Visa Stamping from Canada/ Mexico

Hi - I was in the US on F1 visa, followed by F1 OPT and F1 Cap gap. I visited the US consulate in Vancouver for status change and H1 stamping. This is my first H1B visa. I referred this website a lot to better understand and prep for H1 stamping. Now my turn to give back.

I live in Seattle and was considering Tijuana, Mexico for H1 stamping but found out that Mexico does NOT stamp for status change but only H1 extension. I kept checking the appointment website - https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-ca/niv for appointments. Vancouver had no appointments available start of September'19 but soon started showing appointments for March 2020 or Jan 2020. I kept refreshing the appointments website every 15 minutes to check for last minute cancellations.

On Sep 20, I was able to find an appointment for Wednesday Sep 25 1:15PM in Vancouver, CA

6AM: I drove from Seattle on Wednesday Sep 25.

7:30ish AM: The immigration was a piece ok cake and took less than 30 seconds. The officer at the border asked me the following -

My passport
What work do I have in Vancouver? I told him about the appointment at US consulate later in the day
He asked me if I will be coming back to the US: I said Yes

He let me drive by and enter BC, CA.

9ish AM: I reached Burnaby. Checked into my Airbnb and took the Skytrain from Patterson to Burrard Station. Walked over to US consulate on W Pender St.

12:40 PM: I reached the US consulate in Vancouver and stood in the line for Immigrant/Visa Holders. There was only 1 person ahead of me. The checking officer asked me what time my appointment was. My appointment was for 1:15PM. She then asked for my passport and DS-160. She then asked for my H1 approval. After looking at those, she let me in.

12:42 PM: The security officer at the entrance checked everything I had in my hand. I had my mobile phone on me. He took my phone and put it in one of the small lockers and gave me the key. He then let me in.

12:43 PM: Security check #2, I was asked to put all my documents, the book that I carried to read and my jacket into the scanner tray. I went through the metal frame and all my documents+book was handed back to me. I was asked to walk to counter 1.

12:46 PM: The lady at counter 1 asked for my passport and a latest passport picture. She also asked me how recent was the picture. She put a number sticker on my passport and handed it back to me. She asked me to proceed to counter 2.

12:55 PM: The lady at counter 2 ten-printed me and asked me to proceed to floor 20 for the interview. There were about 12 people ahead of me in the interview queue and only 1 counter was open for visa interviews. We were in a small, stuffy room with one fan. After a long wait, it was my turn for the interview. Below are the questions the VO asked me -
What company will you work for? I replied "ZZZ"
What will you do? I replied "ZZZ"
Do you have a Master's? I replied "Yes, from YYYY school"

The VO joked if I worked on the Ad commercials for my company and I told him I am not a part of that team. Instead I do the boring data science stuff.

He told me my visa is approved. Handed me the "rights for American workers" booklet and another paper explaining how to track the status of my visa. He told me I will get my passport in 3-5 business days.

Thursday Sep 26 12:00 PM: My status on https://jp.ceac.state.gov/ was "Issued"

Friday Sep 27 1:10 PM: I received an email saying my passport is ready for collection. I had selected 666 Burrard St collection point.

Friday Sep 27 3:30PM: I drove back to Seattle the same day. At the US-Canada border the officer asked me the following -
What company do I work for?
What do I do?
He looked at my visa and asked if I just got the H1. I said yes.

He asked me to head to the port office at the border. The officer inside asked for my passport and what I do. He printed my I94 and stuck it on my passport. I was asked to pay $6.

I was back in Seattle at 8:30 PM.

Goodluck to everyone for the H1 stamping. This is definitely an unnerving process!