November 01, 2011 | New Delhi

NEW DELHI – Starting December 1, the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai will be the U.S. Mission to India’s sole blanket L category visa acceptance and processing center ("blanket” L visas are issued to managers, executives, or specialized knowledge professionals transferring within their company).  Companies throughout India will be requested to send blanket L applicants exclusively to Chennai for visa interviews.  The L1B and L1A categories include specialized knowledge professionals, executives and managers transferring to the United States.  

This change is in order to streamline the blanket L visa issuance process, and is part of the U.S. Government’s ongoing effort to provide efficient visa services throughout India. It does not affect the spouses and children of L1 visa holders – they and individual L1B and L1A visa applicants may still be processed at any U.S. Consular section in India.

This centralization affects only the location for processing of L-1 blanket visas; it does not change the law or policy for visa processing.  For further information, Visa applicants may visit the U.S. Embassy’s website at http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov or e-mail the Mission at infousdelhi@vfshelpline.com for free and accurate visa information direct from the source.