L1B Blanket Interview Experience at Belfast
#1
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Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 1
L1B Blanket Interview Experience at Belfast
I've been reading this forum all year long and thought it best to give back because it helped me prepare for what was ultimately a successful interview at the US Belfast embassy.
had my interview last friday and it was pretty straightforward. i got there 20 minutes before my interview and had time to go through security, submit my documents, pay fraud prevention fee of $500 and then wait for my name to be called.
the waiting room was a little sparse and interviews lasted on average 4 minutes with most applicants applying for L1B visa as well. you can tell who's successful or not by their countenance once they step out of the room; some had long faces and some beamed with smiles.
anyway, in addition to being extremely prepared for the interview, i was properly dressed on a suit and tie because I wasn't leaving anything to chance.
when i heard my name, I walked in, smiled at and greeted the vc and our exchange lasted just under the 2 minute mark as follows:
what company are you working for?
what do they do in layman's term? (this almost threw me off my game cos i was not expecting it!)
How long have you been working for them?
what location will you be working?
So tell me what your specialized knowledge is?
He only made eye contact with me when he asked what my specialized knowledge is. the whole time, he was typing away on his computer and after I finished answering, he tells me my visa is approved and hands me a slip that explains how I'd pick up my passport.
My advice would be to prepare to answer the above questions just like it has been stated in your application. before you're called in, they get a few minutes to go over your support letter etc to glean useful information that they can use to make sure you are who you say you are.
had my interview last friday and it was pretty straightforward. i got there 20 minutes before my interview and had time to go through security, submit my documents, pay fraud prevention fee of $500 and then wait for my name to be called.
the waiting room was a little sparse and interviews lasted on average 4 minutes with most applicants applying for L1B visa as well. you can tell who's successful or not by their countenance once they step out of the room; some had long faces and some beamed with smiles.
anyway, in addition to being extremely prepared for the interview, i was properly dressed on a suit and tie because I wasn't leaving anything to chance.
when i heard my name, I walked in, smiled at and greeted the vc and our exchange lasted just under the 2 minute mark as follows:
what company are you working for?
what do they do in layman's term? (this almost threw me off my game cos i was not expecting it!)
How long have you been working for them?
what location will you be working?
So tell me what your specialized knowledge is?
He only made eye contact with me when he asked what my specialized knowledge is. the whole time, he was typing away on his computer and after I finished answering, he tells me my visa is approved and hands me a slip that explains how I'd pick up my passport.
My advice would be to prepare to answer the above questions just like it has been stated in your application. before you're called in, they get a few minutes to go over your support letter etc to glean useful information that they can use to make sure you are who you say you are.
Last edited by afsgsdfas; Nov 11th 2019 at 12:15 pm.
#2
DE-UK-NZ-IE-US... the TYP
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,848
Re: L1B Blanket Interview Experience at Belfast
Congrats! did you attend Belfast because of proximity or interview availability?
If you are in an industry other than finance or technology others may be interested to know what?
In the pecking order of visa’s, a legitimate well prepared L probably the most likely to be approved and a blanket takes away the entire company side tire as its ore approved. I will add that while this holds true in general I have had anecdotal information (in 2018) that this is becoming less true when the applicant is from a certain sub continent that also has a disproportionate share of H1b’s. And while the immigration lawyer was prepared to submit one for a company I managed, me made it clear he would not be disappointed to not get the fees, I sensed he was not as certain as before. This was for a non blanket L1b, with an IIT masters. I offered a guess of the differential in odds of approval. Where I would put a “normal” / vanilla one in the 95% range is asked if this was a 5% or 50/50 and he nodded to the latter... interesting how with the laws remain the same, but the latitude in application of them can make such a change if even partially true.
If you are in an industry other than finance or technology others may be interested to know what?
In the pecking order of visa’s, a legitimate well prepared L probably the most likely to be approved and a blanket takes away the entire company side tire as its ore approved. I will add that while this holds true in general I have had anecdotal information (in 2018) that this is becoming less true when the applicant is from a certain sub continent that also has a disproportionate share of H1b’s. And while the immigration lawyer was prepared to submit one for a company I managed, me made it clear he would not be disappointed to not get the fees, I sensed he was not as certain as before. This was for a non blanket L1b, with an IIT masters. I offered a guess of the differential in odds of approval. Where I would put a “normal” / vanilla one in the 95% range is asked if this was a 5% or 50/50 and he nodded to the latter... interesting how with the laws remain the same, but the latitude in application of them can make such a change if even partially true.