H1B, H4 Visa

Hi,

I am planning to visit India for getting my H1 Stamped in Hyderabad Consulate.

I want to know if anyone has/had a similar experience like mine.

Got H4 stamped in my Passport in India.

Arrived to US on H4, Changed and got Approved to F1 in UNVA; got my OPT found a consultant and changed to H1, after a few Years applied for Green Card and successfully got my I-140 Approved. All of this process happened in USA for a long time.

Now I am thinking of visiting India for getting my Visa stamped. Can anyone please suggest me what would be the outcome if anyone had an experience like mine

Hi all ,

 Thank for reading . Do i need the original offer letter from my petitioner for H1B visa interview . I have scanned copy of that in my hand and i have origianl I797 in my hand . Please help in this. I have my interview on 9th feb

Case: First H-1 stamping after L-1 to H-1 conversion, jumped employers twice in last 3+ yrs and with I-140 approved from prev employer. I went alone for stamping (my family is in US)

Questions Asked:

1. Employer Name: YYYY
2. Highest Level of Education with Specialization: YYYY
3. End Client Name: YYYY (Told this and then i told though i work for my employer , i happened to work at my client's office location at xxxxx address)
4. Salary: ZZZ,ZZZ
5. Are you married:
6. You have children:
7. Is your child an US Citizen:

Then she told my visa is approved.

I got the stamped passport after 3 days from interview at the pickup location.

Thanks,
AV

Guys, wanted to share my experience just in case if it helps someone:

Trip - Jan1st -Jan 17th

Jan 2nd: Dropbox submission
Jan 5th: Case created
Jan 8th: Admin Processing
Jan12th: Received passport back with a 221g letter for interview call
13th-15th - Embassy closed
Jan 16th: Attended interview (no appointment, just walked in), visa approved (basic questions on company, education, etc. interview less than 5 min).

Visa officer said passport will be ready within a week, I requested if there is a way to get it tomorrow as I've my flight back. They told me ok we will get it ready tomorrow at 3:30pm. Just come pick it up.
Arrived embassy on the 17th at 3:30pm, passport wasn't ready they said and it can't be done today. I told the window counter I've my flight in 4 hrs and I was told it would be ready. They told me to wait to check with the officers and they actually got the stamp done in the next 20mins and gave me the stamped passport back.

I was able to catch my flight. Just wanted to share.

Good luck everyone!

Hi all,
It has been 90 days since I have been stuck in India because of 221g. I submitted the documents via Dropbox on 23rd October 2017 and I had an in-person interview on Dec 4th 2017 in chennai consulate.. There's no change in status whatsoever from dec 4th.
Is anybody going through the same? Have you seen any update in your case particularly at Chennai Condulate?
I work in the EVVC model.
Thanks.

My friend got 221g. The interviewing officer said they have already reached out to the end client and waiting for their response. Is it possible to do end client verification even before the interview ?

My friend contacted his manager and the manager said he didn't get any verification request yet.

If anyone faced similar situation any input from you is greatly appreciated.

Hi Guys,

I had my visa interview on 19th december in chennai consolate.
VO is a lady, she asked my about my salary, location, client name , employer name.

then, she asked for
--> client letter and contract letter between employer and client?
I am a contractor so i gave all the documents of vendors, client letter and employer letter.

she gave me yellow slip told to wait for some time.

After sometime i was called again and told it needs admin processing and will update you.

Gave 221g blueslip with the option checked - "your application is refused for admin processing, the application will be reconsidered when admin processing is complete".

Didn't take my passport and returned my documents. she didn't ask for any documents to submit.

after a month still it shows the same status as admin processing.

Please let me know if anyone in the same boat.

Hi guys,

I have been reading this portal for a couple of months as I had scheduled my H1B visa stamping interview for January 17th. This is my timeline and details

F1 to H1B first time stamping
Masters in US
Full time. I had worked for another company on OPT and changed to my current company on OPT itself. Continued on STEM and got my H1B approved.
Have updated University at all points in time promptly.
Interview Location : Chennai
Jan 16th : Biometric
Jan 17th : Visa interview
Jan 17th : Case updated
Waiting since then

Details :
VO was a lady. general questions asked - Salary, City, Highest educational degree, job responsibilities, full time or client
Other questions :
Asked if I worked for Defense company since the city i work in has lot of Defense companies. Answer was no.
Asked for my resume and went through line by line.
Asked if I was given the "Kow your rights while working in US" Pamphlet.
She told me I was out of status for sometime as my university had mentioned so. I answered no and told dates of my OPT and STEM and H1B. She listned intently. She said it was fine and she will have it removed from my file. Handed me a blue 221g with "Application refused for administrative processing. Will be considered after processing is done" option checked. Kept my passport and put a yellow sticky note on it and kept my resume.
I asked if there was a problem and she said it was fine. I asked timeline and she said she couldn't say as of now. Told I was all set to go.

The guy in front of me was also F1 to H1B and he was also given the 221g Blue form and passport was kept with yellow sticky note.

Posting this because the previous posts on this portal helped me realise that 221g has become common. Thanks guys. Will keep this thread posted about future events. Stressed out.

 

This was my 3rd interview for as many visas that I had to get stamped before travelling back to US. Earlier, I was interviewed for B1 and then L1B. I attribute a major part of my tryst with Visas to this community of Users who selflessly, share there experiences with everyone. A big THANK YOU to all of you!

Background: I am with the same company (one of the Tech giants) for almost 7.5 years. I am not on the Technical side but with Finance Team. All my earlier Visas (B1, L1B) were approved while I was working (and I still am) with the same company. Clean records in India as well as in US, ever since I have been there, which is more than a year now.

Visa Biometric and Interview Location: Chennai, India

Current Visa Type: H1B (L1B to H1B, petition approved with COS – same company)

Biometric: 15:15 PM IST, 18th Jan, 2018 - Only eventful thing worth mentioning is that I was asked to remove my smart watch and keep it in the paid locker facility available downstairs. They, funnily enough, allow cell phones in switched off mode but not switched off smart watch. Also, it’s advisable not to be there sooner than 30 minutes before your scheduled time.

Documents checked – passport, DS 160 confirmation page and appointment confirmation page.

Interview: 10:15 AM IST, 19th Jan, 2018. Reached outside consulate around 09:45 AM (again, 30 minutes before my scheduled time) and waited in queue until my scheduled time. After reaching inside the main premise where interview was supposed to happen (this was after security check of documents and people), I was asked to join the queue outside Counter 16. Once the passport was scanned, the kind lady asked me to move to Counter 18. Again, passport was scanned and left 4 finger prints were scanned, too. I was then asked to join the group of people waiting patiently in queue for their turn of interview. All the processes until joining the queue took roughly 20 minutes.

When my turn came, I approached the counter that I was guided to. With smile on my face, I wished “Morning” to VO. He courteously acknowledged it with a smile and wished me back. That certainly did the trick and it did help me in getting rid of the initial anxiety that I had, in anticipation.

VO asked for my passport which he scanned.

VO: Who is you petitioner?
ME: YYYY America.

VO: Where will you be working from?
ME: I currently work and will continue to work at the company’s HQ in XX City in XX state.

The above answers led us to some informal exchanges (in which he seemed very interested and enthusiastic) for couple of minutes around my company’s Chairman, his hobby, if I had met anyone from Exe. Mgt. (as I work out of same building), etc. Totally unanticipated but I wasn’t complaining.

After couple of minutes, he said let’s finish the interview.

VO: What’s your highest educational qualification?
ME: MBA with specialization in Finance.

VO: Have you ever studied in US?
ME: No, never. Always in India.

VO: What’s your annual salary in US?
ME: $ YYYY XX

VO: Congratulations! Your visa is approved. You should get your passport sometime next week. Good Day to you!
 
I thanked him for his time and wished him well. By 11:05 AM IST, I was out of the Consulate.

I was NOT asked for any documents (incl. DS160 confirmation, I797A) other than my current passport.

Documents I carried (based on inputs from various websites) – not in any particular order:

1. H Petition approval (original)
2. H petition copy (entire set). This includes supporting letter, LCA, G-28, I-129, H Classification
        supplement, H1B and H1B1 data collection, Evaluation of Academic Credentials, etc.
3. Employment verification letter
4. Offer letter
5. 6 months pay stubs
6. 1 year Bank statements (all Bank accounts I hold in US)
7. Visa fee payment receipt
8. Resume
9. Old Passport
10. DS 160 confirmation page
11. Appointment confirmation page
12. Org. chart
13. Utilities Bill (PG&E – Electric & Gas and Comcast – Internet service) along with payment reference
        letter showing my payment history in last 1 year.
14. ID Card
15. W2 (IRS Tax Form)
16. Form 1040 (tax Return)
17. Social Security
18. Driving License
19. All original Marks Sheets of my education
20. I94 Most recent as well as History

The documents might be different for people with different cases (E.g. going there for first time, working for client and not direct employer, etc.)

I would suggest to carry each and every document that you anticipate you can be asked for. It’s better to carry all documents and not being asked for any as against not carrying the docs and being asked for something. That can cause unnecessary delay in visa processing,

Thanks for reading and Good Luck!

Thank you all for sharing your experience here and it helped me to prepare for the worst case scenario.

Before laying out my visa experience, I would like to give you a quick background on my case.
I have been on H4 since Dec 2008 and maintained my status throughout my stay in the US. My spouse works for a financial institute (Full time employee) and we have an approved I140.

In 2014, we both attended interview at Chennai consulate. My Husband's visa was approved but in my case VO saw an overstay flag on his system. I have maintained legal status throughout my stay by timely filing I539 (These were filed with my spouse's H1B extensions). VO was very helpful and he did see approved I797/I539 but asked my husband to work with his attorneys to correct the error.

Attorneys contacted DHS, ICE and my spouse personally visited USCIS field office twice. They all acknowledged that I have been maintaining a valid status and they weren't sure how that flag showed up on consulate system. (It is still a mystery to us!!!). We sent all the required records from 2008 to US travel docs section but Consulate's office simply refused to acknowledge that there was an error in the system and expressed their inability to issue the visa. Attorneys contacted legal net and asked them to deal with consulate. Finally, after much deliberation consulate asked us to send the passport and requested concerned dept to remove the flag. Overall, it took 6 months to resolve the whole issue.

Fast forward 2017, due to a family emergency I had to visit India and attended visa interview at Chennai consulate. On DS-160, answered yes to "Have you ever been refused a U.S. visa" and provided an explanation.

Biometrics: December 17 2017
Interview: December 18 2017

Questions:
1. Where does your husband works?
2. Which location?
3. What is his position?
4. Have you ever overstayed in US? (ha...)

VO: Ok. your VISA is approved.

They kept the passport and no 221g or any other form of communication was given to me.

Dec 15 2017 Case created
Dec 18 2017 Case updated - administrative processing
Jan 18 2018 Issued

It took 20 business days to issue the visa.

I wish all the best to people who are waiting for their passport.