H1B, H4 Visa

I went through the Interview Process in Chennai yesterday. These were the qns asked.

VO : Good Morning. How are you ?
ME : Pretty Good. How you doing ?
VO: Can you pass on the folder please?
ME : Sure, I gave the VFS folder which had the petition, applications, passport
VO : Asked for my old passport which was recently expired?
ME: Sure, I gave
VO : Took few mins in the computer, then asked, so How long have you been working for ***
ME : I said, I have not started to work, as i have got the Petition done and came for the stamping today.
VO : He said, ok. Can you explain me the Project in detail?
ME: Explained in few lines
VO: Can you tell me the title of the Project?
ME : Said
VO: Do you have the Project Description with you?
ME: I said, Yes.
VO: Can i see it ?
ME: Definitely. Given the Proj Desc
VO: went through. It took few mins in the computer. Then took a blue slip started ticking a list of docs he wants and directly said to me 'I do not have any information right now to adjudicate this case'
ME: I interrupted and said, I have the docs if he wants to see right now ..
VO: Yep, Pass on ..
ME: Starting giving him one by one .. when he asked.
VO: Asked Petition Copy
ME: Given
VO: Tax Returns
ME: Given
VO: Wage Report
ME: Given
VO: Notorised List
ME: took few mins to search as i was not able to locate that two sheets in the bunch of docs ..
VO: He said why dont i drop the docs if i am gonna take time. I said OK.
VO: He gave all the docs to me back retaining the appln for with him and wrote a number in the blue slip and gave it to me.
ME: I did not drop in Chennai as they have office in Bangalore too to drop. I wanted to check with the employer once before dropping so i have not dropped it yet.

Anybody got through after getting 221g so far ? Please share your experiences. I am not sure whats gonna be the procedure to appeal if the visa is rejected ?

hi guys,

my stamping date is on 29th of jan

questions
1. what is ur exper..
2. project details [inhouse or client]
3. how do u came to know about this company
4. and About my role.
thats all golden words..

be Confident thats all

Fellas,

I always wanted to thank this community I benefited from..First in form of B-1 Visa and Now for H1-B visa..

Though, I am not as jubilant as other H1-Bs are , here is my 2 cent on Interview experience..

I attended interview on 15-Dec..It was early morning 9.30 appointment. I was brimming with confidence to come home and share the news with everyone that I got H1-B..

After initial screening, I was in queue at the other building of CHN...Believe me, the energy literally sucked out in entire day's waiting..I got in before VO window around 2 PM...

Exhaused and disappointed, I was hoping some questions and documents check...

VO:Good Morning
ME:Well, It is good after noon..smiling..Good Noon to you..
VO:can you pass me your degree certificate ?
...( He was my favorite VO as he looked very lenient and polite..Incidentally I got my B1 year before from him only )

ME:bewildered that what the heck is wrong with my degree certificate ?
VO:Okay, I have to issue a blue form and please drop required documents at VFS office..
ME:hmm..well, incase you want to see them I have all of the right here..
VO:oh okay, let's start with last one..Notarized list..
ME:given..
VO:Project description document
ME:given..
VO:Tax Returns
ME:given..
VO:Okay, in this case, Please return the form and I have to issue you a new form...He issued me AAP form instead of 221(g) - additional documents..
VO:We will verify your documents in a day or two and let you know by e-mail.
ME:that's quite quick..thank you very much..

Now exactly after a month on 16th Jan, I received 221(g) refusal letter...I was never heartbroken before..but that's my story and this is how it ends :)

I am not sure if I can ask VO/Consulate to re consider my petiton because as per immihelp.com, USCIS will again review my petition and send "Recommended" or "Withdrawn" to Consulate..

If any one of you have been through this before, I will appreciate your response or advice...

Wish you good luck..Now I realize VISA is always about luck :)

Visa..Go Get It...

I attended my H1B interview on 28th Jan. It was very smooth with no hassles

This is how it went on :

After the intial prescreening was finished , I was told to sit down in a chair in the pre screening area itself .In this area ,in one of the counters I saw a VO taking interviews , I was told to go to that counter .When my turn came I greeted the officer , who returned it pleasantly and asked the follows

VO : Who is your client ?
Ans : YYYY company

VO : What do they do ?
Ans : Told them what they do

VO : what project would you be working on ?
ANS : YYYY Project

He checked his computer for a while , then told me place my thumb on the fingerprinting device , gave back my petition papers and said , have a nice trip !!!

Thats it . I was totally amazed that it happened so fast .

Based on my experience , some advices I can give are :

1) Dress formally and always keep smiling . Keep to yourself and dont chit chat with anyone .

2) There are four important questions especially at this moment , most VOs seem to be asking :

   a) who is your client ?
   b) what do they do ?
   c) What project you will be working on and it's description?
   d) what are your responsibilities ?

Note : prepare answers for the above 4 questions vey well . Your answers should be to the point and appropriate . Dont say vague things like ," my employer has some clients and I may work on projects for any of these clients " . Talk to your consultant or employer who is sending you and just get the name of a client and a project that you may have a chance to work in future .Much better it would be , if you can get a client letter which will talk about your role and responsibilities . This is however not mandatory , if you can confidently answer the above questions , in which case the VO will most probably not ask for the client letter

3) Look into the eyes of the officer , dont shift them while speaking and tell your answers slowly and cleary

4) Ensure that you know answers to every question that could be asked . For this, go to sites like immihelp and look for all possible H1B questions that can be asked . Spend 2-3 hours and prepare thoroughly for all these questions . You should be so good that , when some one asks you some question , u should be able to be able to answer fluently and without stammering .

If you can take care of all the above things , you are 100% sure to get through . If you want to go , I think this is the right time to go .If you delay , the the economy may slide dwon further and this may impact or tighten the H1B visa issuals . At the U.S senate now , they are also contemplating to pass a new bill to stop H1B issuals all together . So think from all angles and take a call on when to go .

Interview was as follows:-

Me:- May i come in
VO:- sure
ME:- GD Morning, how r u doing?
VO:- GD Morning i m doing Good, how about u
ME:- Excellent, thanks for asking
VO:- pass d folder
Me:- sure sir
Vo:- have u ever visited US before
ME:- No
VO:- Y u want to come to US?
ME:- 1 min brief explanation
VO:- How many year of w.exp do u have?
Me:- 4.2 years
VO:- How do u qualify for this project, since u r commerce graduate & MBA by qualification?
ME:- 1 min brief answer ( i had already prepared)
VO:- Can u explain me about all your previous projects?
ME:- explained him in detail...(he told me to stop after 1 min)
VO:- Y are u wearing blazer? (weird question)
Me:- Got little confused...but did not show on my face.
VO:- Looked at me for a second...n then smiled & asked whether i have enough of warm clothes?
Me:- hmmm...said No
VO:- So u should shop for warm clothes...& said Welcome to US :)
Me:- Smiled back & thanked him..n left

This was my experience.
Some tips:-
1. Please carry all documents (paper work is very important)
2. Be very clear & confident in your speech. (please prepare your answers well in advance)

All the best...

Is this right time to go for visa interview in chennai. If not suggest me in which month it should be better to take appointment.

Hi all,

  I got 221g-blue form,saying that they need notarized list of all the employees of the US FIRM.
The interview was so cool..
Asked about my employer,my job responsibilities,proj explanation,how i contacted them.
Finally asked to give all the documents which i got from the employer and said to drop the requested documents in the drop box.

hi there,
 i had my h1b visa interview on 20th jan, 2009. at first, i stand outside forming a line. once, let inside the building, I was asked for my passport, ds forms, lca, I-797B and I-129. she checked everything was correct and asked for my finger prints. once fingerprinting was done, she kept everything in blue folder and I was told to go to next building and wait in visa lobby. There were many assistant roaming around, so i just asked them the direction to secound building and they guided me. once, in secound building, the assistant over there pointed me to wait in a line for my interview. when my turn came, the guy asked me for the blue folder. I gave him. then he asked me about my current company, what does it do. then he asked me about the client side project on which i will be working on. i explained in detail about the client side project. the did something on computer and then told me I would get my passport within 7 days. the interview was hardly 2 mins.

good luck to everybody else

Hi,

I had my interview on 22-Jan-2009 in Chennai.

It was very good experience.

After Document verification i entered into Visa lobby,my scheduled interview time was 8.30am.
Initially only 1 or two counters were open after some time all counters started functioning.

Counselor: hi Good Morning
my self: Very good Morning

after that she started to calculate my total work experience and asked me about the current company exp

then on which project i am going to work in US.

i explained briefly about the project.
thats it......

she asked me for my finger prints both left and right hands.and told me that i will receive my passport via courier.

I want to thank all who helped me in immihelp.com.

Hi,
   I got 221g on dec2nd and i posted my documents I will be very grateful if any of you can spare just two minutes and let me know how much time it takes for evaluation of 221g cases.

Thanks in advance,
Ramya.