H1B, H4 Visa

Hi,

For first time H1B interview, did applicant need to take latest photograph as specified ?

Hi All,

I am planning to Travel India,I have to go for Visa interview as my Visa has expired.My plan are still tentative, So if book a interview and my plan got cancel do i have to pay the Visa fees or it will be refunded ? Before how many days i have to schedule appointment ?what is the waiting period for interview ?

Hi All

I gave my documents to dropbox for H1 stamping on 11th May. Have been stuck in admin processing since then. No 221g issued, no documents asked, and communication from any one from the embassy till now. 5 weeks and counting.

Any suggestions? Any one else in the same boat?

Thanks.

Hi All

Profile :-

F1 to H1B ( FTE from last 3.5 years ( Total 7 Years of experience ).

I have been following this thread silently and here is my recent experience.

1.Do you have a client ?
2.How long you have been with the same employer ?
3.Highest Qualification ?
4. Which School ?
5. Salary ?
6.Did you had any issues with immigration ?

Here is the where VO stopped and asked again when i said "NO".

Then,VO said my application will need further verification and took the passport with no 221g Issued.

Does anyone faced this issue in the past,If so what do you guys think that question would be ?

This time around, we decided to get the visa stamping done from Tijuana, Mexico, instead of home country. Tijuana is in the same time-zone as San Francisco (PST), and one can walk across the border to Tijuana from San Diego, which makes it convenient location for visa stamping. Our stamping was done without a hitch, in three days. Figured our experience may help others, so here it is.
 
Before that, a few caveats:
1. A valid visa only guarantees access to a port of entry to plead your case. It does not guarantee continued residence in the US, nor an entry into the US, nor work. It is up to the CBP officer to allow or deny you an entry into the US. Thus, you can have an expired visa stamp and still continue to reside within the US, if you are already in the country. Your stay in the US is decided by the date on your I-94. In a nutshell, visa determines if you can access the port-of-entry, while I-94 determines how long you stay in US after you have been granted access.
a. Thus, it is always better to renew (re-stamp) visa before the previous visa expires - in case things go south, you can potentially enter the US again (instead of saying back in Mexico or flying to your home country).
2. Just because this process worked for us, does not mean it will work for everyone. Keep this in mind.
3. Before going down the path, always confirm with the Consulate of that country the eligibility for stamping – some won’t do it if its first stamp (say, first time H1B, or L1 to H1B transfer), some won’t do it for renewals, etc. This information is readily available on the website for that Consulate. For e.g., here it is for Mexico: https://mx.usembassy.gov/visas/petition-based-employment/
4. Do not override your attorney’s advice about the country of stamping location. They know better than us. :-)
 
Here is our experience:
1. Completed DS-160 online, and selected Tijuana, Mexico. Remember to download the .dat file towards the end, as you can use this in future. At the least, please print the entire application as pdf, this option is available after you sign and submit DS-160.
2. Using DS-160 confirmation, booked appointment for Mexico via http://mexico.usvisa-info.com/ (this link is available from the above mx.usembassy.gov site).
a. As of this writing, the visa fee needs to be deposited in cash in a bank in Mexico. For family, book a single appointment by adding all members’.
b. Typically try and get back-to-back days, to optimize stay in Mexico. We got June 04 for biometrics, and June 05 for visa interview.
c. Opt for passport pick-up at the ASC (there were two options).
3. Book a stay in Tijuana, Mexico – we stayed in Hyatt Place, Tijuana (which is at a 5 min walking distance from the biometrics ASC center).
4. Our appointment for biometrics was at 12.30pm, so we reached San Diego airport at 9am same day. Typically 3 to 4 hours between airport and appointment should be sufficient, though adjust as per your risk tolerance. :-)
5. Uber to PedWest crossing (499 Virginia Ave, San Diego, CA 92173) – this is a new border crossing for pedestrians, that is to the west, and has low traffic as of now.
6. Cross over to Mexico, stop in between to complete Mexico immigration form, talk with the officer who enquires why you want to be in Mexico, how long, etc. She issued us a departure card with permission to stay for 7 days.
7. Exiting other side, you’ll find taxis (white color ones, Libre taxis, are better than yellow cabs). Typically, it should be ~\\\$5 to \\\$15 US – negotiate the amount before hopping in. Alternately, if your phone works, you can call an Uber, which is relatively cheaper than a taxi (say, about half the cost of a taxi fare).
8. Check-in to the hotel (request an early check-in), and then walk over to the ASC for the 12.30pm appointment.
9. Friendly staff at the ASC, we were in-and-out in about 20 minutes.
10. Next day Uber to the Consulate for the 7.30am appointment. Takes about 15 minutes from the hotel to the Consulate.
11. Visa officer took our paperwork, and asked us to wait. Called us back in about 20 minutes, and asked standard questions about job, tenure, salary, etc. (we had two separate H1B stamps). She then said we can pick up passports next day 3pm onwards at the Consulate. However, I told her that our pickup is ASC, and she indicated she’ll make sure it is made available at the consulate for pickup (note: the only option in the website is ASC, which I believe implies the Consulate).
a. Note: Visa officer kept our I-797 copies with the passport, which were returned to us next day with the passport.
12. Went back at 2.30pm next day, and got a token. Queued up at 3.00pm based on the token sequence, and got the stamped passports in 15 minutes.
13. Uber to the border crossing (PedWest on Mexico side is called “Puerto Fronterizo El Chaparral”, that standard maps can find).
14. On the US side, the CBP officer asked us a few questions, looked at our documents, and then had us follow him to the I-94 stamping section, where another CBP officer looked at all our documents. Pay \\\$6 per I-94 stamp (paper copy stapled to your passport), and back in the US. Took us about 30 minutes here.
 
Tips
1. No need for currency exchange from USD to Pesos, since Tijuana accepts USD everywhere (being a border town).
2. Download BWT app for border crossing wait times. This is the official CBP Border Wait Times app, available for both iPhone and Android.

Thank you all for sharing your valuable experiences, it was immense helpful. I had my visa extension interview yesterday

on Jun 12 and below are the questions VO asked,

1. Who is your employer ?
2. How long been with same employer ?
3. Designation in company ?
4. Salary ?
5. Highest qualification ?
6. Which school ?
7. Did you know your rights while filling DS-160 ?

.... Have a safe travel..!!!

No documents asked, not even I797.

ALL THE BEST GUYS..!!!

Thank you all for a great forum. My timeline below (me + wife and kid):

Jun 1 (Fri): Documents dropped off
Jun 4 (Mon): Application Received
Jun 6 (Wed): Administrative Processing
Jun 7 (Thu): Issued
June 11 (Mon): Picked up the passports with visa stamped

Background: FTE, Consulting Firm, 7 years at the same firm, was transferred last year, this was amendment (location + role), Wage level 4 (150k+), IIT graduate

Tips:
(1) Double triple check that you are carrying all the documents for each applicant (refer Dropbox confirmation letter for the list). For instance: the guy next to me did not have the DS-160 form (rookie mistake), another guy did not have the visa copies of both parents for his kid's application, etc.
(2) Pay extra extra attention to photo spec (there should be some gap between your head and top of the photo, the photo should be recent and not the ones you used before, etc.). I saw almost everyone getting sent back to bring in new photos because they were not careful enough (fortunately I had read this forum before, so I did not face any issues)
(3) Even though it is not written you should submit your previous I-797, it is always good to submit it anyways (in addition to your most recent I-797). Surprisingly, the document collecting officer in my case asked for it, so I did not have to request for it. But do pay attention to this small subtlety (insist to avoid trouble later on)
(4) While tracking check two things (your visa status and passport whereabouts). My statuses were generally updated around 1-2pm or 4pm during the day just for your reference)
      a) Visa status: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?eQs=WwjqOlbeRYzCYubaSQI+RA==
      b) Passport whereabouts: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-passporttrack.asp

Hope this helps future applicants. All the best everyone. Happy visa stamping : )

Hi All..

I had applied for H1B1 Visa on 30th April 2018 in Mumbai, No questions asked i was handed over a Green colour paper where in it was mentioned that my case will be undergoing Necessary Administrative Processing, The interviewer told me that we will get back to upoi in 2 days time by email, But today almost 41 days have passed and the Screen still shows "visa case is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing"...

Has anyone faced this issue pls advise/guide

Background:
    Working in EVL model since last 5 years. This is my 2nd visa stamping with same employer and same client.

Attended OFC appointment on May 30th and visa Interview on May 31st.

Below are the questions asked by VO.

VO: Who is your petitioner?
me: YYYY Company

VO: Do you work on in-house project or End client?
me: End Client (mentioned client name as well)

VO: Is there any vendor in between
me: Yes, (Mentioned Vendor Name)

VO: Do you have letters from both end client and Vendor
me: Provided both the letter to VO.

VO: What is your highest degree?
me: YYYY Degree

VO: What is your designation?
me: mentioned my designation

VO: What is your annual salary?
me: $$$

VO: Can you provide last 6 months pay statements.
me: I only had last 4 months, without mentioning anything provided last 4 months statements. VO skimmed thru pay statements.

Questions to my spouse.
VO: How long have you been married
spouse: XX years

Questions to my daughter.
VO: how old are you
Daughter: XX Years

With all these questions, I thought I'm going to get 221G. But VO told my Visa is approved.

I attended H1B Interview on 29th March .VO issued 221G and it was like more than 60 Days I haven't received any update still ceas shows it was under Admin processing.

Please let me know if anyone has the same scenario.

Thanks