L1, L2 Visa

Hi Folks,
I wanted to share my Visa experience at Chennai Consulate.
My Visa Appointment was on 24th.
VO: Good Morning
Me: Good Morning
VO: Are you applying for an Individual or its a blanket Petiton
Me: Individual Petition.
VO: Which place are you travelling
Me: Told the place I had been travelling
Vo: Are you Married
Me: Yes
VO: What is your highest level of degree
ME: Masters
VO: What is your salary:
ME: Told him the amount
Then he returned me the passport with a token saying please go to Counter no 15. I thought mine is rejected and the formalities need to be completed.
I went to counter no 15 and the lady asked me the petition. After make some entry she said please go back to the same counter. I went back to the same counter
VO: Its a individual Petition.
Me Yes
He did some entry and said your visa is approved you shall receive the passport in a couple of days.

I was worried a bit since my visa was rejected last year.

Hello All,

My company applied for L1B individual petition and it got approved. Can I skip the interview as my company has decided to move me to London office?

Will it impact my application next time when I apply for the US Visa?

Please help me.

Thanks

This website has been very helpful in my prep work before the interview, so thank you everyone who have contributed to this forum.

Here we go....

My company did all the paper work under L1 Blanket and it took nearly 6 weeks for petition filing and 3 bundles with all papers being couriered to me. Added delays of 6 weeks, for appointment due to unavailability of slots.

Nevertheless my appointment was scheduled for 13th Aug at 8:45AM.

After standing in queue outside consulate, when i finally went inside, finger prints were verified. Then i waited for around 20 mins for interview and here are the details.

Good morning.
VO: Can I have your papers.
I handed her passports, I-129S, I-797
Q1: Which visa are you applying for?
A1: L1 A
Q2: Which organization do you work for?
A2: X
Q3: What’s will be your designation there?
A3: X. (Q. Who do you report to) I will be reporting to Y who reports into Z.
Q4: What will be your salary?
A4: X
Q5: Have you and your wife visited US before?
A5: Yes, I have visited multiple times on B1 but my wife hasn’t
Q6: Where all have you traveled to in US?
A6: I have been to multiple places for client meetings, but port of entries has been Chicago and New York
Q7: What’s your role?
A7: Here or there?
Q8: Here?
A8: I have 4 key responsibilities (a, b, c, d) and spoke one line on each.

Questions to L2 applicant (Wife)
Q11: What your highest qualifications?
A11: Post graduate diploma in Management (Is that Management?) yes.
Q12: Any kids?
A12: No

Questions to L1 applicant
Q14: What work does your company do?
A14: X specializes in YY services.
Q15: How many people will you be handling in US?
A15: 6
Q16: Are they the same, who report to you here?
A16: No, there is no overlap. All of them are based in US.

VO took a minute and said, she is placing my request under administrative processing, which is required for some background checks. This will take 2-3 days and someone will get back over Email (she was smiling, so i inferred its all good)

Then handed over blue form 221 (g) under “Your application is refused for administrative processing. The application will be reconsidered when administrative processing in complete”.
I asked, if they need any additional documents, to which VO said, she has all documents she needs.

I was sad, but since the VO hasn't returned my passport, there was a ray of hope.

Kept checking status every morning and evening and FINALLY VISA got approved after 2 weeks.

Will be moving to US in 2 months :)

Takeaways:
1. Put-in at least a week in preparing all questions and do mocks at least twice.
2. Be confident and smile whenever possible (don't overdo it) during interview.
3. Cross check if question is not clear (better to do this, then sabotage your opportunity)
4. Carry all your papers and dress smart ( i was only one on that day in a tie and suit)

All the best.

I want to add my experience and give back to the community.

Our interview was at 11.15AM Chennai consulate for L1A Individual. Not talking about Biometric as everyone knows.

I have a family of 4. I did not take my kids, took only my spouse.
Some tips:
1. Don't bring car keys with remote or any electronics, they are not allowed inside. An autodriver agreed to safe keep for us at an exorbitant price for Rs.500 - I negotiated down to 300. We had no choice. Earlier there used to a small kiosk to leave your stuff for a price but not anymore. You are at the mercy of the autodriver. Don't carry anything other than documents and lose cash.
2. Arrive exactly AT the time of interview, no earlier. Also, remember the wait time increases with the time of day. For instance if you have 8AM appointment your interview will be at 8.15 AM. If you have 11.15 AM appointment your interview will only be at 12.45. Be prepared for this.
3. For L1As it helps if you do not dye your hair. A little grey helps.
4. Suit Up! You are an important person as an L1A and this is an important interview
5. Do not forget to smile. You will see everyone with glum and worried faces - dont let that affect you. There is no reason to worry. This is not end of the earth.
6. Do not lean on the counter or fidget with your file
7. Speak loud
8. Do not reveal more information than necessary - Answer to the point.
9. As much as possible, schedule for your whole family
10 Be proud of where you work!

Experience:
I was nervous about this whole stamping thing after reading this forum. My company tried filing H1 for 2 consecutive years but with no luck in the lottery. Meanwhile I worked towards setting up a whole new line of business for them in those few years and I was a manager by right. There was a lot at stake for me and the company I work for (a small one). They had filed an L1A individual premium which went through a huge RFE and finally approved. I am no stranger to taking or conducting interviews and I am the head of a business unit but somehow I was nervous. The only way to overcome nervousness was to prepare so I requested my wife to conduct mock interviews with all the questions on the forum and ensure I have smart, crisp answers without wasting the officers time. I felt much better later and finally prepared my mind for any outcome - again I am no stranger to failure and I knew losing this opportunity meant only something better!!

I arrived with spouse and 2 kids passport (only) at 11.15 AM for the 11.15 appointment. We were allowed inside and after the security scans we walked to the interview building. All L1 blankets were being called out for additional process steps - who after those steps would join the main line. Rest could just join the line. It was a long wait of 30 minutes to just enter the building. I picked up small talk with the people ahead and behind me which helped lighten our mood and kept us busy till we entered the building.

Once inside we scanned our fingerprints and joined the interview line. This was another 15 minutes.

The interview line snaked to about 8 folds and we knew the wait was long. AC was insufficient and was pretty hot. We kept ourselves entertained overhearing interviews at the kiosks across the hall. There were about 7 kiosks one side and maybe 9 more adjacent side. The 7 kiosks at the front are for the employemnt/study visas like H1, L1, F1 etc. Business visas, especially with local languages went to the ones at the side.

Each officer was at a different temperament, some were standing and taking interviews and some were sitting. There was one officer who threw somebody's passport back at them mid-way through the interview. For another person probably a F-1 he was asking sarcastic questions like "Why should you do it only in US?" "What is wrong with other countries" "What happens after you finish the course, will you go back?" On the other hand, there was a lady officer who was smiling all the time and we could hardly hear what was going on at the kiosk. There was another black officer who was suggesting nice places to go to in US and engaging in small talk to ease the tension. Me and my wife were pretty entertained and giggling mainly at the helplessness of all this - we were prepared for any kind of outcome. I was secretly hoping I did not have to go to the kiosk with the serious officer who threw the passport but I believe he was the most senior of the lot. I definitely saw a couple of interviews go very smoothly at his kiosk.

Anyway, after 40 long minutes it was our turn and the support guy asked us to join the queue of the smiling lady officer and just when we turned he asked us hop back and join the queue of the same officer who threw the other person's passport. It was 12.45 i.e waited 1.5 hours and we were hungry. My heart started thumping but I put up my game face. It was not the time to feel weak and me and my wife put up our best smiles possible and stepped up to the yellow line. The previous interviewee left - he got the yellow slip. He asked us to step forward after a minute.

Me: Hello officer, Good afternoon, Hope you are doing well today.
VO: Hello. May I have your passport?
I gave 4 of them with mine on top.
Me: The one on top is mine and the rest are my families.
He opened and scanned each passport. Started looking up something on the computer for about 2 minutes. Complete silence. This gave me time to compose myself and enter game mode!

Officer pulled out my 3yr old sons passport and asked:
VO: Where is " YYYY " now?
Me: He is at school ..
And I pulled off a simple joke. He started laughing and we also laughed.

Then again he started scrolling and typing on the computer for 2 full minutes. I always wear my company's pin on my suit collar any time I wear a suit for work like speaking at conferences or meeting customers. I wore it to the consulate too. He suddenly looked up from his computer and pointed at my pin and asked
VO: What is that on your suit?
Me: That is my company YYYY Ltd. I always wear it proudly for any thing official.

VO: What is your US salary?
Me: YYYY dollars + medical + benefits

Next moment. He pulled a rubber band and tied our passports without a slip.
VO: I am approving your VISA sir, you can go.

Took me about 5 seconds to realise it was not a question and that it was over. That is when I stuttered and said:

Me: Uh. . Thank you officer. You have a good and fun friday evening.

I grabbed my spouse's hand and ran out of the consulate with empty file in hand. He asked none of the questions I prepared for. Did not ask for any documents including my I-797. DId not ask my role or how many reports (I have 27 in total including directs/indirects). We were surprised that the first question he asked was about our son and felt that our youngest one was somehow very lucky for us!

Thank you for reading this!

I want to add my experience and give back to the community.

Our interview was at 11.15AM Chennai consulate for L1A Individual. Not talking about Biometric as everyone knows.

I have a family of 4. I did not take my kids, took only my spouse.
Some tips:
1. Don't bring car keys with remote or any electronics, they are not allowed inside. An autodriver agreed to safe keep for us at an exorbitant price for Rs.500 - I negotiated down to 300. We had no choice. Earlier there used to a small kiosk to leave your stuff for a price but not anymore. You are at the mercy of the autodriver. Don't carry anything other than documents and lose cash.
2. Arrive exactly AT the time of interview, no earlier. Also, remember the wait time increases with the time of day. For instance if you have 8AM appointment your interview will be at 8.15 AM. If you have 11.15 AM appointment your interview will only be at 12.45. Be prepared for this.
3. For L1As it helps if you do not dye your hair. A little grey helps.
4. Suit Up! You are an important person as an L1A and this is an important interview
5. Do not forget to smile. You will see everyone with glum and worried faces - dont let that affect you. There is no reason to worry. This is not end of the earth.
6. Do not lean on the counter or fidget with your file
7. Speak loud
8. Do not reveal more information than necessary - Answer to the point.
9. As much as possible, schedule for your whole family
10 Be proud of where you work!

Experience:
I was nervous about this whole stamping thing after reading this forum. My company tried filing H1 for 2 consecutive years but with no luck in the lottery. Meanwhile I worked towards setting up a whole new line of business for them in those few years and I was a manager by right. There was a lot at stake for me and the company I work for (a small one). They had filed an L1A individual premium which went through a huge RFE and finally approved. I am no stranger to taking or conducting interviews and I am the head of a business unit but somehow I was nervous. The only way to overcome nervousness was to prepare so I requested my wife to conduct mock interviews with all the questions on the forum and ensure I have smart, crisp answers without wasting the officers time. I felt much better later and finally prepared my mind for any outcome - again I am no stranger to failure and I knew losing this opportunity meant only something better!!

I arrived with spouse and 2 kids passport (only) at 11.15 AM for the 11.15 appointment. We were allowed inside and after the security scans we walked to the interview building. All L1 blankets were being called out for additional process steps - who after those steps would join the main line. Rest could just join the line. It was a long wait of 30 minutes to just enter the building. I picked up small talk with the people ahead and behind me which helped lighten our mood and kept us busy till we entered the building.

Once inside we scanned our fingerprints and joined the interview line. This was another 15 minutes.

The interview line snaked to about 8 folds and we knew the wait was long. AC was insufficient and was pretty hot. We kept ourselves entertained overhearing interviews at the kiosks across the hall. There were about 7 kiosks one side and maybe 9 more adjacent side. The 7 kiosks at the front are for the employemnt/study visas like H1, L1, F1 etc. Business visas, especially with local languages went to the ones at the side.

Each officer was at a different temperament, some were standing and taking interviews and some were sitting. There was one officer who threw somebody's passport back at them mid-way through the interview. For another person probably a F-1 he was asking sarcastic questions like "Why should you do it only in US?" "What is wrong with other countries" "What happens after you finish the course, will you go back?" On the other hand, there was a lady officer who was smiling all the time and we could hardly hear what was going on at the kiosk. There was another black officer who was suggesting nice places to go to in US and engaging in small talk to ease the tension. Me and my wife were pretty entertained and giggling mainly at the helplessness of all this - we were prepared for any kind of outcome. I was secretly hoping I did not have to go to the kiosk with the serious officer who threw the passport but I believe he was the most senior of the lot. I definitely saw a couple of interviews go very smoothly at his kiosk.

Anyway, after 40 long minutes it was our turn and the support guy asked us to join the queue of the smiling lady officer and just when we turned he asked us hop back and join the queue of the same officer who threw the other person's passport. It was 12.45 i.e waited 1.5 hours and we were hungry. My heart started thumping but I put up my game face. It was not the time to feel weak and me and my wife put up our best smiles possible and stepped up to the yellow line. The previous interviewee left - he got the yellow slip. He asked us to step forward after a minute.

Me: Hello officer, Good afternoon, Hope you are doing well today.
VO: Hello. May I have your passport?
I gave 4 of them with mine on top.
Me: The one on top is mine and the rest are my families.
He opened and scanned each passport. Started looking up something on the computer for about 2 minutes. Complete silence. This gave me time to compose myself and enter game mode!

Officer pulled out my 3yr old sons passport and asked:
VO: Where is " YYYY " now?
Me: He is at school ..
And I pulled off a simple joke. He started laughing and we also laughed.

Then again he started scrolling and typing on the computer for 2 full minutes. I always wear my company's pin on my suit collar any time I wear a suit for work like speaking at conferences or meeting customers. I wore it to the consulate too. He suddenly looked up from his computer and pointed at my pin and asked
VO: What is that on your suit?
Me: That is my company YYYY Ltd. I always wear it proudly for any thing official.

VO: What is your US salary?
Me: YYYY dollars + medical + benefits

Next moment. He pulled a rubber band and tied our passports without a slip.
VO: I am approving your VISA sir, you can go.

Took me about 5 seconds to realise it was not a question and that it was over. That is when I stuttered and said:

Me: Uh. . Thank you officer. You have a good and fun friday evening.

I grabbed my spouse's hand and ran out of the consulate with empty file in hand. He asked none of the questions I prepared for. Did not ask for any documents including my I-797. He did not ask my role or how many report to me (which is about 27 including directs/indirects). We were surprised that the first question he asked was about our son and felt that our youngest one was somehow very lucky for us!

Thank you for reading this!

I want to add my experience and give back to the community.

Our interview was at 11.15AM Chennai consulate for L1A Individual. Not talking about Biometric as everyone knows.

I have a family of 4. I did not take my kids, took only my spouse.
Some tips:
1. Don't bring car keys with remote or any electronics, they are not allowed inside. An autodriver agreed to safe keep for us at an exorbitant price for Rs.500 - I negotiated down to 300. We had no choice. Earlier there used to a small kiosk to leave your stuff for a price but not anymore. You are at the mercy of the autodriver. Don't carry anything other than documents and lose cash.
2. Arrive exactly AT the time of interview, no earlier. Also, remember the wait time increases with the time of day. For instance if you have 8AM appointment your interview will be at 8.15 AM. If you have 11.15 AM appointment your interview will only be at 12.45. Be prepared for this.
3. For L1As it helps if you do not dye your hair. A little grey helps.
4. Suit Up! You are an important person as an L1A and this is an important interview
5. Do not forget to smile. You will see everyone with glum and worried faces - dont let that affect you. There is no reason to worry. This is not end of the earth.
6. Do not lean on the counter or fidget with your file
7. Speak loud
8. Do not reveal more information than necessary - Answer to the point.
9. As much as possible, schedule for your whole family
10 Be proud of where you work!

Experience:
I was nervous about this whole stamping thing after reading this forum. My company tried filing H1 for 2 consecutive years but with no luck in the lottery. Meanwhile I worked towards setting up a whole new line of business for them in those few years and I was a manager by right. There was a lot at stake for me and the company I work for (a small one). They had filed an L1A individual premium which went through a huge RFE and finally approved. I am no stranger to taking or conducting interviews and I am the head of a business unit but somehow I was nervous. The only way to overcome nervousness was to prepare so I requested my wife to conduct mock interviews with all the questions on the forum and ensure I have smart, crisp answers without wasting the officers time. I felt much better later and finally prepared my mind for any outcome - again I am no stranger to failure and I knew losing this opportunity meant only something better!!

I arrived with spouse and 2 kids passport (only) at 11.15 AM for the 11.15 appointment. We were allowed inside and after the security scans we walked to the interview building. All L1 blankets were being called out for additional process steps - who after those steps would join the main line. Rest could just join the line. It was a long wait of 30 minutes to just enter the building. I picked up small talk with the people ahead and behind me which helped lighten our mood and kept us busy till we entered the building.

Once inside we scanned our fingerprints and joined the interview line. This was another 15 minutes.

The interview line snaked to about 8 folds and we knew the wait was long. AC was insufficient and was pretty hot. We kept ourselves entertained overhearing interviews at the kiosks across the hall. There were about 7 kiosks one side and maybe 9 more adjacent side. The 7 kiosks at the front are for the employemnt/study visas like H1, L1, F1 etc. Business visas, especially with local languages went to the ones at the side.

Each officer was at a different temperament, some were standing and taking interviews and some were sitting. There was one officer who threw somebody's passport back at them mid-way through the interview. For another person probably a F-1 he was asking sarcastic questions like "Why should you do it only in US?" "What is wrong with other countries" "What happens after you finish the course, will you go back?" On the other hand, there was a lady officer who was smiling all the time and we could hardly hear what was going on at the kiosk. There was another black officer who was suggesting nice places to go to in US and engaging in small talk to ease the tension. Me and my wife were pretty entertained and giggling mainly at the helplessness of all this - we were prepared for any kind of outcome. I was secretly hoping I did not have to go to the kiosk with the serious officer who threw the passport but I believe he was the most senior of the lot. I definitely saw a couple of interviews go very smoothly at his kiosk.

Anyway, after 40 long minutes it was our turn and the support guy asked us to join the queue of the smiling lady officer and just when we turned he asked us hop back and join the queue of the same officer who threw the other person's passport. It was 12.45 i.e waited 1.5 hours and we were hungry. My heart started thumping but I put up my game face. It was not the time to feel weak and me and my wife put up our best smiles possible and stepped up to the yellow line. The previous interviewee left - he got the yellow slip. He asked us to step forward after a minute.

Me: Hello officer, Good afternoon, Hope you are doing well today.
VO: Hello. May I have your passport?
I gave 4 of them with mine on top.
Me: The one on top is mine and the rest are my families.
He opened and scanned each passport. Started looking up something on the computer for about 2 minutes. Complete silence. This gave me time to compose myself and enter game mode!

Officer pulled out my 3yr old sons passport and asked:
VO: Where is " YYYY " now?
Me: He is at school ..
And I pulled off a simple joke. He started laughing and we also laughed.

Then again he started scrolling and typing on the computer for 2 full minutes. I always wear my company's pin on my suit collar any time I wear a suit for work like speaking at conferences or meeting customers. I wore it to the consulate too. He suddenly looked up from his computer and pointed at my pin and asked
VO: What is that on your suit?
Me: That is my company YYYY Ltd. I always wear it proudly for any thing official.

VO: What is your US salary?
Me: YYYY dollars + medical + benefits

Next moment. He pulled a rubber band and tied our passports without a slip.
VO: I am approving your VISA sir, you can go.

Took me about 5 seconds to realise it was not a question and that it was over. That is when I stuttered and said:

Me: Uh. . Thank you officer. You have a good and fun friday evening.

I grabbed my spouse's hand and ran out of the consulate with empty file in hand. He asked none of the questions I prepared for. Did not ask for any documents including my I-797. He did not even ask how many people report to me (which is about 27 including directs and indirects). We were surprised that the first question he asked was about our son and felt that our youngest one was somehow very lucky for us!

Thank you for reading this!

Hello every one,

I got the Administration processing on 7th august 2018 for L-1A visa. Yesterday i got the email from consulate to submit more documents.

I have collected all documents but they are more than 5mb size.

My question is "Can i submit the attachments in single email or separate emails? OR can i drop box the documents in chennai?"
all the documents will be around 20 mb and they are of pdf format.

Please help me out.

Thanks

Any buddy got recent update of RFE from uscis
Please do reply me

Hi All,

Unfortunately i found lately that my Income tax is invalid for financial year 2016-17. My HR was asked me to have 3 years ITR documents for stamping. I have appointment on 23-09-2018 and I am very nervous.

Please help me !!

Hello,

There are many negative reviews about Singapore US Embassy so I was a bit worried about my application but everything went very smooth and I had such an amazing experience. Here goes the full story.

I applied for L1B Individual for myself and L2 for my wife and daughter.

My company applied for L1B Individual under premium processing in June 2018 and I got RFE within 15 days. We worked on the RFE response for a couple of weeks and submitted the RFE response in August 2018 and petition was approved within 12 days.

My visa appointment was on 6th September 9:15AM. We reached the embassy gate around 8:50 and a lady verified our documents (I-797, DS-160 Confirmation, Payment Receipt, Photo and asked about our visa status in Singapore).

Once we were inside the embassy, we were asked to go-to biometrics counter for finger scans and after that we joined the interview queue.

At window:

VO was a lady and she was typing something throughout my interview.

VO - Have you ever worked in USA before?
Me - NO (Note - I visited USA 3 times before on B1 visa, so do not confuse your B1 visits with this question)

VO - What is your current role?
Me - In two simple sentences, explained my role.

VO - What will be your role and designation in the USA?
Me - Again, explained my role in a simple sentence.

VO - Since how long you have been working for the firm?
Me - 2 Years
 
VO - Have you ever worked for this firm in any other countries?
Me - No

VO - Can I see your US offer letter?
Me - I provided my offer letter

VO - Your visas are approved and you will receive your passports in 3 working days.

We were out of the embassy by 9:20 AM so in total, we were done with the entire process in less than 30 minutes. AMAZING!!!

Our amazement continued when we received my daughter's passport very next day (7th Sep) and remaining passports today (8th Sep). What an amazing efficiency of the Singapore US Consulate.

I would strongly recommend, people in Singapore to apply in Singapore instead of traveling back to the home country unless there is a specific reason.

All the best!

Thanks