verification done at counter 16 and asked me to stand in the queue for Consulate officer interview.
d) One Visa officer(VO) signalled me to come forward and had a following Q & A

After formal greetings….
VO: Can I see your passport & documents.
Me: I have handed over them. (He utters “ **** *”, seems he may know **** ** organization well already)
VO: Are you applying for L1-A or L1-B sir?
Me: L1-B sir
VO: How long you are working in **** **.
Me: 3 years & 9 months.
VO: What is your specialization skills.
Me: Explained my contributon to my product. Listed all the features and enhancements designed and developed by me. (Seems he is quite convinved with my explanation on "specilized knowledge" in my product)
VO: Your proposed JOB title.
Me: **** * software engineer.
VO: Proposed salary?
Me: **** *$ + 8750$ as one-time bonus + health benefits.
VO: Planned duration of stay.
Me: 3 years.
VO: This case come under narrow margin, there is nothing wrong in you or your details. Your L1 Blanket visa is not clearly approvable now. I am giving this blue slip and get back to your HR department for next actions.
    I am returning your password and will take one copy of this I129S triplet.

P.S: VO gave me a blue slip(221g) with case-no and selected the option for "Not clearly Approvable" [214(b) potential immigrant]

Note: My guess for this visa denial could be
      a) VO didn't think that I possess "specilized knowledge" (or)
      b) I am not married (Could be thought of potential immigrant)

Got some suggestions from others,

1) Dont try L1B individual without any change in circumstances. (Probably buy some property (or) After marriage (or) Some other reason for ties to homeland)
2) Give a break for one year and try.

Guys, please share your thoughts on this case and shed some lights on these "unknown" reasons for this denial. That could help for next attempt. Thanks
 
All Replies (5)
Wrong annotation mentioned in my L1 B individual Visa
Hi All,

My L1 B individual visa was approved and I received my passport today. However, wrong annotation mentioned in my Visa. It mention as "BLANKET- L1 MUST PRESENT I- 129S"

Please let me know if anybody faced same issue.

Thanks
All Replies (8)
L1 A Blanket at Chennai
My L1A was rejected in Chennai even though I've 15+ direct reports with 9 in US and 20+ indirect. Salary close to 140 K.
Already a Sr Mgr with 2 under me. Works directly for US based MNC in Cyber Security Space.

All Qs to me/family seemed fairly straightforward and were answered succinctly since I'd prep'ed them for over a month. No clue why VO thought otherwise.

Not sure if I fault it to not wearing suit, or not able to present my case in more clear manner or something totally outside my control - no clue...It can go on and on.

I don't crave for a job in US since i am doing pretty well here but it's disheartening to get rejected based on a 2-minute interaction. It takes a lot of countless work hrs/interactions/approvals/internal politics to be able to reach this stage and all in vein.

Based on my observation here is what I think:

. L1 Blanket now a days, has much less chances than L1 Individual petition (Thanks to Mr Trump). As much as possible, go for individual petition if you company can supply all evidences and if your case is strong enough.

. For most cases, success depends 50% on your profile and 50% on your interaction with VO so present your case well. There're many tips on this in previous posts.

. As some one said earlier, they outright reject your profile now a days if they have an iota of doubt. Heck, I don't even blame them looking at number of people in Queue at consulate.

. Having a top attorney for L1 Blanket doesn't help much. It will probably matter in individual petition.

. India vs US MNC, client vs product company etc do not matter so don't get bogged down with that.

. Prepare well and leave it your to luck. All posts are here based on individual experience so no one can tell you exactly what every VO judges your case based on (barring basics of course).

IMO, US should move to point based system like Canada and Australia for merit based immigration and not just on a single interaction which may not be the right way always.
All Replies (0)
L1A blanket
Hello Team,

I browsed a lot in this forum to prepare for my interview and wanted to share my experience with the people.

I work for one of the big 5 companies since last 8.5 years and been working in Sao Paulo(Brazil) since last 1 year. My attorneys gave me a booklet of around 60 pages including support letter.

I applied for L1A in the consulate in Sao Paulo

Arrived at 9:10am and interview was scheduled at 9:15
Made to wait outside with a flier for 10 mins. Processed me through a preferential line since I believe majority of them were there for tourist visa so they processed all work visas as preferential line. There was a help desk who helped me rearrange all my documents. They removed a letter from the attorney and also the support documents and asked me stay in the line. I think there was a dedicated counter for work visa.

VO- Good morning
Me- Good Morning

VO-Takes my documents and passport.
VO- which visa are you applying for?
Me- L1A- He was not able to hear me and asked me to repeat.

VO- Did you ever have a L1
Me- No

VO- Did you study in the united states?
Me- No, I studied in india.

VO- How long have you been manager for?
Me- 5 years(4 years in india and 1 year in Brazil)

VO- How many years have you worked in India?
Me- 8.10 years( This answer was wrong as i worked only for 7.7 years in india and 13 months in Brazil) I corrected myself and told him 7.7 years,.

VO- What will be your title exactly?
Me- Sr Product Manager-ZZZ

VO- Is it a consumer business or technology business?
Me- Consumer

VO- So you already been to US on tourist visa?
Me- Yes, but it was a business visa.

VO- Where is your family?Where will they apply for the visa? Delhi? Mumbai?
Me- In India on a vacation and will apply in Hyderabad

VO- Do you manage reportees or business or function?
Me- Mine is a functional manager role so I will not have any direct reports but will have multiple indirect reports.

Hands me the stamped I129S documents and says thank you and asks me to carry one copy along with me. I left the counter and returned and asked him if my visa is approved. He said yes.

Many of my friends l1a visas have been rejected in chennai and hyderabad and reading through questions here seemed a very difficult process to convince. My interview lasted for around 5 minutes out of which I think we spoke less than a minute.
All Replies (0)
L1A blanket approved in Chennai
My L1A blanket application was approved in Chennai on 14th September. I went there with my wife and left my 4 year old at home as my friend had suggested that kids do get cranky waiting in the heat. The interview time was at 10 AM and I reached at 9.40 AM. There was a wait time of 30 mins outside the consulate building and finally, we were inside the building. First, we went through security check. Second, document check. Third, Visa fraud fee payment and finally, the interview. For all these stages, there was waiting of minimum 20 minutes. There is water provided and washroom is also present inside, which is very much required in the heat. Coming to the interview experience:

VO: What is the location where you will be working for ZZZ
Me: Told the city and state

VO: How long have you been working for ZZZ?
Me: 2 years, 4 months

VO: Whom will you report to in US?
Me: Told the name and position

VO: And who will he report to?
Me: Told the position and asserted that this is a senior executive position in my company

VO: What will be your salary there?
Me: $ZZZ,ZZZ

VO: How many direct reports will you have?
Me: Mine is a functional manager role so I will manage a team of 9 professionals but they will be reporting directly to their people’s manager (This is the most important question and I had researched a lot before providing this answer, which I found working for me but it is purely your luck if the consulate agrees with your perspective)

VO: So will you be handling any specific function?
Me: Told the function that I will be handling

VO: What is your salary in India?
Me: XX,XX,ZZZ

To my wife:
VO: How long are you married?
Wife: 7 years

VO: What is the age of your kid?
Wife: 4 years

VO: (Stamping on my I-129S) Your application is approved!

We came back to the hotel extremely relieved and happy. 2 days later, I checked the status of my visa and to my surprise, it showed 'Administrative Processing'. Its been 8 business days and it still shows the same. I again searched for it and figured that there is not much that one can do here except for waiting for a maximum of 60 days so fingers crossed, the passports should arrive soon.

This forum helped me immensely in my prep. My only advice to anyone reading this review would be to be very confident and to keep the answers crisp and short. All the best!
All Replies (3)
Need suggestion on empoyer name I 129s form
Hi Guys,
I need suggestion on proposed employment address section in is 129 form for blanket l1 b.
My company has used my client address in the petition..however in DS-160 ( where do you intend to work) I have only used my petitioner company name and address in DS 160.

So in DS 160 I am using my company office address and city where as in i129s form employment address is client' address.

Will this create any issue during interview? What should be my ans for qus where are you traveling? Should I mention my office address or client??

Please note: Client and my company both are in same state and just 18 miles away, however city is different.
All Replies (0)

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Disclaimer: Please note that the experiences presented are submitted by visitors to our website. Individuals’ experiences may vary, and you should interpret each individual’s experience at your own risk. Do not make a decision solely based on an experience posted here. We do not endorse any individuals’ experiences, and we are not liable or responsible for consequences stemming from your use of the information presented within any individual’s experience.