Rubs90

Hi,

I am currently employed in London for a large British bank and have been offered a role in NYC for very similar responsibilities. My line is of work is quite specialized (data science in internal audit) and they have decided that they can really benefit from bringing me over to the US due to some areas that I have gained a lot of experience in here in the UK.

I think overall we have a strong argument for an L1-B visa and I can discuss in detail with the interviewing officer why I consider my knowledge to be specialized and why my company would benefit from me moving to the US, however from my understanding rejection rates are really high right now for L1 visas and the lawyers are being cautious. They have highlighted that there are two things which may raise issues during the interview:

- My degree is in Marketing, which whilst related to data analysis is not the standard degree that comes to mind for a data scientist. I have had a lot of skills that are fully transferable to the area from my degree as I began my career working in Marketing analytics, but the interviewer may raise an issue
- I have only worked for my company for a year and a half, although I am bringing with me a strong letter of recommendation detailing my skills

Has anyone had a recent experience for an L1-B visa interview at the London embassy? Any tips that people would recommend? Do you think the above may pose an issue or do you think my case should hopefully be strong enough to brush off the above?

Thanks in advance.

GeneralPowerpoint

Hey,

I had my blanket L-1B interview recently under similarish conditions. So happy to give my perspective.

I was also told by the lawyers that L-1Bs had come under particular scrutiny in London since the Chief Consular Officer position was filled by a Trump appointee. In any case I was advised to go to Belfast as appointments were available earlier. I believe Belfast rejection rates are not as high so it might be worth exploring with your own lawyers whether it makes sense to reschedule your interview there, though you'd be wise to complete a new DS-160 if you were to pursue that option.

My own interview was after I had been working for the company for 2 years. But the reason for the transfer, which was explained in both my letters from the NYC office and London office was that I had been trained in a proprietary skillset that was not available in the US market. My lawyers perspective was that it's better for the knowledge to be both specialized and proprietary to the company. So if that's an argument you can make then all the better.

My degree is similarly completely unrelated. I studied law and work in marketing. In anticipation of that coming up I made sure that I could articulately and succinctly explain the transferable skills. In any case it didn't come up, though he did ask me how long I'd worked in my current field, to which I could answer 10 years. So the relevance of my degree at that point was probably less important.

It's impossible for anyone to comment on the strength of your case - we haven't seen it. But if you work for a large British bank they'll be using a major firm, and they wouldn't send you to the embassy if they didn't think the case stood a good chance of being approved.

It's easier said than done but try and relax, answer the questions succinctly and clearly (don't ramble) and believe in yourself and your application. Try not to rehearse pre-prepared answers that might cause you to stumble if the questions don't match your expectations. But familiarise yourself with all your documents so that you can speak confidently to their contents when asked.

Finally, allow yourself some time to go for a nice breakfast after the interview. Regardless of the outcome.

TexanScot

I very much doubt that you'll need to do anything of the sort. My blanket L-1 was also in the UK and all I was asked the name of my company, which city the job was based in and if I'd ever been to the city before.

Literally those three questions and my visa was approved!


Rejection rates are high for certain countries where questionable petitions may have been approved in the past in an attempt to get round the H-1B cap, neither of which really pertains to the UK.


This isn't actually a problem, since a degree is NOT a requirement for an L-1B visa. So long as the letter that the attorneys prepare clearly outlines the relevance of the degree and how your experience and education pertains to the specialist knowledge, you should be fine.

The requirement is that you have been employed for at least a year, so you're fine.

Honestly, I think you're seriously overthinking it. It's blanket L-1 and the company has obviously done this a few times, so just follow the advice from the attorneys and I'm sure you will be fine.

shiversaint

I know you're trying to relax OP, but this board knows full well that there are significant variations from officer to officer when it comes to type and quantity of questioning. I can think of one case that came up quite recently for a L1 that was heavily scrutinized, and it's totally possible that it could be the same for OP.

The comment prior to yours is better advice: be prepared to calmly answer specific questions. Going in thinking "ah it'll be fine" is the last thing you should do.

Rubs90

Thank you for your reply. Could you refer me to that post where the interviewee was heavily scrutinized? Would be curious to hear some of the questions that were asked

petitefrancaise

The last year for which official statistics are available on non-immigrant admissions and specifically for the L1 visa is 2017.
My own working experience with new arrivals is that I'm not seeing more L1 denials. However, the companies I work with are no longer booking flights etc until the visa is in the passport.
The statistics for the years 2014-2017 show an increase in the the numbers of L1 admissions overall and an increase in the numbers arriving from the UK. https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-stat.../yearbook/2017
Searching google however, gives all kinds of answers mostly from lawyer's websites telling you that there is an increase in denials, make of that what you will.
Be well prepared for your interview though!

postbox134

Hi there,
I've just had my L-1B interview in Belfast, as stated above the attorneys were keen for me to go there rather than London where I live and work currently.
Was really straightforward, but I was prepared for the worst. I had so much paperwork that was glanced at by the officer, who then asked the following:

• How long have you worked at X? (2 years)
• What is your highest qualification? (BSc)
• What is your specialist knowledge that you'll use in the US?

Overall, it took about 2 hours mostly just waiting, but the interview was around 4 mins. One thing to note, you're not allowed your phone so when paying the $500 fee I'd suggest cash, all but one of my cards was declined and I had no phone to take my bank's calls (it's a mag swipe rather than chip and pin).

If you can go to Belfast it might well be worth it (cheap and quick flights from city airport).

Hope that helps/prepare in advance and you'll be okay.

bebo123

Hi All--new to the forum and rummaging for tips on Belfast consulate interview for L1B blanket petition.
My appointment is coming up in 5 days and I think I have prepared adequately. As mentioned above, was advised to go to Belfast vs. London due to some random denials. Nervous about how this will play out as it used to be a guaranteed visa for our company to send employees between UK and US but all up in the air now.

Anyone heard of denials for L1B in Belfast and what one should NOT do?

TexanScot

No visas are ever guaranteed.

bebo123

Well that is certainly true. I should rephrase and say that the blanket visa was granted in most cases considering that the candidates were chosen carefully and a strong case was behind the applications. From my own experience of having an RFE denied there are certainly some bizarre reasons for denials these days--in my case saying a degree is not required when peers in my industry hold at least two, sometimes three, degrees. Our attorney actually wanted to go to court for the case but was not worth the time and $$

TexanScot

I'm not sure I follow - I thought a degree WAS a requirement for blanket L-1B, since the language around blanket makes it applicable to a specialist knowledge "professional" rather than a "worker".

Whilst my employer generally does blanket L-1B, we had to go down the individual petition route recently for someone who didn't have a degree.

Are you saying you had a blanket L-1B rejected because they said a degree wasn't a requirement?

bebo123

The prior rejection of RFE was on an H1B petition. USCIS decided that a degree was not needed for the job therefore no need for H1B petition for a non american.

TheKingOfHearts

Degree is definitely not a requirement for L visas, it is however for H-1B. That said, it is always harder to work up the justification of specialist knowledge without a degree, but it is indeed possible.

bebo123

TexanScot