H1B, H4 Visa

Hi Friends,

Good luck to those who are yet to face their interview and congrats to those who already received it.

Sep 22 1AM OFC

Am basically from chennai so i landed in front of the gate(TPL house) sharp at 1AM and went in straight away. Even if you come early, you will end up waiting in long queue(10-15 members). Hence try to be on time or 15 mins prior to your scheduled time.

Documents taken - DS160 confirmation, appointment letter and passport.

- Near the gate, there would be two guys sitting, verifying your appointment and mark it in their sheet. They will also write a number on your appointment letter.
- You should enter the building, on first floor there will be a small queue after which you would be asked to provide your PP and appointment letter again. A person with the bar code reader would read the bars and send you further.
- Next is the open counter where they will stick a sticker which has your name and bar codes. (This is gonna be permanent until the interview is complete)
- Next , you will enter a room where a token will be issued to you and ask to wait in the hall. When your token number is displayed, you would be asked to go for biometric (1 pic, left hand 4 fingers followed by right hand 4 fingers then two thumbs together).

That is it, you can leave.

Sep 23 11AM Consulate

Tense moments with butterflies in stomach. :-)

It was so hot/humid and i completely got dehydrated. I carried a file case which had all docs. I reached at 10.30AM but there was a looong queue. I tried to check with few ppl and they were waiting for 10.30AM interview so i went to the last and was waiting. Around 11, a person checked the passport and made some entry in his tab after which we were asked to move to another line. This was for another 20-30 mins on the other side of the first queue. Full sweat and shirt soaked in it. Finally they made me enter into the building. There will be a security check where security will check you, your wallet and also the contents of the file. Then you will be asked to join a queue where a bar code reader would read your PP bar codes and they will issue a token and ask you to wait in the hall. Now comes the important times,

after waiting for almost 15 mins guessing on which queue my token is going to be displayed, finally it came.

- There was a couple before me who were questioned for 10 mins and 10 mins for some system delay. ( i would suggest to be cautious and confident from the moment you join the queue irrespective of where you stand in the queue. Dont show hatredness or any bad expressions due to the delay of previous applicant)
- Then came my turn.

vo - Good morning, Sir.
me - Very good morning, officer.

vo - sorry for making you wait for long.
me - not a problem sir. Here is my passport (I dont knw why i did this, but provide it only when he asks)

vo - thank you for your passport, sir. (he was going through it and something on his system)
me - you are welcome.

vo - can i have the approved petition, pl ?
me - yep, sure. (and provided it)

vo - who is your employer ?
me - my current employer is YYYY and the petitioner for whom am gonna work is YYYY. (again not sure why i did this but please answer to what he asks alone)

vo - who is your client ?
me - (answered accordingly as am gonna work on a project at YYYY location , no client )

vo - whats your designation ?
me - (answered accordingly as mentioned in the docs)

vo - can you tell me about YYYY ?
me - (answered accordingly)

vo - Pl bear with me , my system is slow.
me - np at all, take your time (with a smile.)

vo - am returning you your petition.
me - Thank you.

vo - (typed something in system, by this time i knew its all gonna be good but still was tensed). Your visa is approved. Here is the information pamphlet which you can go through. Wish you good luck on your work and happy stay in United States.
me - Thanks you so much. (with a smile again and left the place with excitement).

Like everyone said, be confident. Confident comes only when all papers are correct and you know that you have all answers for all possible questions that they may ask. Hence preparation is also key. Due to the dehydration or the tiredness you may lose your focus, at this time only your preparation will help you.

Wish you all good luck. Feel free to reply so that i can answer the queries that you may have.