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This forum has been immensely helpful for me after my DUI, so I thought I would post an update about my most recent renewal experience, which was my second stamping after the DUI.
Needless to say, I'm very grateful that things have worked out. Learned my lesson. Hoping to impress upon others to not drink and drive. It's dangerous, life altering, and at the very least a huge hassle.
First, the background. I have been working in USA on an H1 visa for over a decade. In Dec 2015 I was arrested for a DUI, and eventually had the charge amended to a reckless operation (so no DUI conviction, but as many know, even just the arrest has massive immigration implications). I did not know that my visa had been revoked following the arrest, so I traveled abroad (not to my home country) in 2016 and was refused entry onto the plane upon trying to return. Had to apply for a new visa from the foreign country, which was very stressful. Hopefully this is not the case for many of you and you are knowingly applying for a visa/renewal after your DUI.
Now onto the second stamping experience.
Location: Mumbai
Timeframe: Late 2018
Total time: 5 weeks
On my application, I of course ticked the box asking about prior arrests. Don't try to hide anything, they know about it all. In preparation for my interview I had my arrest record, final court documents (certified copies) and necessary paperwork for the visa.
At the interview, I was asked exactly three questions: What's your title, is this a renewal application, have you had trouble with the law in the past? They did not ask to see any paperwork aside from the 797. Even to the final question, they just wanted a confirmation from me, no details. The whole interview lasted less than 5 minutes.
After the interview, I was issued a 221(g) and had to complete a medical test and psych evaluation. I was told to return my passport at the VFS document collection center after 5 business days.
Medical test was at Rele Clinic in Mumbai. They do a blood test, urinalysis, chest x-ray and other biometric assessments. The whole process took about 3 hours, after which we walked to the psychiatrist's office for the evaluation. The doctor there asked me a number of questions, only some of which related to the incident and my drinking habits. At the end, I was told the psych evaluation is a formality and the doctor did not anticipate any issues from his side. I returned to Rele Clinic with a CD of my test results, sealed and only to be opened by a consular officer (if requested). Total time for this whole process was about 5 hours. I highly recommend securing an appointment at this clinic for the same/next day after your interview. If you call, they just need to know that the appointment is for a non-immigrant US visa DUI case. This way, you don't have to wait until the interview to call the clinic. This should save you 3-4 days.
Five business days after the medical, I returned to the VFS location to submit my passport. The case went into Administrative Processing status, then Application Received status. Four weeks later, it went into Issued status and the next day I had my passport in my hand.
Please feel free to ask any questions. I will try to be as helpful as I can.
EDIT: A few people have reached out to me over Private Message asking for help. I'm happy to respond there, but it would be better if you posted below so others can also see the questions/answers.
Needless to say, I'm very grateful that things have worked out. Learned my lesson. Hoping to impress upon others to not drink and drive. It's dangerous, life altering, and at the very least a huge hassle.
First, the background. I have been working in USA on an H1 visa for over a decade. In Dec 2015 I was arrested for a DUI, and eventually had the charge amended to a reckless operation (so no DUI conviction, but as many know, even just the arrest has massive immigration implications). I did not know that my visa had been revoked following the arrest, so I traveled abroad (not to my home country) in 2016 and was refused entry onto the plane upon trying to return. Had to apply for a new visa from the foreign country, which was very stressful. Hopefully this is not the case for many of you and you are knowingly applying for a visa/renewal after your DUI.
Now onto the second stamping experience.
Location: Mumbai
Timeframe: Late 2018
Total time: 5 weeks
On my application, I of course ticked the box asking about prior arrests. Don't try to hide anything, they know about it all. In preparation for my interview I had my arrest record, final court documents (certified copies) and necessary paperwork for the visa.
At the interview, I was asked exactly three questions: What's your title, is this a renewal application, have you had trouble with the law in the past? They did not ask to see any paperwork aside from the 797. Even to the final question, they just wanted a confirmation from me, no details. The whole interview lasted less than 5 minutes.
After the interview, I was issued a 221(g) and had to complete a medical test and psych evaluation. I was told to return my passport at the VFS document collection center after 5 business days.
Medical test was at Rele Clinic in Mumbai. They do a blood test, urinalysis, chest x-ray and other biometric assessments. The whole process took about 3 hours, after which we walked to the psychiatrist's office for the evaluation. The doctor there asked me a number of questions, only some of which related to the incident and my drinking habits. At the end, I was told the psych evaluation is a formality and the doctor did not anticipate any issues from his side. I returned to Rele Clinic with a CD of my test results, sealed and only to be opened by a consular officer (if requested). Total time for this whole process was about 5 hours. I highly recommend securing an appointment at this clinic for the same/next day after your interview. If you call, they just need to know that the appointment is for a non-immigrant US visa DUI case. This way, you don't have to wait until the interview to call the clinic. This should save you 3-4 days.
Five business days after the medical, I returned to the VFS location to submit my passport. The case went into Administrative Processing status, then Application Received status. Four weeks later, it went into Issued status and the next day I had my passport in my hand.
Please feel free to ask any questions. I will try to be as helpful as I can.
EDIT: A few people have reached out to me over Private Message asking for help. I'm happy to respond there, but it would be better if you posted below so others can also see the questions/answers.
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