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H1B, H4 Visa
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My H1B visa experience - Mumbai consulate
I am going to share my experience as may help somebody. I just gave an interview today at Mumbai consulate. My case is a bit misc, I think. So, first of all, I am working for my US employer at the moment from India too and been working for them for almost eight years now. Here's my conversation brief with VO.
(VO was a US kid, quite young and had grilled an old man for 25 mins before me, with giving him some slips so obviously I was anxious as hell. He was also thorough for sure as I think he was reading on his screen about the event which the old man before me said he was going to attend to, and so had kept him waiting for the same.)
Me: Good morning
VO: (No reaction) give your passport
Me: (I pushed my passport through the window) Do you need recently expired one as well?
VO: No no, this should do.
VO: (After scanning passport I think my case details showed up on his screen, which he stared at for some time)
VO: I see you have stayed in the US for a while (this he was probably referring to by looking at my I94 records or something - I have made almost 8-9 business trips on B1 visa so far)
Me: (above wasn't a question but more of a comment, but I just wanted to clarify) yes, I did a few business trips for xyz (xyz = US as well as the current employer)
VO: Yeah, yeah, I see that. So you currently work for xyz only?
Me: yes
VO: Oh, I see so they are hiring you now to come work in the US (started staring back at screen)
Me: (above wasn't again a question but anyway I said) yes, I will be working as an architect for them (From my B1 stamping experience, I do know they understand what a software architect is).
Now after this he just kept reading on my profile on his screen for 10 mins, giving a mix of reactions. Sometimes he would nod his head (as if ticking some box), sometimes expressions were like seen something exciting :) I had mix emotions at this stage, but VO's exciting expressions started increasing so I was relaxing now.
VO: (Kept passport in a basket nearby) this is approved. You should get your passport in 3-4 business days.
Me: Thanks. Have a great day!
Now if you see, he didn't ask me a single question (not a single one!) but approved my visa. I did have a misc case I think, because my visa application was approved almost two years back, but I could not stamp it due to family commitments and emergency. I also had done a tone of business trips before getting H1B (all had valid business reasons). All this could be good as well as bad, hard to say so I was nervous overall. One thing I think (though I am speculating here that) he was doing is reading (on screen) my client letter (one which is part of your main visa application from the employer too), and that clearly mentions I am workring for xyz company from 2010 (8 years now!) and also notes role/duties and fact that I co-authored a patent with them. Maybe that played part, but just a guess. In any case this was quick and smooth.
Now some tips to all who are preparing for the interview. These tips did help me and may help you as well, so sharing:
1. Copy these below questions and write your short answers to each of these:
https://www.immihelp.com/visas/h1b/h1-visa-interview-sample-questions-answers.html
(keep answers short and 1-3 liners max, optimize after re-reading if needed)
2. Read only max 10-15 of first pages of experiences here on immihelp. Each page has about 2-3 experiences I think. More you read, more anxious you will get so read only the latest 20-30 experiences overall.
3. Don't bother with rejected cases (with no offence to guys who got rejection), focus on positive ones. Remember every case is different and unique, so is yours! Your goal of reading experiences anyway should be to perfect answers for point-1 above (which is of course for your case!).
4. When in the embassy (on the interview day), there will be about 30-40 mins of queue time, where you can't help but have to hear ongoing interviews and may make you anxious (like super anxious!). Try to avoid giving attention to those as much as you can. Just keep in mind, that at that stage you can't change anything anyway.
Rest good luck!
(VO was a US kid, quite young and had grilled an old man for 25 mins before me, with giving him some slips so obviously I was anxious as hell. He was also thorough for sure as I think he was reading on his screen about the event which the old man before me said he was going to attend to, and so had kept him waiting for the same.)
Me: Good morning
VO: (No reaction) give your passport
Me: (I pushed my passport through the window) Do you need recently expired one as well?
VO: No no, this should do.
VO: (After scanning passport I think my case details showed up on his screen, which he stared at for some time)
VO: I see you have stayed in the US for a while (this he was probably referring to by looking at my I94 records or something - I have made almost 8-9 business trips on B1 visa so far)
Me: (above wasn't a question but more of a comment, but I just wanted to clarify) yes, I did a few business trips for xyz (xyz = US as well as the current employer)
VO: Yeah, yeah, I see that. So you currently work for xyz only?
Me: yes
VO: Oh, I see so they are hiring you now to come work in the US (started staring back at screen)
Me: (above wasn't again a question but anyway I said) yes, I will be working as an architect for them (From my B1 stamping experience, I do know they understand what a software architect is).
Now after this he just kept reading on my profile on his screen for 10 mins, giving a mix of reactions. Sometimes he would nod his head (as if ticking some box), sometimes expressions were like seen something exciting :) I had mix emotions at this stage, but VO's exciting expressions started increasing so I was relaxing now.
VO: (Kept passport in a basket nearby) this is approved. You should get your passport in 3-4 business days.
Me: Thanks. Have a great day!
Now if you see, he didn't ask me a single question (not a single one!) but approved my visa. I did have a misc case I think, because my visa application was approved almost two years back, but I could not stamp it due to family commitments and emergency. I also had done a tone of business trips before getting H1B (all had valid business reasons). All this could be good as well as bad, hard to say so I was nervous overall. One thing I think (though I am speculating here that) he was doing is reading (on screen) my client letter (one which is part of your main visa application from the employer too), and that clearly mentions I am workring for xyz company from 2010 (8 years now!) and also notes role/duties and fact that I co-authored a patent with them. Maybe that played part, but just a guess. In any case this was quick and smooth.
Now some tips to all who are preparing for the interview. These tips did help me and may help you as well, so sharing:
1. Copy these below questions and write your short answers to each of these:
https://www.immihelp.com/visas/h1b/h1-visa-interview-sample-questions-answers.html
(keep answers short and 1-3 liners max, optimize after re-reading if needed)
2. Read only max 10-15 of first pages of experiences here on immihelp. Each page has about 2-3 experiences I think. More you read, more anxious you will get so read only the latest 20-30 experiences overall.
3. Don't bother with rejected cases (with no offence to guys who got rejection), focus on positive ones. Remember every case is different and unique, so is yours! Your goal of reading experiences anyway should be to perfect answers for point-1 above (which is of course for your case!).
4. When in the embassy (on the interview day), there will be about 30-40 mins of queue time, where you can't help but have to hear ongoing interviews and may make you anxious (like super anxious!). Try to avoid giving attention to those as much as you can. Just keep in mind, that at that stage you can't change anything anyway.
Rest good luck!
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