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Trend 1: Officers are focusing almost entirely on your U.S. role — not your India role
In past years, L1 interviews would typically open with questions about your current role in India, then gradually move toward what you will be doing in the U.S. That pattern has changed. In 2023, many interviews are starting directly with the U.S. role, and in a number of cases, no questions about the India role are asked at all. The typical questions you will hear now are: Why is the company sending you? What will your role in the U.S. be? Why you specifically — why not someone already in the U.S. office? And what will your salary in the U.S. be?
Pro tip: Volunteer a one-line context about your India role
If the officer jumps straight to your U.S. role, do not just answer in isolation. Before you go into the details, include a single sentence that gives context about what you do right now in India. For an L1B interview, that one line should highlight your key expertise, your specialised knowledge, or any proprietary tool or platform you have worked on. For an L1A interview, it should mention your key managerial responsibility and the team size you handle. Without that context, the officer may find it hard to understand why your U.S. role matters — and that one line sets everything in place before you continue.
What this means for your DS-160
Because officers are not asking about the India role in the interview, your DS-160 form becomes the only place where that role is documented. The 'briefly describe your duties' box is now more important than ever — use it carefully. Do not write just two or three lines that give no real picture of what you do, but do not write something so long it becomes unreadable either, since the DS-160 allows no formatting. Aim for eight to ten lines. For L1B, lead with your expertise, skill set, and any proprietary work. For L1A, lead with your managerial responsibilities and team size.
Trend 2: Officers are asking a lot of questions about where you will actually work
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Book a Mock InterviewThe second major trend in 2023 is a sharp increase in questions about location. Officers are asking where your company is located, whether you will work at a client site or the company's own office, where you plan to live, and how many days a week you will go into the office. The clear signal from these questions is that remote work is not being viewed favourably. Officers want to see that you will physically be in the same area as your employer and that going to the office is part of your plan. For L1 purposes, working at a client location is perfectly acceptable — but wherever you plan to live should be in the same vicinity as where you will work.
Trend 3: There is one key question being asked in almost every L1 interview
Across the L1 interviews I have been tracking, one question keeps appearing. For L1A applicants it is: how many years of managerial experience do you have, and what is the average team size you have handled? For L1B applicants it is: what is your area of expertise? This sounds straightforward, but how you answer it matters enormously.
Pro tip: Answer with career highlights, not a job description
When you answer this question, resist the urge to walk the officer through your day-to-day roles and responsibilities. That kind of answer sounds routine and generic. What the officer is really looking for is the highlights of your entire career. You are not limited to your current employer — if your specialised knowledge or managerial experience stretches back to a previous company, bring that in. For L1B, pull together the key skills and specialised knowledge you have built across your career. For L1A, think about your total managerial experience, the types of projects you have led, and the average team sizes you have handled — drawing from every relevant role, not just your present one. Think of your answer as a career summary, not a task list.
A real interview experience: what one of my clients learned
One of my clients shared something that stuck with me. He had been through a long H1B journey — multiple RFEs, documentation issues, approvals that did not come through. When his company initiated the L1 process, he decided he was not going to leave anything to chance. Even though his employer had a Global Mobility team handling the visa process, he proactively reviewed and screened every document himself before it went to the attorney. His takeaway: even if your organisation is managing the process for you, you must stay involved and review everything yourself. That ownership made a real difference in his preparation. He also told me that what gave him confidence in the interview was not just knowing the answers — he said the answers were available — but having his profile structured and presented in a way that meant he knew exactly what to say when the moment came. The only thing he had to manage was staying calm and controlling what he shared when.
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