Passport delivery after successfull H1 inteview

[zorokool]

Hi All,

I attendend my H1 b visa interview on 31st Jan, i live in the US, came on vacation to india and had a successfull visa interview, the Visa officer said the passport will be delivered in couple of days..i avent recieved it yet..when i called the VFS they say ther is a delay of aboutr 7 days..is anyone in same situation or aware of it or nkows how we can get the info from the counsilate please reply back..i gave my interview in US councilate New delhi.

Please reply, i have to be back in US in 10 days..im confused

Thanks
Zoro

[JAIHIND]

Could be stuck in PIMS verification

Hi All,

I attendend my H1 b visa interview on 31st Jan, i live in the US, came on vacation to india and had a successfull visa interview, the Visa officer said the passport will be delivered in couple of days..i avent recieved it yet..when i called the VFS they say ther is a delay of aboutr 7 days..is anyone in same situation or aware of it or nkows how we can get the info from the counsilate please reply back..i gave my interview in US councilate New delhi.

Please reply, i have to be back in US in 10 days..im confused

Thanks
Zoro

zoro, I suspect you must be stuck in the PIMS CLAIMS verification.
Not to scare you, but I have seen posts on other websites where people who went to Delhi Consulate encountered close to 23 working days & still waiting for their passports and some got their PP with stamping in less then 1 week..

Below is some background info. on this recently introduced change:

Delays in Visa Issuance Resulting from the Department of State’s New Directive on Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) instructed consular posts that approvals of H, L, O, P and Q visa petitions must be verified through the Petition Information Management Service (PIMS) before a nonimmigrant visa can be issued. PIMS is an electronic report generated by DOS’s Kentucky Consular Center that collects nonimmigrant visa petition approval information from USCIS. PIMS contains data on initial petition approvals and on L blanket petitions that were approved in 2004 or later. PIMS does not contain information on approvals of extension of stay or changes of status petitions.

Consular officers adjudicating visa applications must consult PIMS to verify the approval of the underlying nonimmigrant visa petition. If the petition approval cannot be verified through PIMS, the officer must contact the Kentucky Consular Center, which in turn attempts to verify the approval through USCIS’s Computer Linked Applications Information Management System (CLAIMS).

DOS officials state that PIMS verification typically takes no more than 24 hours and that verification through CLAIMS typically takes two business days. Most cases involving initial nonimmigrant visa petitions are verified within these timeframes. However, we have received many reports of longer processing times for extension of stay and change of status cases. These cases must be verified with the assistance of the Kentucky Consular Center and can take longer to be processed. DOS has indicated that there are no current plans to include extension and change of status approval information in PIMS, which may result in significant delays for many applicants.

Foreign nationals who will be applying for nonimmigrant visas should expect longer processing times due to the new PIMS and CLAIMS verification requirement. How long the electronic process will take may vary from case to case. However, same-day and next-day visa issuance should not be expected. DOS projects that visa issuance will improve once the agency moves to a full online NIV application system in mid-2008.