H1B, H4 Visa

Hi All

I (H1) and my wife (H4) had our interview on Nov. 13th and got our stamping done without much of a hassle.

Our interview was at 8:00 am.However we got stuck up in the worst possible of prescreening queues. The Indian lady doing the prescreening was highly inefficient. We were also unfortunate to have a couple of cases with kids coming in at the last moment, who had to be let ahead of us. By the time(9:20) it came to my turn, she logged off and another gentleman logged in. He was pretty professional and double quick.
After that we went into VISA hall with the green folder containing relevant docs.

We then got our finger print scanned at one counter and moved to another queue where a Lady was busy throwing a lot of questions at a H4 lady before us.

I and wife were looking at the adjacent counter where a smart young American chap was uttering "Unga visa approved.poi vittu varunga" in broken Tamil to an elderly Tamilian couple. We were quite amused at seeing this and we were more than happy when he looked at us and called to his counter. The interview went on as follows :

vo : How are you doing sir? (he now looks deep into my eyes, the friendliness in him which was there with the elderly couple before us is not at all to be seen)
me : Good Morning Sir. I am doing fine. How about you?
(acknowledges my greeting, goes inside probably explaining his attempt at Tamil to his colleague and comes back ..)
vo: What are you doing at <my company>?
me : Explained my work at my company.
vo : Do you do coding?
me : Yeah I do. In ABAP.
vo : What other technologies have you worked on?
me : In my previous company, worked on Microsoft Technologies, predominantly .Net
vo: What was your previous company?
me : replied...
vo: do you have a letter from that company?
me : showed my first offer letter..
vo: Are you going to work at a Client Site?
me : Yes I am.
vo: Who is the Client?
me : Mentioned the Client's name..
vo: do you have a letter from the Client?
me : No. I just have the documentation of the project I am going to work.
vo : How do you know you are going to work at the client if you don't have the client letter.
me : My employer informed me about it.
vo: Can I have a look at the project doc?
me : Yes sure.
(handed over the document..he scans the entire document muttering the name of the client, then types in the website of the client in the computer...browses the site for a few seconds..)
vo: What is the expansion of the <project name abbreviation>
me : expanded the abbreviation..
vo: what are you going to implement?
me : The product that I am working on in the current company.
vo: (scans a few other docs..then pushes the docs that I gave back to me..) you can go Sir, you will get your Visa in a couple of days..
me : (relieved) Thank you. You have a great day !!!

Smooth for the most part except for a few sharp looks into my eyes..no questions to my wife who stood beside me like a doll throughout my interview..

So from my experience I can say that if you have all the docs with you (Client letter or Project documentation is a must if you are going to work at a client site), you will get your VISA stamped for sure.

Btw, thanks to all those who posted their experiences here. It gave me some valuable tips on do's and don'ts as well as boosted my confidence ahead of the appearance.

Cheers
BP

Hi guys, nice to read all ur experiences here.It helped me a lot when i attended the interview on 13th of october at delhi.They asked me a lot of questions abt why the company hired me, my degree etc.Went on for 10-15 mins.everything was going smoothly but then the unexpected happened.

He went inside and came with some documents saying someone by my name is having a criminal record there ( i have visited USA on visitors visa but no records watoever of this type)....so he said though i qualify for the visa , but they need to verify my identity by taking finger prints on a paper and send to USA for verification.Charged me Rs 4080 for that too in form of a draft. and gave me 212(g) form.


A month has passed but no call from them now.
Does anyone here had the same experience

Please help if i shud contact them myself

Regards


Rajeev

Hi,

I have taken the appointment for H1B at mumbai consulate on 28th as per the website for the online appointment it is mentioned that the documents to be sent to the US Visa Application Centre.

Can any body send me the address of the US Visa Application Centre.

Looking forward for your reply .

Hi friends,

I defended my thesis this month from a US university. I will be getting my diploma sometime in january. Meanwhile i am going for my visa interview in december. I have a letter from department stating all my requirements are complete. Do you know anyone having such case?...or this much is sufficient to carry in addition to transcripts...

thanks

Hello all,
 I attended interview on 8th Nov.
 
vo:good morning
me:gm,how r u doing mam

vo:fine ,how abt u?
me:fine, (gave my petition details)

vo:(looked at it) whats u r highest degree
me:B.E (C.S)

vo:certificates
me:showed all certificates

vo:why r u going to US?
me:explained proj..my role etc.

vo:can i have project details?
me:i had client invitation letter in which project details were mentioned. i gave her.

vo:she took and went inside ,after 10 min she came back and issued me 221(g)) blue one.
She wrote "VERIFICATION OF CLIENT LETTER". and AAP is required.
She gave back all documents to me saying they will get back to me.

  Could any one suggest what shall I do?what time it may take? what are the chances of getting H1.
My cleint is well known (one of the fortune 500).

Anticipating help,

--Anu

My appointment was at 12.45. I went at 12 and I was taken directly to the
second building and was asked to submit the documents directly there.
Then I was asked to stand in the queue in the 2nd building. At around
12.40 or so, I went in for finger printing.

Then I was asked to stand in counter no. 5. Then after processing 3 people, the person iin that couter has changed the shift and someone else has come. He has taken a case before me and by the time my turn has come, he said he wont be handling H1 and L1.

Then I was moved to someother counter. At that counter, the VO has handled a case for 45 mins and then he has given him a 221G. To do load-balancing, I was moved to counter no. 10

The lady VO there was cool. She is offering/rejecting any case in 2 mins. The line was moving very quickly.

My turn has come at 1.50

Here is the interview
-----------------------


Me: Helloo ma'm
and gave the green folder
VO: Hello
VO: Why do u want to go to US
Me: To work as a Computer Programmer at xxx
VO: Explain ur project
Me: Explained the project

VO: What are ur responsibilities
Me: Explained it
VO: Whats ur highest degree
Me: Masters in Computer Science
VO: Show ur certificates
Me: Shown..
VO: Show ur provisional certificate
Me: Its there in the bundle
VO: She carried the Masters certificates and went inside and came back after sometime
VO: So, why were u selected for this job
Me: I am well-versed with the skills that are needed for this project. On the top of that, I have my Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science and I have close to 4 years of professional experience in the same technology.
VO: Your Visa is Approved
Me: Thank You Ma'm


Tips:

Dont go too much in advance. Go at around 1 hour before the interview.
Carry all the documents.
Be affirmative when u answer him.
If u are working in an MNC or from a good college, try to present that fact. That will make the difference and I have seen a couple of cases myself.(Although working in an MNC and coming from a good college is not mandatory)
When they ask u to explain the project.. Explain it in simple english and emphasize where this project is generally used (like automobiles, avionics, digital cams, mobiles...something very general) so that she will get the feel of the product/project fastly.
Also, when asked about your roles in the project, you dont need to
mug everything that is presented in the client letter. Rather, make a couple of sentences out of the whole thing, which includes very less technical jargon, and explain them.
Also, do not volunteer for any extra information yourself.
If they are not happy with anything you say, try to rephrase what u say and say it affirmatively backing with some extra facts.
Dont argue with them. Only convince them with authentic facts.
Be patient and dont get shattered by rejections/AAPs/221Gs of someone before you. Everycase is different..
Trust in God and in yourself.

Another thing is, from Nov 8th, there is no necessity of 50$ visa issuance fee. That fee is eliminated.

Wishing u all the very best.

hey all,
i am supposed to go for h1 stamping on december 15.basically i have done my engineering in machanical specialization.will it be a problem while i go for stamping.i have been working in software industry for the past 3 years.will i have to produce any PGDCA certificate while going for stamping.i do have a cetification in java.kindly suggest.

Hi frinds from many days i am little bit worrying abt the thing that is for ELECTRICAN AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING they ar not issing visa's in chennai embassy for COMPUTER'S AND I.T they are issuing freely like that how abt the TRUTH in this thing. pls clarrify my doupt.

My Dear Friends I want to suggest some good tips regarding the Visa Issuance for H1B. Please do follow these guidelines:

  
1. Fill the all the fields in DS forms (DS-156, DS-157), including the field “when do you like to arrive in US “. In case of a field not applicable, mention “ NA “
  
2. Arrange your H1 B documents with a clamp for each of these and show the visa officer only the one asked.

a) I797 (Notice of Action)
b) US Job offer letter
c) LCA (Labour Condition Application)
d) I129 (Application for Non-Immigrant worker)
e) Client Letter
f) Project Description
g) US company photos
h) US employers Tax papers

3. Arrange your Current Employer documents as

a) Job offer Letter
b) Experience letter
c) Pay slips for six months( recent )
d) Bank Statements
e) Company Photos

4. Arrange your degree certificates ( if any higher degree qualified please do carry
them).
      
5. Now you need not carry the DD Rs 2400/- for visa issuance fee.

6. Take photocopy of all these documents mentioned above.

7. At the time of interview provide the documents to the visa officer only that are
asked.
      
8. Don’t overstate your answer unless and until he mentions.

9. Be very confident in your answer.

10. Speak loudly.

11. Not to forget to wish him.

12. A smile always helps you and puts away your tension.

13. Wear your company tag this gives a professional look.

14. Always be honest with the Visa officer.

15. Truly speaking, Visa officers are very cool during interview,
So you need not worry at all.

  
   The visa officers are specifically mentioning about these:

1. client letter

2. US company Tax papers.

3. Company photos (US and also current employer).

4. Degree certificates.

5. Experience letter (from current employer).

hi, has any one got H1 Stamped from London, i am bit confused which questions they will ask, I am listening US Consulate in London is bit tough,,,,is any one has any experince ..please chare..many thanks