L-1B visa interview experience in Belfast and stamp question
Feb 4th 2020, 10:49 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 3
L-1B visa interview experience in Belfast and stamp question
Hi all,
Been lurking on here for a while and thought I'd share my recent L1B interview experience in Belfast and I got a question on the stamp validity.
Just for background, I've been working at my company in London (multinational firm) for the past 2+ years and have been discussing with them on relocating to the New York office for a virtually identical role based on specialized knowledge (5+ years of experience in total. Highest education is a MSc).
This was my first L1 application and I was advised to attend the interview in Belfast.
The timeline for the process is roughly:
End of Nov-2019/beginning of Dec-2019: external law firm that my company uses started collecting my documents and questionnaires for the paperwork
22-Jan-2020: The law firm asked me to complete DS-160 and booked the interview appointment which I did on the same day and found one available on Jan 30th. I booked the interview for that day knowing that there may be some risk of me not getting my passport back in time for my travel out of the country on Feb 11th.. (I already booked a two week vacation trip from mid Feb, as the law firm initially told me that the interview would be in March for an end of March/early April move to NYC).
30-Jan-2020: Attended the interview in Belfast. My appointment was at 10:30am. I flew in the night before just to be safe and arrived around 20 minutes early. As other people said, the majority of the time spent is waiting in the waiting room.
They took all my phones and electronics away at the gate of the consulate (bring a book if you can't deal with boredom and want to kill time while you wait). After the first 5-10 minutes, a lady called me to the counter to check the paperwork and passport. I brought a passport size photo with me (even though I already uploaded one successfully when completing the DS-160 online).
The photo was returned back with the document on my way out. After the lady checked my paperwork, I waited for a few more minutes before getting called out to the cashier counter to pay the $500 fraud detection fee. I preemptively brought cash with me for the amount, but my credit card worked so I used that ($500 worth of extra points. why not..).
Then I got called into the actual interview room. The consular office mainly asked what I do and what specialized knowledge I'd bring to the US and where I went to college (I did my undergraduate and master in the US so that was probably just him trying to make a conversation). The whole interview took may be 2 minutes max. I was given back the I-129s with a stamp and off I went exploring the Titanic museum before flying back to London.
31-Jan-2020: In the morning, my case status was under 'administrative processing.' I checked again in the afternoon, and it was changed to 'issued.'
3-Feb-2020: Got an email early in the morning saying that dx delivery will deliver my passport to the collection point in London and I can pick it up the next day
4-Feb-2020: For the whole day, even though the status says Feb 4th was the pick up date, the delivery status never changed from Booked for collection from collection point (Now out on road). I suspect my passport probably arrived but the status is stale
5-Feb-2020: the delivery status was still 'now out on road.' I decided to go to the collection point to see what's up. Sure enough, the passport was there ready for me to pick it up today.
So all in all, assuming I could pick the passport up on the 4th, it would have taken just 3 business days in total from (but excluding) the interview date. I applied for a B2 visa at the London consulate back in 2018 and it took at least a week for my application to get all sorted.
The visa stamp in my passport did state my duration for the L1B until Feb 2023 (the 3 year period that the lawyers asked for in my application). However, the expiration date of the actual visa is until Jan 2021 (a year from the issue date Jan 31st).
I know it's probably not a big deal and I can get a new stamp post the expiration date. However, initially, I thought they might give me a 2 year stamp since my passport expires in May 2022. So to be given just a 1 year visa stamp feels even shorter. Is this common for the others who are on L1?
Been lurking on here for a while and thought I'd share my recent L1B interview experience in Belfast and I got a question on the stamp validity.
Just for background, I've been working at my company in London (multinational firm) for the past 2+ years and have been discussing with them on relocating to the New York office for a virtually identical role based on specialized knowledge (5+ years of experience in total. Highest education is a MSc).
This was my first L1 application and I was advised to attend the interview in Belfast.
The timeline for the process is roughly:
End of Nov-2019/beginning of Dec-2019: external law firm that my company uses started collecting my documents and questionnaires for the paperwork
22-Jan-2020: The law firm asked me to complete DS-160 and booked the interview appointment which I did on the same day and found one available on Jan 30th. I booked the interview for that day knowing that there may be some risk of me not getting my passport back in time for my travel out of the country on Feb 11th.. (I already booked a two week vacation trip from mid Feb, as the law firm initially told me that the interview would be in March for an end of March/early April move to NYC).
30-Jan-2020: Attended the interview in Belfast. My appointment was at 10:30am. I flew in the night before just to be safe and arrived around 20 minutes early. As other people said, the majority of the time spent is waiting in the waiting room.
They took all my phones and electronics away at the gate of the consulate (bring a book if you can't deal with boredom and want to kill time while you wait). After the first 5-10 minutes, a lady called me to the counter to check the paperwork and passport. I brought a passport size photo with me (even though I already uploaded one successfully when completing the DS-160 online).
The photo was returned back with the document on my way out. After the lady checked my paperwork, I waited for a few more minutes before getting called out to the cashier counter to pay the $500 fraud detection fee. I preemptively brought cash with me for the amount, but my credit card worked so I used that ($500 worth of extra points. why not..).
Then I got called into the actual interview room. The consular office mainly asked what I do and what specialized knowledge I'd bring to the US and where I went to college (I did my undergraduate and master in the US so that was probably just him trying to make a conversation). The whole interview took may be 2 minutes max. I was given back the I-129s with a stamp and off I went exploring the Titanic museum before flying back to London.
31-Jan-2020: In the morning, my case status was under 'administrative processing.' I checked again in the afternoon, and it was changed to 'issued.'
3-Feb-2020: Got an email early in the morning saying that dx delivery will deliver my passport to the collection point in London and I can pick it up the next day
4-Feb-2020: For the whole day, even though the status says Feb 4th was the pick up date, the delivery status never changed from Booked for collection from collection point (Now out on road). I suspect my passport probably arrived but the status is stale
5-Feb-2020: the delivery status was still 'now out on road.' I decided to go to the collection point to see what's up. Sure enough, the passport was there ready for me to pick it up today.
So all in all, assuming I could pick the passport up on the 4th, it would have taken just 3 business days in total from (but excluding) the interview date. I applied for a B2 visa at the London consulate back in 2018 and it took at least a week for my application to get all sorted.
The visa stamp in my passport did state my duration for the L1B until Feb 2023 (the 3 year period that the lawyers asked for in my application). However, the expiration date of the actual visa is until Jan 2021 (a year from the issue date Jan 31st).
I know it's probably not a big deal and I can get a new stamp post the expiration date. However, initially, I thought they might give me a 2 year stamp since my passport expires in May 2022. So to be given just a 1 year visa stamp feels even shorter. Is this common for the others who are on L1?
Feb 5th 2020, 12:17 am
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 502
Re: L-1B visa interview experience in Belfast and stamp question
I also did my L-1B interview at Belfast. An almost identical procedure to yours.however my visa stamp lasts 5 years. Though the status only lasts for 3. A visa of only 1 year does sound unusual based on my experience but others here know much more than I do.
Feb 5th 2020, 1:51 am
#3
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 455
Re: L-1B visa interview experience in Belfast and stamp question
I know it's probably not a big deal and I can get a new stamp post the expiration date. However, initially, I thought they might give me a 2 year stamp since my passport expires in May 2022. So to be given just a 1 year visa stamp feels even shorter. Is this common for the others who are on L1?
Issuing a foil with such a short validity period does seem unusual.
Feb 6th 2020, 7:27 am
#4
DE-UK-NZ-IE-US... the TYP
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,872
Re: L-1B visa interview experience in Belfast and stamp question
Hi all,
Been lurking on here for a while and thought I'd share my recent L1B interview experience in Belfast and I got a question on the stamp validity.
Just for background, I've been working at my company in London (multinational firm) for the past 2+ years and have been discussing with them on relocating to the New York office for a virtually identical role based on specialized knowledge (5+ years of experience in total. Highest education is a MSc).
This was my first L1 application and I was advised to attend the interview in Belfast.
The timeline for the process is roughly:
End of Nov-2019/beginning of Dec-2019: external law firm that my company uses started collecting my documents and questionnaires for the paperwork
22-Jan-2020: The law firm asked me to complete DS-160 and booked the interview appointment which I did on the same day and found one available on Jan 30th. I booked the interview for that day knowing that there may be some risk of me not getting my passport back in time for my travel out of the country on Feb 11th.. (I already booked a two week vacation trip from mid Feb, as the law firm initially told me that the interview would be in March for an end of March/early April move to NYC).
30-Jan-2020: Attended the interview in Belfast. My appointment was at 10:30am. I flew in the night before just to be safe and arrived around 20 minutes early. As other people said, the majority of the time spent is waiting in the waiting room.
They took all my phones and electronics away at the gate of the consulate (bring a book if you can't deal with boredom and want to kill time while you wait). After the first 5-10 minutes, a lady called me to the counter to check the paperwork and passport. I brought a passport size photo with me (even though I already uploaded one successfully when completing the DS-160 online).
The photo was returned back with the document on my way out. After the lady checked my paperwork, I waited for a few more minutes before getting called out to the cashier counter to pay the $500 fraud detection fee. I preemptively brought cash with me for the amount, but my credit card worked so I used that ($500 worth of extra points. why not..).
Then I got called into the actual interview room. The consular office mainly asked what I do and what specialized knowledge I'd bring to the US and where I went to college (I did my undergraduate and master in the US so that was probably just him trying to make a conversation). The whole interview took may be 2 minutes max. I was given back the I-129s with a stamp and off I went exploring the Titanic museum before flying back to London.
31-Jan-2020: In the morning, my case status was under 'administrative processing.' I checked again in the afternoon, and it was changed to 'issued.'
3-Feb-2020: Got an email early in the morning saying that dx delivery will deliver my passport to the collection point in London and I can pick it up the next day
4-Feb-2020: For the whole day, even though the status says Feb 4th was the pick up date, the delivery status never changed from Booked for collection from collection point (Now out on road). I suspect my passport probably arrived but the status is stale
5-Feb-2020: the delivery status was still 'now out on road.' I decided to go to the collection point to see what's up. Sure enough, the passport was there ready for me to pick it up today.
So all in all, assuming I could pick the passport up on the 4th, it would have taken just 3 business days in total from (but excluding) the interview date. I applied for a B2 visa at the London consulate back in 2018 and it took at least a week for my application to get all sorted.
The visa stamp in my passport did state my duration for the L1B until Feb 2023 (the 3 year period that the lawyers asked for in my application). However, the expiration date of the actual visa is until Jan 2021 (a year from the issue date Jan 31st).
I know it's probably not a big deal and I can get a new stamp post the expiration date. However, initially, I thought they might give me a 2 year stamp since my passport expires in May 2022. So to be given just a 1 year visa stamp feels even shorter. Is this common for the others who are on L1?
Been lurking on here for a while and thought I'd share my recent L1B interview experience in Belfast and I got a question on the stamp validity.
Just for background, I've been working at my company in London (multinational firm) for the past 2+ years and have been discussing with them on relocating to the New York office for a virtually identical role based on specialized knowledge (5+ years of experience in total. Highest education is a MSc).
This was my first L1 application and I was advised to attend the interview in Belfast.
The timeline for the process is roughly:
End of Nov-2019/beginning of Dec-2019: external law firm that my company uses started collecting my documents and questionnaires for the paperwork
22-Jan-2020: The law firm asked me to complete DS-160 and booked the interview appointment which I did on the same day and found one available on Jan 30th. I booked the interview for that day knowing that there may be some risk of me not getting my passport back in time for my travel out of the country on Feb 11th.. (I already booked a two week vacation trip from mid Feb, as the law firm initially told me that the interview would be in March for an end of March/early April move to NYC).
30-Jan-2020: Attended the interview in Belfast. My appointment was at 10:30am. I flew in the night before just to be safe and arrived around 20 minutes early. As other people said, the majority of the time spent is waiting in the waiting room.
They took all my phones and electronics away at the gate of the consulate (bring a book if you can't deal with boredom and want to kill time while you wait). After the first 5-10 minutes, a lady called me to the counter to check the paperwork and passport. I brought a passport size photo with me (even though I already uploaded one successfully when completing the DS-160 online).
The photo was returned back with the document on my way out. After the lady checked my paperwork, I waited for a few more minutes before getting called out to the cashier counter to pay the $500 fraud detection fee. I preemptively brought cash with me for the amount, but my credit card worked so I used that ($500 worth of extra points. why not..).
Then I got called into the actual interview room. The consular office mainly asked what I do and what specialized knowledge I'd bring to the US and where I went to college (I did my undergraduate and master in the US so that was probably just him trying to make a conversation). The whole interview took may be 2 minutes max. I was given back the I-129s with a stamp and off I went exploring the Titanic museum before flying back to London.
31-Jan-2020: In the morning, my case status was under 'administrative processing.' I checked again in the afternoon, and it was changed to 'issued.'
3-Feb-2020: Got an email early in the morning saying that dx delivery will deliver my passport to the collection point in London and I can pick it up the next day
4-Feb-2020: For the whole day, even though the status says Feb 4th was the pick up date, the delivery status never changed from Booked for collection from collection point (Now out on road). I suspect my passport probably arrived but the status is stale
5-Feb-2020: the delivery status was still 'now out on road.' I decided to go to the collection point to see what's up. Sure enough, the passport was there ready for me to pick it up today.
So all in all, assuming I could pick the passport up on the 4th, it would have taken just 3 business days in total from (but excluding) the interview date. I applied for a B2 visa at the London consulate back in 2018 and it took at least a week for my application to get all sorted.
The visa stamp in my passport did state my duration for the L1B until Feb 2023 (the 3 year period that the lawyers asked for in my application). However, the expiration date of the actual visa is until Jan 2021 (a year from the issue date Jan 31st).
I know it's probably not a big deal and I can get a new stamp post the expiration date. However, initially, I thought they might give me a 2 year stamp since my passport expires in May 2022. So to be given just a 1 year visa stamp feels even shorter. Is this common for the others who are on L1?
What county are you a citizen off ? The study in the US and mention of a B2 in 2018 indicates not the UK? How long was the B2 issued for?
