Visa Stamping from Canada/ Mexico

This forum has been extremely helpful in what to expect in Canadian US Consular offices. This was my first time going to Canada for stamping and I was on L1B with 4 months validity.

I tried searching for my special case and had limited information on the Internet, my attorney team were super good and the way they prepared the documentation was solid that I felt very confident on the case itself.

I am documenting this experience to help others specially L1b – l1a Conversion with No Direct reports (functional manager role) thru Consulate not thru USCIS.
My Case: L1B – Blanket to L1A Blanket conversion for Functional Manager (No Direct Reports)

I was a Lead Engineer in India and taken a IC role in US.

As the information on the Internet shows, you don’t need to apply the Change of Status in USCIS. You can always go thru the US Consulate abroad which I did as recommended by my attorneys.

Appointment Schedule – Did my DS160 late December and was able to get dates immediately in Calgary for January, but Vancouver was months away. So I waited without submitting my DS160 and kept checking and was able to secure Feb 5th 2019.
I work for One of the Top 5 Product Companies in Market Cap. I drove from Seattle to
Vancouver.

Experience at Border Crossing Blaine.

- How many People <3 of us, Me, Wife and Kid all need stamping as Kid is also born in India>
- What is your Purpose ? <VISA Stamping and Sightseeing>
- Stamped and sent. No checks or Queue or wait time.

Hotel : Stayed in Sheraton Wall Center. 3 Blocks away from Consulate.
Appointment: Feb 5, 8:45
Driven to the consulate and used Public Parking. Very Expensive. 15$ for 2 hrs.

Step 1:

- Arrived at 8:30
- Checked by DS 160 and Checked the Photo
- Taken to the Next floor by stairs.
- Waited for the Security – Airport Style.
- Can Carry the Keys.

Step 2

- Counter for verification of Documents.
- Only 2 I129S are needed not 3 anymore.
- It took good 15 minutes as my documents have multiple pages and the Officer have gone thru every detail and verified by Blanket Petition Approval date< Which in this case was Indefinite>
- Photos are Scanned.
- No questions asked about Canada Status of VISA Part
- My Current L1B is still valid, she placed a Sticker on these
- Then Finger Prints and they given me Yellow form for the Fraud Fee and ask me not pay until Visa office confirms the same.

Step 3: VISA Interview.

Young officer and the earlier applicant result was Administrative Processing and he was so polite in explaining why Administrative processing for that applicant and took good 5 minutes to explain the outcomes.

Questions

- You work at YYYY – Quiet familiar with Org that and said – Not a Question
- You are coming right across border ? – Not a Question
- How long are your working ?
- How long in US ?
- How long in India ?
- What is your current Role ?
- So You don't have any direct reports ?
- Please go ahead and Pay the Fraud fees and come, I will stamp and we are good
- He given me receipt and told that is for reimbursement as he know this is being reimbursed from my Org. So very familiar with that
- He told we may get it by end of the week or worst case Monday.
I have asked about Stamped I129S, he told that everything would come as Package.

Feb 6th - 13:00 HRS – CEAC Status changed to Issued
Feb 6th – 13:15 HRS – Canada Post Tracking Provided
Feb 6th – 15:00 HRS – Tracking Number Active
Feb 7th – 10:00 HRS – Ready for Pickup
Feb 7th – 19:00 HRS – Home

Border at Peace Arch

I would like to share the experience at the Blaine Peace Arch Crossing. The CBP Officers are respectful but they have lot of time to talk to each NIV holder and went through questions on and on, they definitely lac knowledge on how to process employment visa when compared with Airports. I explained my role, designation, Org etc. and waited for more than 1 hr. before getting my I 94s. I suggest folks to use Alternate Points than Peace Arch or take flight which would be more seamless.
On a side note I wasn’t expecting all to go this fast from VISA to Passport. Hence got the bump at the border so all is well at last 😊
My Observations:
- L1 Process is straight forward if you are working for Top Product Organizations
- Looks like Blanket is same level of acceptance as Individual as they know these firms very well.
- L1 VISA issue is also very fast compared H1B where it was issued in 1 day and I am out the second day from Vancouver.
- My Friends came for H1 it was easy 3 days (May be more details to check)
- For L1A Functional Manager, it is the confidence of your role and the need of the function that matters. Specially again from these Top MNC’s consular officers are very much sure that there won’t be a weak case coming in, which helped here.
I was hoping this would help others on L1b to L1A Conversion Cases that too without direct reports.