L1-A Blanket Rejected

[ssray23 0]

I had my Visa interview of the Aug 2nd 2016 in US Consulate in Chennai. ​I was asked few questions like which company I work for (A: a largely reputed management/technology consulting and services firm with operations all around the world) who is the client (A: large retailer in US and Europe), what is my US salary (A: little south of 100k), whom will I report to in US and his designation (A:Senior manager) and if he will be reporting to the VP of the company (A: No, he will report to the leadership/directorial level which I said is similar to VP level).

Also, I had shown only 5 direct reports (no indirect) in my application - 2 consultants, 1 Associate Manager and 1 Team Lead. He asked me if I am going to increase the team to which I said yes depending on project need. He asked how many more will I hire to which I said 5 more to make it a 10 member team.

Sadly, at the end of this QA ordeal, I was handed over a blue sheet with the following item checked: Blanket L1 application is not clearly approvable under Section 8 CFR 214.2(I)(ii)(D) and INA 101(a)(15).

Additional Information: I worked in the USA previously on H1B visa from Aug 2003 to Jan 2006 and again on L1B Blanket visa from April 2013 to May 2014.

What do you think went wrong that lead the VO to think I do not deserve a L1A Blanket Visa?

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Was your previous L1-A via the same employer?

It is hard to say why you were rejected, but at a guess, it was because this is a consulting company; you would not actually be working for the US client you'd be based in, and that combined with the small team (ie they may not consider you a "proper" manager) lead to denial.

[ssray23 0]

Hmm. I too had the same feeling after the interview. I should have perhaps shown a larger team under me with a good number of Indirect reports under my immediate directs.

My previous L1 was under Specialized Skill category (i.e. L1B) and was petitioned by the same employer. It was a blanket L1B which was approved and I had completed a 13 month stint in USA with that visa.