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What is happening at L1 blanket visa interviews right now
Over the last three months, rejection rates for L1 blanket visas have been extremely high. This is true for both L1A and L1B categories. The interviews themselves are proceeding normally — the officer asks three to four questions — but by the end of the conversation, candidates are being told the same thing: you have not applied in the right category, I cannot approve this blanket application, go back to your company and reapply in the correct category. What the officer is actually communicating is this: your blanket petition cannot be approved, but an individual petition may be.
The same profile, reapplied as an individual petition — and approved
I have seen this play out with multiple clients. A candidate goes in on a blanket application, gets rejected, and the company reapplies under the individual petition category — same profile, same role, no changes to the underlying case. The visa gets approved. This is not a one-off situation. It has happened enough times now that if you are in the pipeline for a blanket L1, this is a very real and immediate consideration.
What you should do if a blanket application is planned for you
If a blanket application is on the cards for you, have a direct conversation with your employer and your company's immigration team as soon as possible. Make them aware of the high rejection rate happening right now. Ask whether it is possible at this stage to switch to an individual petition instead. If switching is an option, that is the stronger path forward given what we are currently seeing at consulates. Do not wait until after a rejection to have this conversation — have it now, before the interview.
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