H1B, H4 Visa

HI,

I have a dropbox appointment for H1B stamping in New Delhi India on Nov 20. I am still in US, and still not decide whether to travel to India right now or not.

In case I am called for an in-person appointment or get 221(g), what is the process then? Do I need to book another appointment? If yes, do I need to wait for a regular visa appointment to open?

Has anyone gotten stuck because of Dropbox?

Me(H1) and my wife(H4) had our my dropbox appointment on October-23-2020.
Appointment@Consulate: Chennai
Dropbox location: Bangalore

My situation before visa stamping was as below:
H1B visa expired in March 2020. I had an approved I-797(approved in January 2020), valid until March 2023.
I was in the US during the PP 10052.(June, July 2020)
I work in the same position with the same employer.
I was able to make dropbox appointment in last week of September and travelled from USA to India in October 2020.

Timeline:
23rs October 2020 - H1B, H4 documents submitted at Bangalore VAC
(Mandatory Documents - Passports, DS-160, Appointment confirmation letter, Photograph, New I-797 and previous I-797 of H1B holder)
I was asked if I had a Position Confirmation Letter with me. Since I did not have the letter, I asked if I could submit the letter later. The document is NOT MADATORY, but, good to have and it is possible to submit the letter anytime on the day of appointment OR we have to re-schedule the appointment if we cannot produce any of the documents on same day.
Since it was difficult to arrange the document on same day and I did not want to reschedule the appointment to a later date, I submitted the Mandatory documents and requested them to go ahead with the processing.
28th October 2020 - Case created
4th November 2020 - Issued
5th November 2020 - Passport ready for pickup at Bangalore VAC

October 26th and 30th were holidays for the US consulate. So, from the date of case creation to visa approval, it took 5 working days, not counting the days for passport in transit from Bangalore to Chennai and vice-versa.

My visa is annotated - "Excepted from or Not Subject to PP 10052"

Please find below, information on different annotation on the visa and 30 day rule to return to USA(Email response received from Chennai consulate to my query regarding the annotation on my visa):

Dear Applicant
 
Hello, thank you for your inquiry.
 
Some applicants who are subject to one of the recent Presidential Proclamations, but have been granted an exception, are required to travel to the United States within 30 days of visa issuance. Please follow the subsequent guidance to determine whether or not this applies to you:
 
If your visa is annotated "NIE under P.P. on Novel Coronavirus," you must enter the U.S. within 30 days of visa issuance. If your travel will take place 30 days or more after the issuance of the visa, please respond to this message with a photo of your visa along with the planned date of travel. An interview will generally not be required, but may be requested if necessary.
 
If your visa is annotated "NIE under P.P. on Risk to Labor Market," "Excepted from or Not Subject to PP 10052," or there is no annotation in your visa, this regulation does not apply to you, and you may travel at a time that is convenient.
  
Please note that upon entering the United States, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have authority to permit or deny admission to the United States, and determine how long a traveler may stay.
  
Regards,
Consular Information Unit
U.S. Consulate General
220, Anna Salai
Chennai 600 006
India
https://in.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/chennai/

https://www.immihelp.com/experiences/post/H1B-Client-Letter-448795/

My case was return to USCIS for additional review in March 2020 as client did not provide client letter .

March 2020 : the Department of State sent us your case. We are reviewing it, and will notify you by mail when we are done. Please follow any instructions in the notice.

Since then checking status on USCIS website but there is no change (8 months).
Is there a way to follow up with USCIS? email or phone or something ?

Dropbox in Hyd - Oct 26th 2020
Status - Application Received Oct 27th 2020
Status - Admin Processing updated on Nov 5th

When I dropped my documents they said I’d be getting my passport back as early as 3 days. But it took almost 10 days even for a status update and it turned out to be Admin Processing. Is anyone experiencing similar delays?

Also the last time I had interview in Hyd (1st one for H1B) I was given 221g white form and Visa officer assured me that it’s just a formal background check one and wouldn’t take more than a week. As said I got my passport back in a week. But this time I’m not sure how long is it going to take as it suggests it might take several weeks in status update. Does anyone have similar experience with delayed status updates in the recent Covid-19 times and how long is it taking for an Admin Processing?

Ps: The company I work (full time) had a brand integration in 2017 after my petition was accepted. So the two I-797s have different petitioner names even though it’s a same company and same work location

Hi everyone,

I have been qualified for dropbox at Hyderabad Consulate. I am looking for OFC appointments since 2-3 weeks now but it shows No Appointments available currently. Can someone please advise if you have recently reserved an OFC appointment at Hyderabad consulate? And roughly at what time are they opening the slots!

Appreciate your inputs. It would really help!

Thanks,
Shrutha

Hello everyone,

I had applied for normal H4 Visa appointment recently and then immediately applied for Emergency request – Kolkata consulate – reason – medical needs – family separation, my husband is in US on H1B, But my EA got denied today. Now it doesn't show any option to apply again for EA.
Any idea what to do in this case. Has anyone else also faced this? What did u do?
Thanks

I am currently in US on H1 visa valid uptill 2022 and am planning to fly down to India in early 2021 and get married to my fiance. My thought is to get her H4 visa done while I'm there and fly back to US together. Currently embassies in India are closed and taking only requests through emergency appointments. Additionally normal visa application dates are available for March 2021, which will move ahead if I take appt dates when I am in India. I had a few questions while applying for spouse's H4 visa which are as below:

1) Can I fill and submit my fiance's DS160 right now and take appt date for March 2021? If yes, should it be filled with status as Married or Single?
2) I also got to know that DS160 can be stored offline on computer, if want to fill and submit post 30 days. If this is the case, can I start filling her DS160 now and just take appointment based on DS160 ID and then submit DS160, once I am in India and get married?
3) If somehow I happen to get an appt date for somewhere later in 2021 and want to apply for an emergency appt, what should be the reason that I can give for emergency appt?

If anybody else has gone through this process during the pandemic, request you'll to please help and guide me in this case.

TIA

I have valid i797 until sept 2021. My i94 expired Sept 22 2020.
Question - Can i Visit Deferred Inspection Site and have them update my i94 to match i797 date.
Situation - I believe I got i94 until sept 22 2020 because my passport was expiring at that date.

I now have new updated passport and also valid i797, I want to get my i94 updated though. So considering going to Deferred Inspection site and avoid travel during this pandemic.

kindly suggest. Thank You in advance.

Hello,
I was working on H1b but got laid off on July 24th. I didn't immediately apply for H4 as I was expecting to find a job in the 60 day grace period USCIS grants to retain H1 status and find another job (which would have ended on Sept 24th). Due to some circumstances I decided to not work for time being and applied for COS from H1b to H4 in early Sept, there was enough time for USCIS to receive Change of status before Sept 24th.
2 days back I received a Denial notice for form I-539 due to 'application petition not been completed fully'. It also mentions 'Pls be sure to complete petition fully, submit the fees '.
My I-94 from H1b visa stamping done In India in Jan 2020 shows validity till 2022.
1. Am I out of status now? Should I leave for my home country ASAP?
2. Would resubmitting the application with proper fees and documentation resolve the issue or will it add to 'out of status' days in my record.
I need to know urgently, pls help!

Hi interview date oct 5 given 221g . I have submitted my passport on 13th October 2020 in the US Consulate at Hyderabad. There is no update from the consulate end. However, I have been tracking my visa updates on https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx.

Status as on :
a. 13th October 2020: Refused
b. 23rd October 2020: Administrative Processing
c. 26th October 2020: Ready
d. 26th October 2020: Administrative Processing (again)

Kindly find the following queries.
1. Can you please give your opinion on the above changes of my status on the CEAC website?