Visa Stamping from Canada/ Mexico

Hi All,
I had an interview on 14th Aug and the VO didn't give me white slip (221g) or any clear answer about visa approval. My case is in admin processing since then, they have changed the status update date twice but nothing else.
I am wondering, if any one else had similar experience. Is it possible to contact consulate in person since no formal 221g was given. Also, typically how long it takes for such cases where 221g isn't given but still stuck in AP.
Looking forward to your responses..
Thanks!

Hello,

I would like to share my stamping experience in Vancouver.

Background:

Came to US in 2016 with valid Visa till Sep 2018

Employee Transfer in 2017 and new I797 with 2020

went out of US for my personal trip and got i94 till Sep 2018(CBP didn't give me based on my new i 797, they gave based on my Visa)

So, I have to travel outside and get it stamped with new i797.

Choose Vancouvur would be better choice based on the reviews in immihelp/ friends and other forums.

- Applied Canadian visting visa.

- Scheduled Visa interview at Consulate.

Canada POE Questions:

- Why are you here?

A: For H1b Stamping from US consulate

- Where are you staying?
A: Booked a hotel for 4 days.

Thats it.

US Consulate:

Be there just 15 minutes in advance before your interview time.

There is Quizinos sub opposite to Consulate, to keep your mobile any electronics( later i realized, you can keep at Consulate as well, they give you a token). There is fedex pickup shop, you can print any documents if you miss anything( store will be open after 7.30 am).

After fingerprint and verification of fee and DS160, you will be taken to 20th floor, where actual visa interview took place.

Questions:

- Is it employer change or extension?

- What is your job title?

- Where are you working at?

-What are your responsibilities?

Then she told, I am issuing your Visa. It may take 3-5 days time.

Timelines:

Interview date: 8/13

Admin Processing: 8/13

Issued: 8/14

Received email from Canadapost that they collected documents: 8/14

Tracking Number Update : 8/14

Ready to Pickup : 8/15

Flew on the same day 8/15. Port of Entry was at Vancouver itself.

All the best to everyone, who will be going for stamping in future. Be Confident and have smile on face. Carry all possible documents to avoid any further delays in processing.

Any Idea what is the first available interview date for H1B stamping in Canada?

Experts please help here

Hi.

What do you answer for the question "Are you traveling from another country to apply for a U.S. visa in Canada"? I see more dates available for various consulates if I answer NO though I will be traveling from US to Canada for the Interview. I see very few dates available if I answer YES to the question.

Thanks

I just finished my H1b DS160 and paid application fee but the scheduling tool shows there's no upcoming slots available in Vancouver. Has anyone else seen this issue?

Hello,

I would like to share my experience about H1B Stamping in ottawa. I changed employer.

I went for interview on 08/02/2018 and I was given 221g white slip.

I was asked normal questions I am full time employee now but previously I was EVC model. She asked me why I changed employer.

Then she asked me to wait and said will call you back.

After some wait another office called me and then took my employment details. I already had all pay stubs form my current employer and had last 4 pay stub form last employer.

She asked me LCA from old employer and W2 for last 3 years. Also she took contact details of my current employer

Then she asked me to submit Pay stub from 2017 - till date and Tax transcript for 2017 and gave me white 221g.

I came to hotel and submitted all the pay stubs and tax return transcript.

After submitting document, they called my current employer and verified my employment.

Now I am waiting and not sure if this happen with someone else. If yes the please share experience.

I went for my H1b stamping for extension(second stamping) and below is my experience. It will be in days, instead of days to give you a fair Idea.
 
Scheduling the interview:

My available interview date was 2 months after my intended date of travel, I took it. I later changed my travel plans in DS160 to match my new travel plan.

Arriving in Toronto:

I landed in Toronto on Sunday evening, I was asked basic questions at immigration. Make sure you tell them you are here for stamping in order to give true picture to visa officer.

Also If you are flying into Toronto I highly recommend landing at Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto City, on an island as immigration here is much quick and you can literally want to the city. Porter Airlines have regular flights here.

I took a cab to my hotel, I stayed at Sheraton as it is in walking distance to consulate and did a quick tour in the evening to familiarize myself.

Day 1: Interview

My appointment was at 8:45 AM but I reached consulate by 8:30. Make sure you go to back side of consulate as that is where visa entrance is. I saw there was already a line outside with about 30 people ahead of me, I joined the line and waited for my turn.

My turn came at 8:55 AM when the officers moved line quickly, but I was noticing people going inside were coming out in 20 minutes at max. Now begins step by step detail:

Step 1: An officer will check your DS160 and paste your file information on your passport. Then security guard will check the documents and allow you to enter.

Please do not carry anything but your passport and documents in a folder, nothing else is allowed in embassy.

Step 2: Security, regular like an airport

Step 3: Visa and document check

You will wait in a line to get your documents checked. A officer will ask for DS160 and passport and ask for your legal status in Canada. Here I was told my PIMS has not yet arrived, but I do not have to do anything and they should get it in a day or 2.

She also took my picture and scanned it, and handed me back my documents in a blue folder along with a booklet of my rights in US as worker. They have red and blue, I guess blue is for all clear(just guess).

Step 4: Fingerprint

Super quick, barely a minute and then we joined line for interview

Step 5: Interview

There were 3 windows operational and it was going to next available window when your turn comes. My turn came and I went to a very nice office, she asked me following basic questions:

Where do I live in US?
Do I have any dependents in US, if yes what are their status?
My current job client, location and duties?
Here explain them your job, responsibilities and not just technologies. They love to hear what we do, trust me :)
My past job location?
My previous visas?
I told her, and offered her to show my passports. She took them glanced and gave them back.

And then the magic words came: Your visa is approved

She then took out a white form and said your visa is approved and you should get it in 3-5 business days.

I left the building to go to my hotel and immediately my status changed to Administrative Processing.

Day 3:

On Day 3 noon my status changed to "Application Received". I assumed this must be for my PIMS and felt a sigh of relief as I have heard people stuck for months due to PIMS.

By the evening my status changed to "Administrative Processing" again.

Also as living downtown as expensive, I moved out to Missisauga. My Canada post location was also there for passport pick up.

Day 4:
By afternoon my status was "Issued"

Day 5:
I received notification of shipment created for my passport to be picked up at Canada Post

Day 6:
Received passport from Canada post and flew back to US

A few take aways here are:

Wait for a couple of months after H1b approval before going for stamping for PIMS to be updated and shared
Make sure you have all paperwork required, you do not want to be stuck in Admin Processing in a Foreign land
First day, stay close to consulate as Toronto morning traffic can be a mess. There are various options, slightly expensive but worth it as you can walk to consulate in morning. Then move out to suburbs.
Canada is a great place food wise, US$ goes longer than CA$. A lot of places accept US$ as well but at 1:1 conversion
Lastly, be confident.Visa officers' are your friends who are determining your capability, and if you are not confident on yourself why should they be?

Good luck guys!

Hello All,

I would like to share my experience right from the interview scheduling to the border checkpoint.

Interview scheduling:
I noticed that there were no dates available as per my plans to visit Canada.
I also realized that based on the questions I answered and identified myself, the availability differed.
The 'question' in qustion is the following -"Are you travelling from another country to apply for a U.S. visa in Canada?"
I am a TCN (third country national) living and working in US on H1B with a Canadian visitor visit.

When I answered "Yes" - I did not see dates that were in the next few weeks/ couple of months
When I answered "No" - I saw dates that were sooner.
I chose "No" with the belief that I am not travelling from another country to apply for a US visa in Canada, as I already have an approved US visa and I will be in Canada for vacation. The visa stamping will be needed for me to enter back to US.

This way I booked a date of July 23 on Jun 14 (5 weeks from date of scheduling).

Border - Highgate Springs (travelling from Mass to Montreal - Ottawa)
There was a traffic congestion at the border entering Canada.
It is like a toll booth sorta thing.
When our turn came, I gave our passports (which has the Canadian visa).
Officer asked
- Where are you going - Montreal, Ottawa
- How long do you plan to stay - a week
- What is your purpose - vacation
Officer does his check, stamps and returns back our passport.
There is a stop after the check point where you can stop.
It is recommended to stop before the border as the wait can be a pain.

In Ottawa we stayed at Courtyard Marriott for a night.
This hotel is in the ByWard market area which is adjacent to the consulate.
Once can walk to the consulate from this hotel.

Day of Interview:
- Our time was 745 am, we reached the gates at 730 am. Saw a few folks waiting outside.
- The security guard will tell you to wait till 745 am when the doors will open.
- At 745 am , security guard opens the door, places an instruction board that lists the things not allowed inside The guard also places a small wooden box. I am assuming for people to drop their cell phones as it is not allowed inside. This is outside in the open, on the sidewalk, so this is not a secured box/ storage area. So basically dont bring phones.
- The guard does a security check with a metal detector, checks off your name from a list, then lets you inside the bldg
- Inside, there is another counter at the door where they ask for passport, ds 160 conf page, photo graph. They dont want the appointment confirmation page or the pay ment receipt here at this desk.
- The person does the usual check and then asks us to go through security.
- Here you go through a scanner, the usual stuff, metals, watches, etc.
- They provide a box to keep stuff. we kept our watch and pens, I guess. They give you a ticket for the box number.
- Then we enter the consulate office area
- first counter is for doc check/ verification. The person/ officer, verifies passport, ds 160 confirmation, photographs, payment receipt, appointment confirmation page, 797 and returns back. This officer also asked the following question
-- Where are you coming from?
-- What is your visa status in Canada?
-- Is this your first time in Canada?
-- Ask us when was this photo taken ? - we said this weekend.
- Returns all our doc and ask us to wait at the second counter for the interview
- Second counter for interview - Visa officer (VO) does usual greetings and collects our passport, visa doc.
-Questions asked

- What is your status in Canada - I am on a visitor visa
- What is your highest level of education - I reply ***
- The officer says "you are a **** at your company - I say yes
- The officer asks " what do you do as a *** at your company" - I reply what I do . I re-iterate the exact words I have written in my DS 160.
- The officer asks " do you have employment verification letter" - I say yes, and give it to him. (Its a simple letter that says my designation, joining date, pay.
- The officer asks " do you work at the premises of *** company or at a client location?" - I say at the premises of the company.
-- Then he switched focus on my spouse who has a longer history in US than me and was approved with an H4.
-- Are you working now ? - No
-- What was your PhD in ? - **** * subject
-- What university did you do your Masters and PhD from ? - **** and ****
-- What was your visa status after graduation (in US) and before starting work at XYZ company? - first F1 then H4 and then H1B.

Then VO write "SEVI" on a post it and pastes it on my spouses' passport.I am assuming they wanted to confirm the OPT status history for my spouse from SEVIS records.
VO took the worker rights handbook and gives back all our doc except the passport.
VO says "your visas are approved, it will be in admin processing for a few days, usually 3 - 4 days before we can pick it up from the location we selected".

- We leave the counter and get out of the consulate. We collect our stuff kept in the box.

Waiting for passport
- We expected the passport status to change to "admin processing" which it did from the date of the interview (Monday) till Thursday, when it chnaged to "Issued".
- We got the courier notifiation from Canada post that passport is ready for pick up on Friday morning.
- We selected the Sparks Street Canada Post (office). Sparks Street is a popular tourist area adjacent block to the Canadian Parliament.

Border on return to US - same at Highgate Springs
- Traffic was expected (45 mins delayed)
- At the counter, we gave our passport and 797s.
- CBP Officer asked the following
- Is this a new visa ? - I say, 'yes', it is an extension of old one.
- Where are you going ? - I say the town in Mass that I am going to.
- When did you go to Canada? - I said last week.
- Are you carrying fresh fruits, vegetables or anything thats not allowed across? - I said nothing except souveniers from Canada.
- Officer says, OK you need a new I94, so can you drive, park in the parking and come inside.
- We park, go inside (both of us) and wait inside.
- There is a wait due to the crowd.
- The officer calls our name, we go to the counter.
- The officer asked for fingerprints and click photo for both of us.
- The officer asks for our address in Mass - we give, he types it out.
- The officer does the usual checks on the system and then asks for $6 per person payment. we give CC.
- the office staples the I94 on the passport page and return our passports.

- We are good to go and enter US.
- There are restrooms at checkpoint.
- There a good stop few miles into US where you have Subway, gas station, etc.

It was an un-eventful experience for us and all was ok.

Points I noticed:
- Photograph - They seem to be particulat about how recent the photos are clicked.
- Status in Canada - Even though you are asked what is your status in Canada, I wonder how it affects the process. May be some one who is has a Canadian PR or is a Canadian citizen can share their experience.

Hope this helps people in the forum.

Hello All,

Can you tell me the steps to book an appointment at Canadian consulate for H1B, I got my Canada visitor visa approved.

Thanks