H1B, H4 Visa

Hello all,

I am in middle of a dilemma on possibility of cancellation of H1B interviews(for this week) in Chennai Consulate due to current rain/floods.

I have my interview planned on 6th Dec(fingerprint) and 7th Dec(consulate); and want to know if someone is already aware of such issues.

& Will Chennai consulate reschedule the interviews in the system and notify us in such scenario where the Consulate gets closed due to rain/floods Or we have to approach them to be aware of same ?

Any inputs, or anyone who has recently appeared for interview will help(I hear chennai floods are back today).

Thanks in advance.

Hello all to who ever is reading this post and thanks to all who posted their visa experiences. Here is my story:

OFC: Appointment was at 9:45 on Nov 25 and we were allowed only to get inside only at 9:30. At the entrance of the building an indian official verified our passports with appointment letter and DS-160s and let us in. Inside the building another indian official entered our info in his system and generated barcode stickers and put those on each of our passports. Then security guards screened us and generated a token for each of us. Inside the building we waited for 5 mins and our respective turns came and I was asked to pass on my documents (Passport, DS-160 and appointment letter) and the lady at the counter (again indian) asked me two questions (Name and purpose of trip). Done!

Consular interview: Appointment was at 9 am on Nov 27 and we reached there at 8ish and PARKED OUR CAR IN THE BUILDING IN THE LANE WHICH IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD TO OFC BUILDING FOR 30/HR. And we went ahead and stood in the queue. The security people allowed candidates of 8am, 8:30 am and 9am slot. The security screening was simple but little time taking. And finally around 9:15 we reached a point where our left hand's 4 fingers prints were verified and asked us to join the queue for the actual interview and when we reached to the front of the queue we were given token which specifies interview counter number, which was 12 in my case. There were already 2 people ahead of us (both F-1s). VO approved the first guy and rejected the second one because of poor language skills. Then my turn came:

VO: Good morning, how are you?
We: Good morning, we doing good, how are you?
VO: good, passports and I-797 please.
Me: passed those to him.
VO: Who is your petitioner?
Me: [Employer Name]
VO: What do you do for them?
Me: Mentioned role and 1 line job description.
VO: Is there an end client?
Me: Yes
VO: who is that?
Me: [Client Name] at [City, State]
VO: Have you done your masters in the states?
Me: Yes from [University Name, State]
VO: How did you like the [Local musical band name]?
Me: I wasn't sure if that was the name of sports team/music band or whatever. So simply assumed it was sports related and said I am not much into sports.
VO: haha, it's ok, how did you like the weather there?
Me: I liked it very much, it was very close to that of Hyderabad.
VO: hahah, true, have you visited [Famour singer name] house?
Me: I didn't get a chance and smiled. He smiled too. Last 2-3 questions seemed very casual and friendly. We both were literally laughing and my wife next to me was smiling all these while.
VO: How long have you been married?
We: Not sure to which one of us was this question aimed, so we both coincidentally replied at the same time with "2 years as of today".
VO: today??
We: Yes, today
VO: oh nice, congrats
We: thank you
VO: your visas are approved, do you have the US visa rights pamphlet?
We: thank you
Me: Yes I do.
Me: Officer, can I ask you a quick question?
VO: sure
Me: Do you need my old passport by any chance?
VO: not required.
Me: thanks and left the place

Interview didn't even last for 2 minutes. After reaching home I checked my status out of curiosity and the status was "Administrative Processing" and around 9pm, it changed to "Issued". And on Nov-30 I got an sms to pick up my passports.

Suggestion: Dress well and answer confidently, doesn't matter your answers are spot-on or little lengthy. Visa officers are very cool and trying to approve all sorts of visas and as quite a few people here said, they dont reject your visa unless you give them a reason to. (like the guy in front of me who couldn't answer a simple question of why he was changing his major to computers even after the same question was asked for 3 times).

All the best.

Hello all,

Its really glad that we have a platform to discuss things and to give/take advises, thanks to immihelp.com

My Interview is scheduled on 12/7/2015 at HYD

My complete education is in Mechanical Engineering and currently i'm working in IT, does this have any impact ? I'm also carrying email copies of jobs applied in Mechanical Engineering.

Please Advice ... Thank you in advance

Hello all,

I submitted documents using H4 Dropbox facility last Tuesday 24th Nov.

As Wednesday and Thursday was off, after that did not see any update .

Till now getting ' your passport is still with US embassy/consulate" . anybody please throw some light on it, how many days does it take.

Thank you

I had bio metrics appointment on 25th November and Visa interview on 27th Nov.

OFC,

  Nothing to prepare much for OFC. Just take the documents and go to VAC. It is just a 10 mins work. After bio metrics test Officer there will stamp in your DS 160 confirmation page and return it to you which you have to carry for interview.

Visa Interview,

  My interview slot is at 9 30 AM. But due to rains in Chennai interview slots are changed as FCFS basis. So go early for interview, I went inside at 8 AM.

  Visa interview was very smooth. I am going for a new employment in US so took all possible documents VO can ask.

   VO: Good morning.
   Me: Good Morning sir.

    VO: For which company you are working ?
    Me: I will be working for YYYY

     VO: So you are going to resign YYY and joing YYYY in US ( VO will have all information about our employment and other details in the screen in front of him, so be honest in all informations)
     Me: Yes sir.

     VO: What is your project name?
     Me: I told the name of the project.

     VO: Can you explain the project?
     ME: I explained the project.

     At this time he was ok and kept my passport in a shelf inside.
     VO: How you came to know about this employer?
     Me: I told my relative refereed this company. ( if you are going to say frnd or any other person. you should have all supporting information for that.)
    
     VO: what is your highest educational qualification?
     Me: Bachelors in computer science engineering.

     VO: You visa is approved. Have a nice day
     Me: Thank you sir. You too.

Points to remember,

    1. You should carry all possible information for interview.
    2. Don't get scared. VO's are very soft and smiling. You need not worry about interview.
    3. Don't talk while standing in Queue. Be attentive, look confident.
    4. Appearance matters. Go in a complete formal wear.
    5. Answer to the point. Tell only what is asked. Don't give details unless asked.

 Visa interview will happen for max 2 min. Nothing to panic but definitely not simple also. Be confident and answer confidently, the day is yous :)

Hi ImmiHelp, Thanks a lot for helping me in my preparation for the interview.
I am a bit late to share my experience here but nevertheless better late than never :)

OFC on 3rd November,2015 at 3:30 PM

OFC process was easier , I along with my wife went at 2:00 PM and was allowed inside at 2:30 PM. DS160 & Passport verification was done and we went ahead for Finger prints submission.

Questions asked to me during OFC:
Why are you going to US?
Where are you going to work?

To my wife:
Are you going as a dependent?

Consulate Interview on 4th November,2015 at 11:30 AM

I have reached at 10:00 AM and entered the consulate at around 10:30 AM. After the security checks and metrics verification we reached the final interview queue at around 11:40 AM.
Visa support staff has taken our passports and kept at the counter.

VO: Good Morning, How are you?
Me: Good Morning officer. Am good. How about you?

VO: Thanks, Am good. who is your employer?
Me: xxxxxx

VO: Where are you going to US?
Me: YYYY

VO: Is she your wife?
Me: Yes

VO: What is your salary?
Me: YYYY \$/Month

VO: What are your roles and responsibilities?
Me: I was explaining.

VO: Suddenly interrupted me and said "Your Visa is approved".
Me : Thanks officer. Good Day ahead.

No questions asked to my wife :) She is confused and happy at the same moment :)

Once again Thanks everyone in this forum for your support and I wish all the best for the future aspirants.

Today My Schedule at 11:00 AM, I have reached 10:45AM better to reach before 15 min only.

VO: Good Morning.. How ru doing today..?
ME: Good Morning, Thanks.. How your doing..?
VO: Fine, Thanks.
VO: Who is ur Petitioner..?
ME: ZZZ
VO: Who is ur Client?
ME: I told, Few Client names which my employer having..
VO: There is no specific Client..?
ME: I said, I am going to in house project.. I am need to support all clients who is having my employer based on the requirement.
VO: What is ur designation..?
ME: ZZZ
VO: How much ur getting paying..?
ME: ZZZ
VO: What is my Highest Qualification?
ME: ZZZ

my Wife:
VO: How Many Years back got married mam..?
my wife: XX years
VO: Why your going to US?
My Wife : To ac-company to my spouse.
VO: Which city your going to leave in US?
My Wife: Not understand, I explained her in Telugu.. finally she told to VO: City and State:

VO: Looking 2 to 3 mini in system.. Finally with smile face she told us.. Your Visa Approved.

We left the counter with happy by saying to VO Thanks a lot.. :)

Thanks a lot to immihelp and folks who is posting the comments,

24th I have attended Bio-metric, it hardly took 10 min

I have attended visa interview on 25th November.

in interview
VO: Good morning.
Me: Good morning

VO: who is your employer?
Me: YYYY comp

VO: Who is your client?
ME: CCC compeny.

VO: Can you spell the name of the client?
ME: Answerd

VO: What to you do for them?
Me: I have explained roles and responsibilities

VO: Can you show me the client letter.
Me: Given the client letter.

VO: What is salary?
Me:xxx $ per year.

VO: What is your highest qualification?
Me: Bachelor's degree in Electronics and communication engineering.

VO: Your visa Approved.
Me: Thank you, Thanks a lot.

Once again thanks every one,

All the best..!!

Thanks a lot for immihelp for the guidance and thanks to everyone who has posted their visa interview experience @ consulate
Chennai Consulate –
I belong to Islam religion…so I had different experience at US consulate, Chennai.
Bio Metric - 18th Nov, 2015
Visa Interview - 19th Nov, 2015
I was sent to window 28. I was in queue waiting for my turn and the VO directly called me with my name even without taking my passport...bit surprised
VO: Good Morning, how are you?
Me: I am doing good sir, thank you. How are you doing?
VO: Good sir
VO: Who is your end client?
Me: I told XYZ Company
VO: XYZ Company… he is familiar with my client
VO: What’s your salary?
Me: USD amount
VO: Which city?
Me: replied City, State.
VO: What’s your highest qualification?
Me: Bachelor’s Degree in YYYY X
VO: He started to look into his PC…after a minute he asked me to wait for a while and went inside
Me: In waiting mode and VO back after 2 minutes
VO: once again asked me - What’s your highest qualification?
Me: Bachelor’s Degree in YYYY X
VO: Initially asked my LCA only, then all the available documents including petition and other docs
Me: handed over all the documents
VO: Said please wait and he went inside with all the documents
Me: In waiting mode for almost 10 minutes and VO came back to window with consulate supporting staff (Indian lady) and he was having serious discussion with her
VO: My name …. I am approving your Visa, my apologies for making you to wait for long time and making you to feel bit nervous
VO: You need to fill this form to complete the Visa processing and He asked to complete the VOLUNTARY DECLARATION form with all my details (he assigned supporting staff to help me on)
Me: Thank you very much….. Left the window
Me: Completed the Voluntary Declaration from and went back to the Window 28
VO: Asked me to sign the VOLUNTARY DECLARATION and he assured me not to be worried about anything
After a day i.e., on 20th Nov, 2015, my passport status changed to ‘Ready to Pick up’
That’s my story… at high level most of the VO’s are very cool minded and good humans. They do their best to approve the Visas.
Note: - I have a valid US B1/B2 visa issued in Nov, 2013 and the VO didn’t cancel my existing B1/B2 visa.

went to interview 30th November 10.30am.

I have two kids. I attended along with my one kid and wife. I didnt took another kid. But I have taken his passport and required documents.

VO asked below questions to me:

* Who is your Employer?
* What is your designation?
* What is your annual income?
* What is your highest qualification?
* Which university it is from?
* Which city you are going to?

To my wife:
* What is your spouse DOB?
* What your kids DOB?

VO has taken 4 passports and congratulated.

VO didnt asked any documents.They are not hesitated to repeat the question.

Make an eye contact and your job is done. Don't pay attention to others interview and questions asked.

Thanks