H1B, H4 Visa

Hi Everyone,

My new H1B was approved on Dec 1' 2011 and my employer received the documents on Dec 5' 2011. Due to some reasons he delayed to send me the documents and my bad due to postal delay, I received my Documents on Jan 10' 2012. I was able to schedule an appointment for stamping on Jan 27' 2012.

Since my H1B was approved on Dec 01'2011 and I am going to visa stamping on Jan 27' 2012. Will it affect my chances of stamping?

Please help me with your thoughts and experience.

First of all thanks to immihelp. here is my experience on 10 jan for H1. sorry guys for posting it late.


VO: Good morning
ME: Good morning

VO: Who is your client?
ME: xyz

VO: What is your highest Degree?
ME: xyz....


VO: What will be your salary in U.S?
ME: xyz...



VO: Where is your work location?
ME: city , state


VO: i am approving ur visa . you will get in a weeks time.
ME: Thank you sir.

I had my visa interview on the 13th (Friday!!) of January. I went to the US on an F1 a few years ago for my masters, got a job offer while on OPT and got the H1 approval.

__

VO: Good morning, how's it going?
Me: I'm doing well, how are you?
VO: Pretty good. *takes PP, DS160*
VO: So whom will you be working for?
Me: I'm working with Company AAA in the US right now; I'm transfering
over to an H1 from OPT.
VO: Where in the US will you be working?
Me: BBB.
VO: So whom will you work for when you go to BBB?
Me: Erm, Company AAA itself.
VO: *Looks confused*
VO: Ohhh okay okay you're working directly for Company AAA. Can you
hand me your petition?
Me: *slides over the H1B petition*
VO: *Leafs through the passport*
VO: I see you have an F1 for your Masters stamped here, did you
graduate from University ABC?
Me: Nope, I transfered over to University XYZ and I'm about to
graduate, I only have my thesis left.
VO: Why did you transfer?
Me: XYZ offered me a TA/RA and was more aligned towards my research interests.
VO: So when will you graduate from XYZ?
Me: In May, I have my enrollment verification with me.
Me: *ruffles through the folder, can't find it, begins to panic*
VO: Don't worry about it, sir. So do you work in the computer science
domain or the financial domain?
Me: I work in the computer science domain as a software engineer. We
write software for our financial domain.
VO: So you have a degree in computer science?
Me: Yes, I have a bachelors degree in engineering, majoring in computer science.
VO: *Nods, types on his computer, takes a stamp and stamps "Canceled
without Prejudice" on my F1 vsa. Reaches out to grab a white pamphlet*
VO: Sir, your visa is approved and will reach you within 7 days.
Please go through this pamphlet which contains your rights within the
US.
Me: Thanks! Have a great day!
VO: You too, sir. Good luck.
__

Good luck to all!

First of all, thanks a ton to Immihelp to make everyone prepare for their interviews.

My interview was scheduled on 18th Jan @ 1100.
I stood in the enterance queue @ around 10.40

Got my token number, done with security checks, done with fingerprints and was waiting for my token number to be flashed on the screen since 11.00

After waiting for an hour, I saw my token number on Counter XX

Questions Asked:

1. Which Company?
Answered

2. How much they pay you here
ZZZ per annum

3. How much you'll earn there?
ZZZ per annum

Then, a long wait of 30 seconds

4. You directly work for XX Company
I said: Yes, correct

Then again silence for around 20 seconds

5. Then, he asked me about my L1B refusal (happened in march last year)
I told him the reason of refusal and refusal code and also told him that "VO told me to apply for either H1 or L1I; hence I am here for H1"

6. So, this is your first time
I said: yes, correct

Then, again a long wait of 10 seconds and then the golden words. :)


Same advice to all: Be confident; and that's it.
I was very nervous but there is no need to be.

RD, Mumbai
------------------

Hi All,
Just want to share my exp @ Mumbai for H1B.
My Interview was scheduled at 10 am on 17th Jan 2012. I reached there by 9 am and joined the line, I waited in the line for 10 min and Entered in.
At first they will check your appointment letter and based in the Visa type they will give you a Token Number. Then you will have your security check and need to sit in the lobby. I sat for 10 min and then they called me in for finger print scan.
After that called me for the interview at one of the 42 counters.
which company do you work for.
From how many years.
Who is your client.
From when you are working with this client.
What do you do in the project.
What did you do last time you travelled to US. ( I travelled to US twice on B1)
Did you work in US on B1
Explain in detail about your visit in B1.
What is you US salary.

My advice is be prepared to tell what you did, if you travelled to US on B1. Be cool ..

Hi Sir, I have applied for my H1B from US company and they took 5,000 Dollars for the H1B visa and then i have received H1B approval from USCIS and when i visted ofr Visa interview consuler rejected my visa with 221 (g) and after that i have not received any thing from company side even though they said they will check..

Is it possible to file a case again that company.. I have lost money but i want to file a case again that company so that they cant cheat any one else..

Please help ..

Thanks

Hello everyone,

Is it possible to make multiple appointments for H1 stamping interview? I am planning to make one appointment for Canada and the other for India.

Thanks,
PS

Dear All,

Its my turn now to add my H1B New stamping experience along with family on 06-Jan-2012.

Me: Good morning officer. How are you doing today.

CO: I am going, how are you?
Me: I am also good, thank you.

CO: Is this your wife & kid, with a smile looking at them.
Me: Yes.

CO:Can I have the petition, I129 and LCA.
Me:I gave them very quickly as I organised them already with proper labels.

CO:Who is your client?
Me: Mentioned the client name.

CO:Which Location?
Me:Mentioned my client location.

CO:What is your salary?
Me:$xxxxxx per year.

CO:What do you do?
Me:Mentioned in one line, as the officer expecting more I added few more details.

CO:Are there any middle vendors?
Me:No

To my spouse:

CO:When did you married?
My Spouse: She mentioned the date.

CO:Is this your only kid?
My Spouse: Yes.

CO took the white pamplet and attached to our DS160 and written something on my DS160 as "G for PIMS" which I didnt understand properly.

After that the much awaiting golden words came "Sir your visa is approved, but it would take couple of days extra as it requires PM Verification". When I was about ask something CO mentioned that usually you get in 1 week time but now you can expect the passports in week and half.

Me:Thank you and "Happy Weekend"
CO: Have a nice day ahead.

After reached home when we checked for PIMS we were worried that it would take more than 2-3 weeks, but fortunately we received our passports by 12-Jan-2012.

It took just couple of days though it required PIMS verification it may be due to fact that I followed up with DOS continuously for two days.

So guys don't worry even if they say PIMS, but if possible try to followup with DOS about the status.

I wish you all the very best for every one who is going to appear for their interviews.

Regards,
Balu, Hyderabad,INDIA

I always wanted to add my experience here, since this forum has helped me immesely. I wanted to add my two pence, so that someone like me will receive guidance.
So, I went to the Hyd consulate for my H1B Visa Interview on the 13th of January, 2012 (Friday, the 13th., the date itself was scary! :)). There were a few initial hiccups before I could actually make it to the interview. I had surfed in some forum that for an H1B, a letter from the client is required if you're going to work on some client based project, else an internal project write-up is needed. In my petition both these documents were missing. I realized this on the night before the interview, so there wasn't much that I could do. I was just banking on my confidence, and was hoping that these documents won't be asked for, from my end. I later learnt that my company is registered on the BEP (Business Executive Processing) program and these documents aren't mandatory, but good to have.
I reached the consulate an hour before my interview, which was scheduled at 8:15am. The BEP candidates always carry a red folder with these docs: passport, CEAC barcode confirmation, HDFC receipt, original interview appointment letter, copy of form I797, BEP cover letter, and a Visa photo. The red folder is necessary, as that is how, a BEP candidate is recognized. There are 2 queues, one for BEP candidates and one for normal candidates. I joined the queue for the BEP candidates. When my turn came, I had to handover the red folder with the documents to a gentleman, who verified these. There, I came to know that the Visa photo which I had brought was the same one which I had used for my B1 (which was stamped a year back). A recent photograph is needed. :( But the gentleman assured me that there a window (window number 5) inside the consular section, where I could pay 100 INR and get a new Visa Photo, which they would upload again. This truly saved me a lot of hassle. Once past the security check, I had to stand in a queue, where I was ten-printed, and my documents were verified again, following which I was given a token number, and the bar code from the HDFC receipt was taken out and stuck on my passport. I waited for my token number to flash on a screen for my turn. BTW, when my turn came, I saw that I was assigned counter number 13, and I was almost sure that my Visa would be rejected, since the number 13 was kind of constantly being associated!
I saw the consular officer hand over a pink and a yellow slip (forms 221g) to the two ladies before me. What I also noticed was that they were trying to provide a lot of explanation. That's when I decided that I have to keep my answers as concise and to the point as possible. So here's the gist of the interview:

VO : Good morning, mam. How are you doing today?
Me : Very good mam. How are you?

VO : I am doing good. So what brings you here?
Me : I have come for my H1B Visa interview.

VO : What is your purpose of travel?
Me : I will be working with my parent Organization, based in the US.

VO : Which project you will be working on?
Me : I will be working on an IT based project, <gave the project name here>.

VO : Tell me more about this project.
Me : bla bla bla (one line answer)

VO : Who are the end users?
Me : This project is targetted to cater to so and so companies.

VO : Who is your client?
Me : This is an internal proprietary software.

VO : Where will you be working (including the address)?
Me : Gave the address.

VO : How many employess work in that office?
Me : 100-200 employees.

VO : Who will be your reporting manager?
Me : Manager name.

VO : Have you received the white pamphlet?
Me : Yes.

VO : Your Visa is issues mam. You will be receiving it within 5 business days.
Me : Thanks. Have a nice day.

To all of you out there, please remember the acronym "Keep it simple silly". Don't go into too much details. As far as possible, give one line answers which are to the point. And don't lose the smile, even if you get counter number 13, on Friday, the 13th. :)

All the very best!

Thank you Immihelp