H1B, H4 Visa

Hi,

I am going for stamping in Mumbai on 24th dec, could anyone tell me when will I be able to pick up the passport from the consulate if my visa is approved.

Thanks,
Mitesh

New H1B 2013( Intw date - 6th Nov) - for a small company in US
Mumbai Visa center

-- Fingerprinting and Photo(1 Nov) -
Nothing to worry at all here, take the below docs and u would be done in 5 mins
Mine was scheduled at 2.00pm I reached at 12.50, they allowed me in and I was out by 1.10pm
1. Passport
2. DS160
3. Appointment Letter

Once you go in they look at ur documents and stick a sticker at the back of ur passport. You will be given a ticket number and asked to sit. I was asked to go to once counter, scan you fingers take a photo and done, thats it.

There was no line nothing , the room was empty.

-- Interview day(7.45) Reached 6.45am, there was already a small line outside, stand in that they check appointment letter and Passport, ask u to get out ur I797B and keep it in passport. Keep waiting finally they open the Visa office and let every one in, if you are ahead in line you go in first, then security screening and keep follwing the line ,finally u enter the block where you get a token number from one of the counter.
Then again stand in a line, at the end of line finger scanning is done and you are asked to sit in front of a line of counters. Till 8 am no counter was open.

8am first counter opened and the first token number was displayed on the screen , token YYYY served at this counter/window, then other counters start opening and the next token numbers get addressed parallely, so be attentive for ur number, it would be in a sequence. You can actually here the VO asking questions and answers to them if you are sitting in the first row . The first 5 on the window in front of me ,all approved , was I believe , student , Business, Visitor and something else.

So finally my number cake and went and stood in front of my counter/window. One person was standing in front of me looked to be a manager dressed in complete formals with a suit. His turn and boom, visa approved in less than a min.

Finally my chance

Questions Asked

VO : Hi, How are you
Me : I am doing good, Thanks, How are you?

VO: So why do you want to go to US
ME : Employment

VO: Have you been to US before
Me : Yes ,in 2010

VO : where you studying there?
Me : No I was there for employment

VO: Who is your petitioner, what does this YYYY stand for
Me : Told the complete name of the company

VO: Are you married
Me : Yes

VO : Do you have kids
Me: No

VO : Is your wife going to apply H4?
Me : Yes , but not now may be in 2 months

VO : what is your role and duties
Me : Explained 2-3 lines about roles and duties, didnt do that well

VO: So what is it your are going to analyse,design and develop
Me: Basically we are going to develop bla bla, she looked convinced

VO : She started typing a lot continuously looking at monitor, and I was staring at her.
Lot of typing was making me nervous, I thought oh God no ...
Finally she looked back and asked so are there different clients for which you would work
Me : I said ya there are different customers of the company and I am going to b involved in different projects for the various customers

VO : Can you tell me which are the projects
Me : I told the names one by one

VO : Can you spell the name for me for the first project
Me : I spelled the name, VO started typing each project name.

VO : So how long you have been with this company.
Me : No this is for new employment ,I would join them once the Visa is approved

VO : (Looking at the passport) , oh so you were working before for this ZZZ
Me: Yes I have been with them for X years

VO :(Cancelled my previous Visa on the passport) Did you get the white pamphlet
Me : Yes

VO : Ok ,you are good to go ,the Visa is approved.
Me : thank you ( I could not believe that my VIsa is approved, pinch me I thought Iw as dreaming .... but it was true ...thank God ... you can do miracles ... just have faith)Note: I was on L1B before was denied extension

Hi Folks,

This forum has helped me a lot in building the confidence to appear for the Visa interview. Now, its my turn to contribute to this forum. My OFC appointment was scheduled yesterday (06/11/2013) and consular interview was done today (07/11/2013) in Hyderabad.

OFC Appointment :
--------------------------
Very straight-forward and simple. Be there around 15 mins prior to the appointment time and you just need to give your 10 fingerprints and return back. Just a 10 mins job and you are done for the day.

Documents needed for OFC are : 1. Passport 2. DS-160 confirmation 3. Visa Appointment confirmation.

Consular Appointment :
---------------------------------
Below are the questions for my interview :

VO : Good Morning, How are you doing ?
Me : Hello Sir, I am good. How are you ?

VO : I'm good. (to my wife), Hello Ma'm, when did you get married ?
My wife : <answered>

VO : Who arranged the marriage ?
My wife : Our parents.

Then, VO asked us for the left hand fingerprints and asked me to pass on both the passports and I-797B.

VO : Who is your employer ?
Me : <Answered>

VO : What do you do for them ?
Me : <Explained my job responsibilities>

VO : What is your highest degree of qualification ?
Me : B.Tech in CSE.

Then, VO asked me to give the right hand finger prints and said, 'YOUR VISAS HAVE BEEN ISSUED'. We were asked only for our passports and I-797B, but its better to carry all the required documents.

Thanks a lot once again for all the members of this forum for your experiences. All the best for all the visa seekers.

Regards,
Prakash.

 Hi, I am an MCA with 13+ yrs in java/J2ee/Ilog/WPS/BPM.Currently working for YYYY Hyderabad.Want to apply for H1B Visa. can anyone suggest me any consultant address...

Hi

I have given my new company's president's name as US contact info in DS-160 . Please let me know under relationship whether I should select US petitioner or Employer .

Thank you

Hi,

I am planning to schedule visa interview for H1B in this month. I have 3 years of experience in software development, my company applied H1B for me. I have 3 years gap after Btech, later I did PG , got a job in campus placements and from 3 years I am working in same company which is applied H1B for me.

In visa interview, is there any chance that interviewer ask about my GAP(after B tech) ? If yes, How should I manage this ?

Please suggest me

Thanks in advance
hariramdev

My H1 is expiring end of Nov 2013. I am already in process of green card. My priority date is current and might receive EAD in 2 months from now. Should I file H1 extension in premium or just regular processing? My current contract with the client is also expiring at the end of Nov 2013. In that case, can I find a new job (new client) who will hire me as contractor?

Or, is it better to file in premium H1 extension? Also, I have got RFE recently for my I-140 and in process of submitting documents. Mine is I-140 premium processing. Hopefully, my 140 will be approved in a week or two.

Please guide me.

Hi

I am on H4 visa with an HR background. I have received an opportunity for volunteering in a hospital which is a non-profit organization. The volunteering opportunity is also purely a volunteer role.
Details:

Volunteer work: LOBBY VOLUNTEER
 work:
1) Assist patients, families and guests with way finding and escort
2) Assist new volunteers with Volunteer Information Center (VIC) issues, signing in or out etc

Should I take it? It will help me in my career as an HR & Admin?

Firstly I would like to thank all the people who have shared their experience on this forum. This forum has been a great of
information. Now its my turn to contribute.

OFC:
My OFC appointment was scheduled on 24th Oct, it's a straight and simple process. Reached there 10mins before the
appointment time and was allowed in within no time. After waiting for a couple of mins I was sent to one of the many
counters where I was photographed, 10 finger printed and stamped on the DS160 confirmation page. Thats it I was out of OFC within 15mins flat.

The only documents required are,
1. DS160 confirmation page
2. Interview confirmation page.
3. Passport
4. I-797

There are couple of things that I have observed when I stood in the line briefly,
1. Reaching the OFC 15mins before the scheduled time is more than enough. You could be in and out within 20mins.
2. Try not to get any extra baggage with you, just the documents mentioned should be good enough. In case you get extra
bags/covers you'll have to leave them outisde the OFC unattended at your own risk.

Interview:

My Visa interview was scheduled for 25th, again reached the consulate 15mins before the scheduled time and was allowed inside after they have scanned the bar code on a piece of paper that was stuck on the back of passport at OFC the day before. One important thing to note if you are planning to attend interview at Hyderabad, please do not get your mobile phone and they are not being allowed inside and also they do not have a place where you can deposite it so please plan accordingly.

After entering the consulate we were asked to be seated briefly before people were being sent inside in the order of their
appointment time. There we had to go to a counter where a slip with a number was glued on to the passport. After the usual security scanning procedures were allowed to go inside.

Once inside there are two screens on which we could monitor the token number along with the counter at which the token was being serviced after waiting for about 15mins my turn came up, the following is the conversation I had with the VO,

VO: Good Morning. How are you doing?
Me: I am good mam. How are you doing today?

VO: Please pass on your passport and I-797
Me: Gave her the passport and I-797

VO: Tell me where is your employer located?
Me: Answered accordingly.

VO: So does your employer have any clients?
Me: Gave the name of the client where I would be working.

VO: Thats it we are done here!!!!!
Me: Thank you Mam you have a great day.

VO: You too.....

As you can see it was a very brief interview with not many questions. From what I have seen while waiting for my turn to be
 interviewed, I have seen a couple of H1B's being issued along with F1's and also a B1. I have not seen any rejections
while I was waiting.

And for all those who are planning to attend an interview, prepare well and be confident. All the Best !!!!.

Currently I am working in MNC company and I applied H1B thru a small company. What are the general questions we will face during the consulate interview. Please let me know.