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H1B/H4 extension stamping, 221g admin processing
I wanted to share my experience in these forums as it might be beneficial to someone. I know this forum was really helpful to me when I was waiting during admin processing.
Also, mine was a strange and unique case and even after I scoured the internet for such a case, I dint find one.
This is a really long post, so I have added a quick date wise summary at the end for a quick read.
Case type- H1B/H4 extension stamping
Location - New Delhi
Issue - Wrong petition number in DS-160. FOund issue after interview.
Background -
Although I was eligible for dropbox, I didn't use it and decided to go for interview since I was in India for 1 month and wanted to be sure to get the passport in hand within a week of the interview. I have seen my colleagues wait for more than 3 weeks via the dropbox option (not 221g, but normally). I have also had colleagues asked to appear for interview after submitting docs through dropbox. This can happen and is clearly stated on the US travel docs site.
On April 6th, biometrics appointment was ok. Nothing different there. But, I got a call from the embassy during the appointment and I had my phone in silent mode and I missed the call. I came to know it was from the New Delhi embassy calling back to the number. On calling back they said that it was a central number and they didnt know who called me.I asked the VAC people since I was there and they said embassy doesn't usually call. This was strange since my interview was the next day.
On April 7th, the interview went well, I guess like any other H1B/H4 interview. Few standard questions about employer, role, etc and then about marriage to my wife. The interviewing officer was very well cordial. She then asked if mine was an O1 visa as her system said it was. I showed the petition and it said H1. She called a person and asked what could be done. They discussed something and finally she said that everything looks fine. She just has to get this changed in the system and we should get the passport within a week and that the visa type change might take 1-2 days more. She kept our passports and a copy of my H1 petition for processing.
On April 10th, I checked the case status and I saw Admin processing. I thought it was just as the officer told me that the visa type has to be changed.
On April 13th, I got a call from the embassy, who told me that my petition is for the wrong visa type I need to get the petition amended. I explained that I was never in O1 class and how I can get a petition for O1 visa. He just said that I need to check with my petitioner and send the correct petition to me. They would be sending our passport back to me.
Immediately after the call, I went through all my docs carefully to see if I had made a mistake. I found that I had made a mistake in the DS-160 for both me and my wife. The mistake was in 1 digit of the petition number. I had put in a 5 instead of a 3 in the 4th last digit. (I know what you are thinking and yes I am an idiot).
Based on the wrong petition number in the DS-160, I guess the people processing at the embassy would have gotten an O1 visa and tagged that to my application, even though I had put in H1 in the visa type. That explained the call before the interview. I can oinly assume that the officer who called me also missed checking the petition number in the copy I had deposited during the interview. He would have thought there is some issue with the petition since the number was the same(while it was actually different) but the class type is H1. If only I had known the problem when he called.
April 14th, sadly was a holiday. I created a ticket in the us travel docs support system via email explaining the case to them. The next day, the case was sent to the embassy and the status of the ticket changed to 'Escalated to Post'.
On April 17th, I collected our passports from the VAC centre. Along with that I got a yellow 221g letter and the copy of the petition that the interviewing officer had kept. The 221g letter instructed me to submit the petition for the correct class of visa. It had a case number, which was not trackable through the CEAC status check.
On April 18th, I submitted a copy of our H1 and H4 petition, our passports and a cover letter, where I had explained the case and the issue. The lady at the counter didnt accept the cover letter at first, since they are not allowed to accept anything extra apart from what has been asked. But when I explained the case to her, she accpeted the letter.
On April 19th, I received a notification that the ticket with us travel docs was closed. A consular officer had responded to it and said that they had received my documents that day and were reveiewing them. They would let me know once anything changed.
After this began the long and painful wait along with throughts and fears provoked from the several posts all over the internet with horrific tales of 221g. Also, to remind you, I was already staying in the US, with a rented house, a car, etc. The line that said 'most cases are resolved within 60 days' did not help at all.
Throughout this time, the DS-160 case status remained as Admin processing. The case updated date was 10 April for me and 7th April for my wife, which probably meant that when they started processing mine on 10th April, they found an issue, put mine in admin processing and didnt bother to go forward with my wife's case. Hence, her last updated date was the date of the interview itself.
On April 27th, the case updated date changed to 27th April for both me and my wife. The status was still admin processing. Still, this was a good sign since this time both our last accessed dates changed, which probably meant that they went through mine, found it ok and then proceeded with my wife's as well.
On April 28th, the case status was updated to issued.
ON May 1st, finally, we collected our passports from the VAC at Nehru place.
Case type- H1B/H4 extension stamping
Location - New Delhi
Issue - Wrong petition number in DS-160. FOund issue after interview.
Date wise summary =
6th April - Biometrics appointment
7th April - Personal interview, deposited passport + copy of petition
10th April - Case stays changed to admin processing
13th April - Received call from embassy informing about 221g + found issue in DS 160
14th April - Created ticket with us travel docs
17th April - Collected passports + 221g letter + copy of petition
18th April - Submitted passports + copies of H1+H4 petiton + cover letter
19th April - Ticket closed by consular officer in US travel docs + acknowledged receipt of docs
27th April - Case accessed date change to 27 April
28th April - Case status changed to Issues
1st May - Collected passports from VAC
Tips -
1. Please be careful while filling DS 160.
2. Please review DS 160 once before the interview or biometrics appointment. I have read that if you inform the error before the interview, they can still sort it out.
3. Please plan travel properly. Keep enough buffer. If you already stay in US, plan for a 4-5 week trip.
4. If going for dropbox, submit docs as soon as possible, within 1-2 days of travelling to India if possible.
5. Please be aware of all process related details such as how to collect passport, hot wo submit documents for 221g, etc. This will help avoid any delays.
6. If you do get 221g, submit documents as soon as possible.
7. Please be polite to all embassy and VAc staff. Even if you dont get visa, or get a 211g or anything at all, be polite.
8. Do not lose hope, if you get a 221g. Take help from internet forums if needed.
9. Please share your experience here.
Hopefully this helps. Please let me know if I can be of any help to anyone.
Keywords - Wrong petition number, incorrect petition, DS160, DS-160 error, mistake in DS-160. issue, 221g, admin processing
Also, mine was a strange and unique case and even after I scoured the internet for such a case, I dint find one.
This is a really long post, so I have added a quick date wise summary at the end for a quick read.
Case type- H1B/H4 extension stamping
Location - New Delhi
Issue - Wrong petition number in DS-160. FOund issue after interview.
Background -
Although I was eligible for dropbox, I didn't use it and decided to go for interview since I was in India for 1 month and wanted to be sure to get the passport in hand within a week of the interview. I have seen my colleagues wait for more than 3 weeks via the dropbox option (not 221g, but normally). I have also had colleagues asked to appear for interview after submitting docs through dropbox. This can happen and is clearly stated on the US travel docs site.
On April 6th, biometrics appointment was ok. Nothing different there. But, I got a call from the embassy during the appointment and I had my phone in silent mode and I missed the call. I came to know it was from the New Delhi embassy calling back to the number. On calling back they said that it was a central number and they didnt know who called me.I asked the VAC people since I was there and they said embassy doesn't usually call. This was strange since my interview was the next day.
On April 7th, the interview went well, I guess like any other H1B/H4 interview. Few standard questions about employer, role, etc and then about marriage to my wife. The interviewing officer was very well cordial. She then asked if mine was an O1 visa as her system said it was. I showed the petition and it said H1. She called a person and asked what could be done. They discussed something and finally she said that everything looks fine. She just has to get this changed in the system and we should get the passport within a week and that the visa type change might take 1-2 days more. She kept our passports and a copy of my H1 petition for processing.
On April 10th, I checked the case status and I saw Admin processing. I thought it was just as the officer told me that the visa type has to be changed.
On April 13th, I got a call from the embassy, who told me that my petition is for the wrong visa type I need to get the petition amended. I explained that I was never in O1 class and how I can get a petition for O1 visa. He just said that I need to check with my petitioner and send the correct petition to me. They would be sending our passport back to me.
Immediately after the call, I went through all my docs carefully to see if I had made a mistake. I found that I had made a mistake in the DS-160 for both me and my wife. The mistake was in 1 digit of the petition number. I had put in a 5 instead of a 3 in the 4th last digit. (I know what you are thinking and yes I am an idiot).
Based on the wrong petition number in the DS-160, I guess the people processing at the embassy would have gotten an O1 visa and tagged that to my application, even though I had put in H1 in the visa type. That explained the call before the interview. I can oinly assume that the officer who called me also missed checking the petition number in the copy I had deposited during the interview. He would have thought there is some issue with the petition since the number was the same(while it was actually different) but the class type is H1. If only I had known the problem when he called.
April 14th, sadly was a holiday. I created a ticket in the us travel docs support system via email explaining the case to them. The next day, the case was sent to the embassy and the status of the ticket changed to 'Escalated to Post'.
On April 17th, I collected our passports from the VAC centre. Along with that I got a yellow 221g letter and the copy of the petition that the interviewing officer had kept. The 221g letter instructed me to submit the petition for the correct class of visa. It had a case number, which was not trackable through the CEAC status check.
On April 18th, I submitted a copy of our H1 and H4 petition, our passports and a cover letter, where I had explained the case and the issue. The lady at the counter didnt accept the cover letter at first, since they are not allowed to accept anything extra apart from what has been asked. But when I explained the case to her, she accpeted the letter.
On April 19th, I received a notification that the ticket with us travel docs was closed. A consular officer had responded to it and said that they had received my documents that day and were reveiewing them. They would let me know once anything changed.
After this began the long and painful wait along with throughts and fears provoked from the several posts all over the internet with horrific tales of 221g. Also, to remind you, I was already staying in the US, with a rented house, a car, etc. The line that said 'most cases are resolved within 60 days' did not help at all.
Throughout this time, the DS-160 case status remained as Admin processing. The case updated date was 10 April for me and 7th April for my wife, which probably meant that when they started processing mine on 10th April, they found an issue, put mine in admin processing and didnt bother to go forward with my wife's case. Hence, her last updated date was the date of the interview itself.
On April 27th, the case updated date changed to 27th April for both me and my wife. The status was still admin processing. Still, this was a good sign since this time both our last accessed dates changed, which probably meant that they went through mine, found it ok and then proceeded with my wife's as well.
On April 28th, the case status was updated to issued.
ON May 1st, finally, we collected our passports from the VAC at Nehru place.
Case type- H1B/H4 extension stamping
Location - New Delhi
Issue - Wrong petition number in DS-160. FOund issue after interview.
Date wise summary =
6th April - Biometrics appointment
7th April - Personal interview, deposited passport + copy of petition
10th April - Case stays changed to admin processing
13th April - Received call from embassy informing about 221g + found issue in DS 160
14th April - Created ticket with us travel docs
17th April - Collected passports + 221g letter + copy of petition
18th April - Submitted passports + copies of H1+H4 petiton + cover letter
19th April - Ticket closed by consular officer in US travel docs + acknowledged receipt of docs
27th April - Case accessed date change to 27 April
28th April - Case status changed to Issues
1st May - Collected passports from VAC
Tips -
1. Please be careful while filling DS 160.
2. Please review DS 160 once before the interview or biometrics appointment. I have read that if you inform the error before the interview, they can still sort it out.
3. Please plan travel properly. Keep enough buffer. If you already stay in US, plan for a 4-5 week trip.
4. If going for dropbox, submit docs as soon as possible, within 1-2 days of travelling to India if possible.
5. Please be aware of all process related details such as how to collect passport, hot wo submit documents for 221g, etc. This will help avoid any delays.
6. If you do get 221g, submit documents as soon as possible.
7. Please be polite to all embassy and VAc staff. Even if you dont get visa, or get a 211g or anything at all, be polite.
8. Do not lose hope, if you get a 221g. Take help from internet forums if needed.
9. Please share your experience here.
Hopefully this helps. Please let me know if I can be of any help to anyone.
Keywords - Wrong petition number, incorrect petition, DS160, DS-160 error, mistake in DS-160. issue, 221g, admin processing
All Replies (2)
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