MrsOwen

Morning all.

Further to the fantastic news that our L1A Petition has now been approved I am seeking some advice and reassurance about the next steps and the interview process.

We spoke to our Immigration Lawyer last night and he advised that the interviews for those with L1A's are getting increasingly difficult and I just wondered if anyone has had a recent experience and how it went.

The lawyers want my husband to have some time to thoroughly review the full documentation pack before we go ahead and book the interview, which I do understand even though we know what was submitted.

I am now worrying that its all gonna go wrong at this stage!

Any / all thoughts welcome.

NickRE2000

Hi,

I covered my experiences in my thread here :

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=667956

Mine was an L1-B visa.

The next steps would be to complete the onlein DS-160 form and schedule your interview.

I was also advised by the lawyers handling my case to spend time reviewing the petition and make sure then any answers I gave during my interview were consistent with what is written in the petition.

I too was very nervous about the interview but it was fine, I'm sure it'll be fine for you too

goldenstate31

1) did he say 'why' interviews for L1A's are getting increasingly difficult
2) what full documentation pack does your lawyer want you to review

NatashaB

We had an L1a/L2 interview this morning. Despite the fact that we expected problems due to my husband's previous overstay - it was easy. He asked a few basic questions about the company, my husband's role, did he intend flying back and forth or remaining in the US for the duration of the visa. Not nearly as in-depth as we expected though. You should review the information regarding the role that the company put into the petition (assume you got that information back along with the petition approval notice).

Judging by how fast the numbers were coming up on screen to call people to desks 12-25 (the second stage of screening after you have had your fingerprints done) I don't think the questioning sessions were lasting that long for anybody.

emailrob

well the embassy will be getting very busy at this time of year. We got our appointment June 2008 and it was mad busy. Most people were there who had received drunk driving from the UK and had to get a visa to travel to Florida on holiday...

LFC4ever

In my experience, that was back in March, they only asked me very basic questions. What my company did, what my role was, and where we were based in the US.
From that perspective, I'd say it was very easy. My only problem was that I was given the form that said my application was suspended, pending further administrative processing; and even that only took a couple of weeks.

We'll be keeping our fingers crossed for you.

sarah.stenning

Hi

Congratulations, I have been following your case with interest as I too have had put in for the L1A visa. Luckily mine was straightforwrd and we received approval within 13 days (premium processing) so we too are now awaiting our paperwork to be returned so we can make an appoitment with the embassy.

Sarah

MrsOwen

Ok so paperwork arrived today, called the embassy and earliest appointment was friday 9th at 8am, was really hoping that we could get it sooner but nevermind.Booked a hotel for the night before so now its just a waiting game I guess!

crg

Too many applicants are trying to get visas they aren't qualified for and/or will shut down the foreign entity once they transfer to the US

sarahlou145

Good luck Hope to see you over here soon

MrsOwen

Thanks Sarah, will be great to see you again.

Brioss

I had my interview last Friday in London for my L1-A. I can tell you it was a doddle, Once your in, I waited for my number to be called, once called, I had my I-797 inspected, they didn't care much for my other documents. Finger prints taken and then wait to be called for the interview.

30 mins later, I was called up, I was asked what I did in the UK and what I was going to be doing in the US, The interviewer was a nice friendly American chap. He joked about the company I work for and said, I clearly do work there and my Visa was approved.

My passport arrived at 6.00am yesterday, If I take the waiting time out , which was about 2.5hrs, the actual process, took about 3 minutes.

Good luck.

sarah.stenning

Hi

So we received our petition approval about 10 days ago. I phoned up last Wednesday for an appointment. Because my husband got in trouble when he was 17 they said we had to get pre-clearance from the consulate for his L2 visa. mad rush to get all documents sorted which we sent off Saturday morning. Monday was a US holiday as closed for Independance Day. Yesterday afternoon we received notice we were free to make an appointmant. Phoned up 4.15 yesterday afternoon and was offered an appointment at 8am this morning!
Mad rush to get hold of my attorney as she wanted to speak to me before the interview. She spent 20 mins talking me through what I needed to say and not to say and pointed out important bits of my petition. Went over forms again and decided to redo them! Large glass of wine and went to bed in a panic!
Left the house at 6am and missed the train, and arrived at the Embassy about 8.15. No one batted an eye lid. Got rid of our mobiles at the chemist down the road and was inside by 08.30.
Waited about 20 minutes to take up our paperwork and she checked it. Had filled a bit out wrong so she asked us to take a seat while she fixed it. Called us back up to take fingerprints. At this point I was shaking so much it took 2 attempts.
She then asked us to take a seat and wait for interview.
We were called round she asked me the following
How old was my son?
Was he my only child?
Waht was I going to be doing in the US?
What business is my company in?
Where would I be located?

She then handed me a form and said I needed to pay for the L2 visas while she spoke to my husband.

She asked him about his conviction when he was 17. Said to him sounded like he had a bad night then but wasn't considered Moral Turpitude.

I then came back in and she said the visa was approved and we would have our passports back in a week!

I cannot tell you the relief and how simple it was. i had told my husband he was buying me lunch and a large glass of wine but we were out by 10am so a bit early, had a large breakfast to celebrate!

Hope all goes well for you Friday.

Sarah

MrsBriggo

My husband went for his interview in March and I have mine for my L2 next week and he was so shocked after reading some of the forum and other material how quick and stress free he found it.

As per other peoples comment they asked him briefly about his role in the company and then fingerprints and then off he went. He thought it maybe because his company already have a blanket approval so we didn't have to wait for any petition to be approved but I guess from the comments above it seems that it is standard now.

No matter what anyone writes though I am still nervous and am planning on reading my husbands pack from start to finish as I like to be prepared but not sure what they will ask about me?

I will let everyone know how it goes next week

MrsOwen

Thanks everyone for all the fantastic replies, feels like its been the longest week ever but I guess thats always the way when you are waiting for something, especially something as important as this.

Well all forms are complete now and printed out, passports are ready and my hubby is drinking coffee to keep him awake for his 10pm call with our Lawers and his boss to be in the states.

We are staying in London tomorrow night ready for our early start on Friday so I am all packed and currently just doing my nails so even if I look a wreck my nails will look nice when they scan my fingerprints! Plus it distracts me for a little while!!!

Anyway, Will let you all know the outcome when we got home on Friday, thanks again to everyone who's posted and good luck to everyone who is going through this process!

Until Friday ....................