New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS): Starting Dec 1, the US Consulate General in Chennai will be the sole blanket L category visa acceptance and processing centre in India. Blanket L visas are issued to managers, executives or specialised knowledge professionals transferring within their company.

Companies throughout India will be requested to send blanket L applicants exclusively to Chennai for visa interviews, a US embassy statement said Tuesday. The L1B and L1A categories include specialised knowledge professionals, executives and managers transferring to the US.

This change is in order to streamline the blanket L visa issuance process, and is part of the US 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 US consular section in India.

This centralisation affects only the location for processing of L1 blanket visas. It does not change the law or policy for visa processing, the statement said.