L1 individual appointment

[amagarw]

Hi,

My L1B blanket was rejected and I applied for L1 individual visa which got approved some time back.
I have booked an appointment at the US consulate at Kolkata.
My query is regarding the Kolkata consulate. I have heard Kolkata has more rejection cases than other consulates. Is it true? Should I consider changing my appointment?
I chose Kolkata since I was getting the earliest date there!

[Libra_14]

My query is regarding the Kolkata consulate. I have heard Kolkata has more rejection cases than other consulates. Is it true? Should I consider changing my appointment?

Thats not at all true. An consulate cannot be biased.

You have an approved L1 individual petition, you have already almost won the battle - just go & collect your visa.

Other way, it might be possible that all false cases are going to Kolkata & hence getting rejected

[amagarw]

Thanks for the quick answer. Its possibly due to high number of false cases at Kolkata!

[amagarw]

I have another query. My I-797 approval says 'Consulate Notified' as Chennai and I have booked an appointment at Kolkata. The ustraveldocs website said L1 individual can book an appointment at any consulate in India. Do you think this is ok since Chennai is mentioned in I-797?

[Libra_14]

Best of luck & please share your experience after interview.

[sid.bit31]

Hi,

My L1B blanket was rejected and I applied for L1 individual visa which got approved some time back.
I have booked an appointment at the US consulate at Kolkata.
My query is regarding the Kolkata consulate. I have heard Kolkata has more rejection cases than other consulates. Is it true? Should I consider changing my appointment?
I chose Kolkata since I was getting the earliest date there!

Sailing the same boat as yours . My Attorney mentioned that it doesnt matter . We can visit any consulate even though I-797 mentions chennai .
What date did you get for Kolkata btw ?

[amagarw]

I got July 1st. I had booked this date in May mid.

[amagarw]

Hi,

My visa didn't get approved. They said it under administrative processing and we will get in touch with you if anything is needed.
Any idea why did this happen and what is the next steps for me?

[Libra_14]

Hi,

My visa didn't get approved. They said it under administrative processing and we will get in touch with you if anything is needed.
Any idea why did this happen and what is the next steps for me?

Not to be worry, its not denied either. Did they kept your passports or not?

They might be done some background verification for sometime & then will give you the visa.

[amagarw]

They didn't keep the passport. Just said we will get in touch if something is needed from you.
I was worried because they returned the passport. Usually they keep the passport right?

[ratedguy]

Post your full interview experience here for further analysis. amagarw

[amagarw]

The VO started by asking about my current work and I answered it.
Then he asked my position and how many team members are there.
Then surprisingly he said he needs some time and went inside to speak with someone. He took around 10 mins and I could see him discussing something with some officer inside. It seemed my VO didn't have much experience dealing with L1 individual cases.
After coming back he asked 'Why didn't your employer file H1B for you?'
I said my company usually sends people on L1B and later files H1B.
He said he is surprised why they didn't file H1B and handed me 221g and my passport.

[Libra_14]

After coming back he asked 'Why didn't your employer file H1B for you?'
I said my company usually sends people on L1B and later files H1B.
He said he is surprised why they didn't file H1B and handed me 221g and my passport.

I think the above was a trick question to check, if you are an real L1B candidate or not. L1B (specialized skills) in general are at high scrutiny right now.

When you said your company usually sends people on L1B & converting into H1B can be an issue - it says you are misusing the visa type & making ways to move people to USA.

[amagarw]

The thing is VO already had pulled out the 221g slip while asking this question. So, I don't think this altered his decision. Btw, how much is the usual response time for administrative processing?

[Jacksamson]

L1 Blanket visa is issued for a company. ... For an L1B individual visa, the approval is specific to the individual..