H1B, H4 Visa

Hello All,

I read this form very often and would like to share my h1b experience with the members.

Interview questions asked by VO:-

Which company?
What company do?
Checked my LCA and petition letter.
Will you work on client side?
Project name?
What is your role?
How many employes does the company has?
How did you get to know about the job?

That's it.Finally VO approved my visa.

Be confident and focus on your documents and explanation you have to provide them.You will easily get the visa.

Thanks

Hi all,
Thanks for everyone who has shared their experiences on this website. It really helped me prepare for my interview.

Background Information
OFC – 18/12/2013
Consulate Interview Date – 19/12/2013
US Consulate Location – Chennai
Type of VISA – H1B

OFC Appointment Experience - Chennai -

OFC – Entry to Exit would not take more than 10 minutes including the security check. My appointment time was 2PM.
I reached at 1.45 and I was immediately allowed inside with verification of following documents -
1. Passport
2. DS 160
3. Appointment letter confirmation
The staff would post bar code sticker on the back of passport. Then I was sent into a hall where my Fingerprints and Photograph are taken. All these process didn’t take more than 2/3 minutes and I was out by 2.10.

US Consulate Process at Chennai for H1B Visa:

My appointment time was 9 Am, I was allowed inside at 8.45 am after standing in long queue. one guy was standing before was 10 am appointment but he stood in the 9 am line. this way people are irritating the security guys, he is shouting only 9 am appointment stand in this queue, but there are some people who doesn’t listen to them making things complex for both themselves and others.

After verifying the appointment letter, I am sent to security check. There they check for all the documents and if you have any envelopes they check and stamp on it. collect the documents and sent inside, from there sent to another building where the visa interview happens. In the door of the building they have pasted a paper visa interview lobby.
As soon as you enter the lobby, the passport is scanned for the bar code pasted on the OFC venue. Then they will paste a token starts with E YYYY if your visa category is H1B.

There starts the actual interview process, first they scan for your fingerprints for confirming the identity, then you will asked to seat in the waiting area. You have to be alert to see your token in the huge displays hanging in the hall. your token number will be displayed along with the counter you have take the interview. As soon as you know the counter number you have go and join the queue in the counter.

Before me a guy’s B1 visa got rejected..

The officer called me who is next in the queue but the guy got rejected asked the reason for denial.

The visa officer said "you do not qualify the visa category you applied" with smiling face.

Then he started with my interview process.

Vo : Do you work for YYYY company ?
Me : yes
Vo : Who is your end client you work for ?
Me : YYYY
Vo : What is your salary in US ?
Me : xxxx USD

Immediately after that he said "Your VIZZZZA is approved, have a nice trip to US "
The interview lasted not even for a min...

My husband and I got married legally (registered marriage) married on 20 Nov 2013 and we went ahead with the H4 visa application even though our social wedding was due in Feb 2014.

The biometric is not really a big deal. Do not underestimate it nevertheless.
Documents you need for the biometric:
1. DS-160 confirmation
2. Appointment confirmation
3. Old and recent passport.

You will need to give your fingerprints and they will click a photo and may ask you when is your interview at the Consulate.

Do not worry about how you shall proceed through the process. There is enough help around and people will guide you at every step. Be alert!

The Embassy interview (Kolkata Consulate):
What to carry?
*) At check-post 1 - Old and recent passport appointment confirmation and DS-160 confirmation
*) At check-post 2 - The same is verified and you are asked to proceed.
*) At the waiting hall - I was asked for 1. Husbands passport and Visa
                                                                    2. His employment verification
                                                                    3. My passport
                                                                    4. His I-797
*) At another counter before the main interview - The lady segregated the documents and handed me over my passport, my husbands latest visa stamping information and his I-797 and asked me to keep the rest inside my folder.
*) At the main interview.

Me: Hi how are you?
Officer: Good, thanks (smiled)
Officer: So, you are going to your husband?
Me: (smiled) Yes!
Officer: What does he do?
Me: He works as a (Designation) at (Organization) in (State, City)
Officer: How long has he been in the US?
Me: Since (Year) or xx number of years
Officer: When did you get married?
Me: Just been xx number of days on DD-MM-YYYY
Officer: How many people attended your wedding?
Me: 10-12, pure family affair
Officer: So, do you have a big wedding coming up?
Me: Yes, we do on DD-MM-YYY in (City, State)
Officer: Your visa has been approved. You can collect your passport within 2 business days
Me: Thanks! Have a great day

Now that was simple!
So, we were really worried because we still had our social wedding pending and so did the officer figure. Do not lie or cover up at any cost. Be straight up and do not conceal any information. And yes it is absolutely OKAY to apply for the visa before the social wedding. What you must have is:

1. Marriage Certificate
2. Some pictures of your legal wedding
3. Supporting documents
4. All necessary information about your husband

What to wear:
So, I read in most forums how women must dress like newly married ladies when going for the interview. I am afraid you do not have to be laden with jewelry or look like red riding hood.
What I wore:
1. Cotton suit (Blue and red), try carrying a dupatta
2. Small dangling earrings
3. A sleek necklace
4. Matching sandals (if you are sporting heels ensure they are not too high and noisy because you have to walk and stand in the line, and you do not want to get uncomfortable)
5. Try clipping your hair behind because if you keep flipping your hair and talking it gives an impression that you are concealing information even though you might not be
6. Be extremely casual, smile, if you don't understand anything let them know.
7. I did not wear a mangalsutra, nor bangles nor did i apply sindur because my social wedding was still due, but if you are already married socially you may or may not carry it off.

Please do not dress callously. Avoid carrying cellphones. If you have any suspicious items let them know. Be loud at the counter and answer briefly, They do not have the time to listen to long stories and explanations. Give an explanation
 when asked for. I was really nervous, almost freezing but I guess it wasn't really a big deal unless you are misleading them.

Good-luck!

Thanks to all members who shared their previous experience,that was really helpful.

OFC-nothing much,just formality,

19th -9:30 was my slot but I reached there by 8:40 ,they allowed 9:30 batch by 9:20 and 2 security checks were there before going in ,then you will be asked to move to next building where finger print scan is done first and they stick one number (Eg E 1XX) in your passport nd in television ur number appears with allocated counter ...

Before me a college student's F1 visa got rejected but I didn't show that I have listened to that ,don't be nervous as this is as simple if ur for H1B....

Questions:

VO:Can I have ur passports,
Me:Gave the passport and said good morning,

VO:Which company ur working for:
me:XXS

VO:Who is ur client:
Me:Told my client name

VO:Highest qualification
Me:Masters in xxxx

VO:Which state your are going
Me:Answered accordingly

immediately after that heard the golden words "Your visa is approved" have a nice trip to US ;) ..I didn't expect that my interview would finish within a min :) made full preparations but interview was a cake walk...

VO did not ask I-797 too....nt sure why..

Hi all,
  First of all, thanks for everyone who has shared their experiences on this website. It really helped me prepare for this interview. Here is the summary of what happened on both days.

OFC (18th dec)
This is a straightforward process, you just have to carry DS 160 confirmation, appointment confirmation and passport. My appointment was at 10am, the queue was moving quickly. First we go through a security check, please make sure you don't bring any electronic devices or bags here. Plastic unsealed bags are fine, guards were quite friendly here. After that we went to a different room where couple people were thoroughly checking DS 160, appointment confirmation and passport. Once they put a bar code sticker, you go for actual fingerprints and photo. Here the guy assigned a counter, once my number was called, he asked me to put four fingers of both hands one by one and two thumbs later on, then he takes a picture. That's it! you are done for this day. Barely takes 10 minutes.

Interview Day (19th Dec)
My appointment was at 10am, their system broke down in the morning so we still had some people from 9am interview in our queue. After they fixed it, one of the consular stopped by and apologized about it and thanked everyone for their patience. They started it within 10 minutes. First you are sent for security check, straight forward, don't bring any electronic items. After that you are sent outside where a guy checks your passport and asks you to take a seat in one of the rows, there was a queue in my row but it moved fairly quickly. We were sent to another building where the actual interview takes place, over there they check your fingerprints again and assign the interview counter.

Me: Hello maam, how are you?
VO: Fine, can I have your passport and I797, please?
Me: Handed the documents.
VO: Can I see your old passport, please?
Me: Handed my old passport.
VO: How long have you been working for this company?
Me: X year and y months.
VO: Were you on OPT with this company?
Me: Yes
VO: What's your designation?
Me: Answered that
VO: What's your annual salary?
Me: Answered that
VO: What's your highest qualification?
Me: Answered that (I saw she was cancelling my old visa on my old passport, pretty much a hint that visa was approved)
VO: Are you single or married?
Me: Single
VO: Have you read the white pamphlet?
Me: Yes
VO: Your visa has been approved, you will receive your passport within 3-5 days. (She returned my old passport and I797 form)
Me: Thank you so much!
(My VO was pretty cool. She was cute too)

All the best to those going for visa stamping! thanks again to everyone sharing their experiences here!

Hi,

First of all thanks to everyone for posting their experiences in immihelp.It really really helped us a lot in preparing for our interview.
My husband and myself attended the interview for H1,H4 stamping.
Our interview was scheduled on Dec 18 - Biometrics and Dec 19 - consulate interview.
Biometrics went on well and the big day has come which we were waiting for so so so long.
There were mixed feelings in mind when we were waiting in Queue as our employment is through a small company in US.
We have been in US till March on L1 and L2 Visas for a reputed MNC, and we never knew that getting H1 through small companies is that painful until actually experienced it.
My God... it was like a suspense movie and we almost lost our hopes as the whole interview process was around 2.30hrs.. but finally Baba is great ..He heard my prayers..
The interview went on like this
VO: GM sir
Ans:GM sir

VO:which company are you currently working with
Ans:XYZ and the petition is for new employment with ABC.

VO:which comapny is that?
Ans:ABC

VO:how long have you been working with the current employer?
Ans:XX months

VO:what is your designation?
Ans : YYYY X

VO: Do you have your resume?
Ans:i dont have it currently with me and if you provide me some time,i would be able to quickly print out my Resume. (this happened to be the only document missing wth us, this is what called as luck..:):))

VO:i actually don't need that.

Questions to me

VO:how long have you been married?
me:x years

VO:do you have children?
me:answered accordingly

VO:where is your husband's petitioner office located?
me: YYYY YYYY X

VO: we need some time for administrative processing.Please wait in the Lobby.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
we were waiting there for almost 50 min and only my husband was called after that to a counter where an indian(looks like he is the helper of VO) is sitting over there.
Below are the list of questions to my husband again.
Interviewer: whos is your client?
Ans: YYYY YYYY X

Interviewer: why do you want join such a small company?
Ans:For International exposure and better career growth

Interviewer: you are serving as a Tech Lead in your current company and you are opting for a programmer Analyst role with your future employer.
How can you justify the term "Better career growth"?
Ans: I have Lead experience of around 2 years in my total career of 6 years and since my new employment is with a small company, the responsibilities would be high which gives me the options to grow faster.

Interviewer: Looks like your annual pay in your past employement in US is high when compared to your future employment. how will you manage the expenses?
Ans: I have lived in that area before, and my expenses were around 2500 $ per month.With the current given annaul pay, i am sure that i would manage my expenses and also save some bugs.
Interviewer: how did you know about this Employer?
Ans: I was referred to this company by my friend who is working for the same project and same company for the last 1 year.
Interviewer: is your friend still working in the same company and same project?
Ans : Yes
Interviewer:where will you be working?
Ans :I am going to work from my employer's Head quarters YYYY XX.
Interviewer: how many people are working in your project and how many of them are working from the location which you are going to work?
Ans : YYYY X people are working from employer's Head quarters and YYYYY people are working directly in client Location.
Interviewer :How many employees are working are there in your company?
Ans: YYYY X

Finally he redirected both of us to the same VO who interviewed us initially.Our brains bulged and our nerves were about to break as the VO was peeping in to his screen for so long.
Added to this there were two rejections before us with similar cases and we almost lost hopes.

At last..... we heard the Golden Words from VO "YOUR VISAS are APPROVED".
 we concluded that we need some luck and lot of blessings irrespective of documents we carry.

we were asked for only I797 and I129 for the whole interview and nothing else, and we have around 6 kgs of documents with us...:):)

All the best for your interviews.

 

OFC - 17th Dec
Consulate interview - 19th Dec

Today i had my consulate interview in Hyderabad.

Below is the conversation had with VO:

Me : Good Mrng sir..How r u doing..
VO: Give me ur Passport and I797?

Me: passed the same

Vo: Who is employer?
Me: xxxxx

Vo: What you do for your employer?
Me: I do work for them as xxxx for their in house project.

Vo: R u going to work at client location or employer location?
Me: At employer location itself

Vo: Share me the project stuff and also the docs which mention the same by your employer
Me: Shared Project desc...Project letter.

VO: Pls share all the employer related docs including Tax returns
Me: . Shared the same

VO: Pls wait in the lobby will get bak to u
Me: Waiting @ lobby

After 40Min Some one called my name and asked to go the same VO counter.

VO: Asked me to give my passport
Me: I already shared docs sir..U told me to wait in lobby...

VO: Ohh..sorry where is ur docs rounded himself and asked me to put left hand fingers for biometric.
Me: done

VO: Asked me to wait again for some time in lobby
Me: Waiting again..

After 30 min some one called and taken me into some other counter..There some other girl wished me and told ur case in administrative processing sir we require some more time.

She shared me the white paper by checking administrative processing section.

I didn't expect my case to be in this stage..But still my bad luck

Please let me know if any one knows about the administrative case - How much scope for approval?

All the best to all H1B applicants for your interview.

Regards,
Sai lee

Hi Guys,

I need your valuable suggestions.

I applied H1B visa through a small organization and its an external company three years back and got rejected. But I applied new H1B through the same company.

Whether my new H1B impact any thing because of old was rejected.

However i have all supporting documents.

Thanks..

This forum has helped me a lot to prepare for the interview, thanks to the forum

I got my H1b visa approved, below is the process I have gone through and questions I have faced
 
Once we are in, after waiting for 15min in the lobby they asked us to stand in a queue where they will issue token number(will be pasted on your passport) if you are going with wife and kids they will issue only one token for all.
 
Once that is done its time for security check wallet, belts, everything you carry(do not carry sealed envelopes) make sure you unseal them.
 
Once it is done its waiting time for you to see your token number on screen, for me waiting time is 30-45mins, my token appeared on screen, before me there were two F1 rejections which increased my pulse and tension too, now my turn
 
Handed over my passport, I797B original and my wife’s passport
 
1.)Which state in US?
2.)For whom will you work in US?
3.)Where are you working now?
4.)What is your role?
5.)Is it internal project?
 
She was typing almost for 2minutes and said golden words “your visa is approved”.
 
No questions to my wife.
 

Well I had read through a lot of posts on here so decided to share my experience. Overall it was pretty packed considering I had my fingerprint on Sunday and then interview on Monday

Day 1 - Fingerprint

Reached the OFC at around 2ish for my 3.00 PM appointment. Only thing needed here is DS-160,Visa Appointment Confirmation and Passport. Brisk and short - they take photos inside and figerprints and whole process takes 15-20 minutes.

Day 2 - Interview -

Well this was quite packed to be honest. Reached the Visa Ofc at 7.45 for 9.00 am appointment and already we had a huge queue. The people are segregated based on times once you reach the end of the queue. We where let in at approx 10. Inside security is super strict with regards to what all you can carry.

I did not realize it but I had sealed VTU transcripts (not needed so I really wonder why I carried them ). But yeah make sure your folders do not have any unwanted stuff - this will only waste time and I had to run outside to open the sealed envelopes. You cannot open it inside so be careful.

Anyways after all the security hurdles I finally went in inside and verified the fingerprints and then waited for my token number to be displayed.

Interview - hardly even lasted a minute - my case is a reputed company directly hired in the USA. It is a well know product development company so I was quite confident I will not be asked much questions

VO : So why are you going to the USA

Me : I work in compant xxxxx as a Firmware Engineer in <location>

VO : Since when are you working there

Me : 1 year and 3 months

VO : Your visa is approved

Overall interview was as expected. If you answer the first couple of question confidently and look into the eye , VO is more or less convinced.

Received an email today passport is ready to pickup. Good luck to other H1B applicants.

P.S : One of my other friends received 221 g in Hyd Consulate - same position and company. So it could be just a matter of luck but I guess reputed companies generally do not have any issue !