L1B blanket rejected, should go for L1 individual or H1

[fisvisa]

Hi,
my L1B blanket was rejected in Chennai in Mar 2017. the VO did not ask many questions, -
which company you work for?
your salary?
what does your product do?
your job duties?
then after 2 minutes, he said "based on what you said this morning, I cannot approve the visa, please get in touch with your HR" and gave back my passport and two stamped copies of i129s "not clearly approvable" stamp.
unable to understand what he meant.. is it that my answers did not convince him?
Please suggest what can I do now? should I apply for L1-indiviadual. If so is there any cooling period that I should wait? my company says to wait 6 months before reapplying any visa. What are the points to keep in mind, so that it gets approved

[raghvi]

Hi,
my L1B blanket was rejected in Chennai in Mar 2017. the VO did not ask many questions, -
which company you work for?
your salary?
what does your product do?
your job duties?
then after 2 minutes, he said "based on what you said this morning, I cannot approve the visa, please get in touch with your HR" and gave back my passport and two stamped copies of i129s "not clearly approvable" stamp.
unable to understand what he meant.. is it that my answers did not convince him?
Please suggest what can I do now? should I apply for L1-indiviadual. If so is there any cooling period that I should wait? my company says to wait 6 months before reapplying any visa. What are the points to keep in mind, so that it gets approved

Seems your profile and answers did not convince the officer on your eligibility for L1B. There are vague guidelines around ones eligibility for L1B, and it varies based on the VO's interpretation of those guidelines. One should look at the skill sets critically to self assess if one truly possesses skills which are unique in the organization/industry. You can try for L1 Individual, H1 season is over for this year, and next window will open only in April 2018.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[fisvisa]

Seems your profile and answers did not convince the officer on your eligibility for L1B. There are vague guidelines around ones eligibility for L1B, and it varies based on the VO's interpretation of those guidelines. One should look at the skill sets critically to self assess if one truly possesses skills which are unique in the organization/industry. You can try for L1 Individual, H1 season is over for this year, and next window will open only in April 2018.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

thanks Raghvi, I have 9 years of exp(out of which 5 years is in my current company and product. Now if I apply for L1 individual visa, does my previous rejection of L1 Blanket have impact on the individual, as that is also specialized skills?

[raghvi]

thanks Raghvi, I have 9 years of exp(out of which 5 years is in my current company and product. Now if I apply for L1 individual visa, does my previous rejection of L1 Blanket have impact on the individual, as that is also specialized skills?

Merely having 5 Years Experience in a company product is not proof of specialization. Look around in your company and the industry, how many other have similar skill sets as you? What sets you apart from them and how can you prove that? I would advise getting the documents vetted out by a proficient attorney who specializes in L1B visas. L1 blanket refusal generally does not have an impact on the L1 Individual filing as L1 individual is screened by USCIS whereas L1B is dependent solely on the Consular officers screening.

This is my opinion not legal advice.