VISA WAIVER ELIGIBILITY Questions

[demaster]

Hello Experts,

i am in my 6th year of H1B and my extension is valid til Feb 17,2017. I have a few questions regarding the VISA WAIVER ELIGIBILITY questions:

Step 7:Please answer the following questions to determine your eligibility for our Interview Waiver Program.


1) Do you have a previous H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee)? -- Yes

2) Was your prior H1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) annotated “Clearance Received” or “Department Authorization”? – No

3) Have you ever been refused a H-1B (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) visa before? Yes /no ?? (I was given 221g in 2010 November, I got my visa stamped approved in December 2010 after the necessary documents were submitted)
**Does 221g mean refusal

4) Did your most recent application for a H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) result in you being issued the visa? – Yes (Extension approved till Feb 2017)

5) Is your previous H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) still valid? – Yes /No? (My H1b visa stamping expired on July 17,2015)

6) Did your previous H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) expire within the last 12 months? –Yes

7) Was your most recent H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) issued in India after January 1, 2008? ---Yes


Please advise. I need to fill this ASAP.

Thanks in Advance.

[raghvi]

Hello Experts,

i am in my 6th year of H1B and my extension is valid til Feb 17,2017. I have a few questions regarding the VISA WAIVER ELIGIBILITY questions:

Step 7:Please answer the following questions to determine your eligibility for our Interview Waiver Program.


1) Do you have a previous H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee)? -- Yes

2) Was your prior H1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) annotated “Clearance Received” or “Department Authorization”? – No

3) Have you ever been refused a H-1B (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) visa before? Yes /no ?? (I was given 221g in 2010 November, I got my visa stamped approved in December 2010 after the necessary documents were submitted)
**Does 221g mean refusal

4) Did your most recent application for a H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) result in you being issued the visa? – Yes (Extension approved till Feb 2017)

5) Is your previous H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) still valid? – Yes /No? (My H1b visa stamping expired on July 17,2015)

6) Did your previous H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) expire within the last 12 months? –Yes

7) Was your most recent H-1B visa (temporary occupation, temporary worker or trainee) issued in India after January 1, 2008? ---Yes


Please advise. I need to fill this ASAP.

Thanks in Advance.

I believe You mean Interview Waiver not Visa Waiver. What are you trying to fill the DS-160?


3. Your answer would be NO. A 221G if not cleared is considered a refusal , if eventually cleared it means your visa was approved.
4. Answer would be Yes. They are asking for visa stamping in the passport. An Extension approval is not same as Visa approval.
5. Answer is NO as it expired in JUl 2015.Again, Visa is not same as petition approval.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[demaster]

I believe You mean Interview Waiver not Visa Waiver. What are you trying to fill the DS-160?


3. Your answer would be NO. A 221G if not cleared is considered a refusal , if eventually cleared it means your visa was approved.
4. Answer would be Yes. They are asking for visa stamping in the passport. An Extension approval is not same as Visa approval.
5. Answer is NO as it expired in JUl 2015.Again, Visa is not same as petition approval.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks Raghvi. I am travelling to india in a few days for my visa stamping. I was told by my attorney that I was eligible for the dropbox option. She is unavailable to answer these questions at the moment.

On a side note: On the DS-160 form :Have you ever been refused a U.S. Visa, or been refused admission to the United States, or withdrawn your application for admission at the port of entry?

My f1 visa was rejected for the first time . during my first h1b stamping - 221g was issued and cleared later . What should be my answer to this question.

Sorry for being so dense. But I am a bit confused .

Thanks in advance

[raghvi]

Thanks Raghvi. I am travelling to india in a few days for my visa stamping. I was told by my attorney that I was eligible for the dropbox option. She is unavailable to answer these questions at the moment.

On a side note: On the DS-160 form :Have you ever been refused a U.S. Visa, or been refused admission to the United States, or withdrawn your application for admission at the port of entry?

My f1 visa was rejected for the first time . during my first h1b stamping - 221g was issued and cleared later . What should be my answer to this question.

Sorry for being so dense. But I am a bit confused .

Thanks in advance

If your current visa in passport expired in Jul 2015 then it appears you are eligible for dropbox till July 2016.

As for the DS160 question regarding "ever refused a visa" you would have to answer YES due to your F1 visa refusal .

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[arismic]

Any updates?

What happened after that? I am in the same situation where i got 221(g) for additional documentation last year. Will be going for a vacation in couple of weeks. Not sure whether the 221(g) will have any impact in the drop box option.

Please let me know whether you went for stamping and got it through dropbox.