H1B, H4 Visa

Hi Everyone,

I got my H1B Visa today. Thanks to the experiences posted by everyone. It helped a lot. Here is my interview experience.

Me : GM
VO : GM

VO : From how long you are working with xyz company (Employer)?
Me: x years

VO : What are you doing currently here?
Me : Explained for 15 sec. She interupped in between gesturing alright, no need to explain further.

VO : Who is the client?
Me : Told the name of the client.

VO : Do you have any supporting document where client name is mentioned?
Me : Handed over petition. She looked in to it for a minute and said ok.

VO: What is your highest qualification?
Me : Master's in Business Administration with Marketing as major.

VO : So, you are Master's in Business Administration?
Me: Yes

VO : From where have you completed your masters?
Me: Told the name of university.

VO: Where are you going?
Me : City, State

VO : How much will be your salary in USD?
Me : Explained

VO : Whom are you going to report at Onsite?
Me : Provided the name of Manager and designation.

VO : Will he be responsible for assigning day to day activities to you?
Me : Yes

VO : Where is he based out of?
Me: He is based out of client site itself.

VO : Have you read this pamphlet (Pointing towards White Pamphlet)?
Me: Yes

VO : I am approving your visa. You will get your passport in few days.
Me : Thanks

The whole conversation went vey well. Visa officer was also cool. She was smiling few times in between.

My Advise to all - Be confident and answer calmly. They will not notice anything. I had previous rejection which she din't even asked. I hope this will help others who are appearing for Interview.

All the Best!!!
Saurabh

Guys,

I got my H1B visa approved today. Need so patience when you are in queue before visa officer, because in my case previous applicant had conversation for more than 45 mins.

Question: Where are you going in US

Answer: Answered appropriately


Question: Who is your petitioner

Answer: TCS


Question: Are you going to work in Client location

Answer: Yes


Question: What is your highest Degree

Answer: Answered appropriately


Question: What are you going to do

Answer: Answered appropriately


Question: What is your salary

Answer: Answered appropriately

HI all...

Thanks for the immihelp for the live experiences...it helped me alot...

Got H1b stamped on Dec 29th 2011(Chennai). Mine is direct offer from US.(E->C model)

My VO is Young & Good looking Lady.

Once done with the formalities questions asked were

VO : Good morning How are you doing ?..
ME: thanks, good mornig, how are you ?..

VO: Is this the first time for US ?...
Me: xyz...

VO: Do you have client ?...
Me: xxx...

VO: what does the client do ?... (Business)
Me: blah..blah..blah..

VO: Do you have any layer b/w client & employer ?...
Me: xxx...

VO: Pass me the petition Documents...
Me: given... (Verified the salary and all)

VO: Whats U.S Salary ?...
Me: xxx...

VO: Currently you are working with xxx company right ?
Me: yyy....

VO: How many employes in your US company ? (new)
Me: xxx....

VO: Do you have project document letter ?...
Me: ccc...

VO: Which location you are going to ?...
Me: city, State..

Tadanngg....

here comes the Golden words....

VO: Sir , your visa is Approved, have a nice fligh to US, happy journey...
Me : thanks , have a nice day...

Guys be confident... VO officers are friendly , give them answers confidenlty..
and be ready with the documents as well...
then Visa is urs....

All the best for the guys...

The Interview was pretty straight forward.

The following questions were asked :

1) Have you been to US before ?
2) What is your highest degree ?
3) How long have you been working with your employer?
4) Who is the client?
5) How many employees from your employer are working with this client ?
6) What is your role ?
7) Which City are you travelling to ?
8) Have you read the white pamplet ?, any questions on it ?

Thats it, It hardly took 2 to 3 mins to finish the above list of question and answer session, and my VISA was approved :).

Went for 2nd time stamping at Mumbai Consulate.

Reached there 20 mins late, stood in line for 3 mins, and went inside.
After all formalities completed, waiting for almost 45 mins. There were certain windows where all H1 candidates were being called, so went and sat on the first row, right in front of one of the windows, and kept reading the white pamphlet and staring at the consular who was a girl around 35 years old.

Finally after a long wait a list of numbers were called on a window, my number was last but since i was sitting in front of the very same window where my number was called, i ended up 1st in line.

This is how the interview went

VO - finally after this long wait, you were getting me worried for you.
Me: I was wondering if you forgot about my case.

VO - first time H1?
ME: nope, renewal

VO (looking at passport and I-797)
Its been 2 years since your visa renewal is approved, why didnt you come earlier for the stamp.
Me: I didnt need to visit, my family visited me in the US and i was busy on the project. Plus if I had come sooner, the wait would have still been the same.

VO : *Smiling* ~ so who do you work for ?
ME: YYYY company. (leading clothing retailer)

VO: YYYY The clothing store?
Me: Thats right.

VO: My mother spends all her money at your store! she shops there 2-3 times a week
ME: I guess thats who really pays my salary then *Smile*

VO : *Burst out laughing* and even the lady behind her heard that and cracked up laughing!!!!
Me: If i knew, I would have got some discount coupons for you. But then that would be considered a bribe.

VO: thats very kind of you. How long have you been with them.
Me: 2 years 7 months so far.

VO: alright, its approved, if you do come back next time, remember my discount coupons.
Me: Certainly will. Have a good one! Later.

Thats it. Left from there and came home.
I felt like i was talking to a friend more than a consular.

3 days later, visa stamped, came in thru Chicago Port of Entry, and the officer there was a young guy . He had an aunt who lived in the city i worked, we even exchanged numbers and planned to meet next time he came around. I've promised to take him out.

Now - a tip to the people going for the interview, atleast at mumbai.

Just please for god sake dont suit up. A simple shirt and pant (Khakhi and a checked shirt is good enough). Dont over do the makeup or perfume. Women can dress western business formal. Look neat and clean and presentable.

Don't panic, remember at the end of the day, they need you here, and not the other way around. Be casual. Dont over do the sir and madam stuff.
"Thanks for your time", "I'd like to think so", "I appreciate it" are basic american terms you can use and build an instant rapport with the consular. Dont come of as arrogant or over confident. Smile and make eye contact with the consular. Dont worry about messing anything up, the more u think and the more u memorize stuff, the harder the interview will be. Know the basic stuff u need to know, and thats it.

My first interview i had in mumbai for my h1, other than the companies name i didnt know anything else. I still passed the interview and came here with an h1.

So dont panic, be truthful and dont lie of fake anything. Trust me, being honest pays off.

Wish you guys the best.

My wife went for H4 visa interview on Jan 3, 2011 and a pink slip was issued. Here is how it went

VO: Where are you going?
Wife: City, State
VO: Do you have your son's (US Citizen) passport?
Wife: Here it is?
VO: How long is your husband with the company?
Wife: xxxx Years
VO: When did he go to the US
Wife: Year
VO: How long have you been married?
Wife: x years
VO: Is the company a govt institution or government organization?
Wife: It's a xxx company doing xxxxxx
VO: Do you have the recent payslip?
Wife: Here it is
VO: Everthing is fine and the visa is approvable
VO: Typing again in the system
VO: Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Your visa requires further administrative processing and issued a pink slip.

After that my wife was called to another counter where she gave the passport and was asked abour her brother's and sister's details (name, age, where they live) and the lady wrote the case number in the pink slip and then asked to check in 2-4 weeks.

Last time when the VO said two weeks it took us six months to get the Visa and I am not sure how long it's going to take this time.

Just thought to share the experience so that others can benefit the way I did.

The work location address differs in lca and d160 . Where the building number is different but both the building are nearby in same street both building are my client building.will it be a problem i have my pa in this week.

First thanks to all those who post their experiences, it helped me a great deal to prepare for my interview.

I work in EC model. My employer is a small IT consulting company. Couple of other folks from my employer got 221g recently, asking for company related documentation. Both cases were not cleared until my interview. I got my visa approved on 19th December 2011 at Mumbai consulate.

My interview was very straight forward, not many questions asked. VO did not ask any document and no questions related to client and or employee or employer relationship. Lot of folks were getting visas approved that day though I did see few being handed over 221gs.

Here's the list of questions:
- Were you on H1B visa before?
- Which company did you work for then?
- Why did you change the job?
- How many employees are there in with your employer?
- How many of them are in US?
- What do you do for them?
- Did you get the white pamphlet? (That's a booklet which contains
your summary of your rights, everyone gets it.)

i had h1 interview at hyd last week. mine went fine- for about 4 mins..
questions asked:
 - highest degree
 - job desc, company desc
 - whether i was going to work for company directly

my US higher education degree, engineering discipline (same field in BTECH, MS and job) and direct employment for the company made the VO job simpler and quicker...

However, there was a girl before me - she got nailed. She went to US to study in one college and then immediately switched to some arbit (non recognized university). The VO was grinding her in and out. She was obviously lying and hiding facts. So, you can expect what followed next.

Not really happy with the 4 day prior submission of documents at Hyd. I am not from Hyd. So, what about people like me. I had limited vacation. All wasted in doing this.

My H1B visa was approved at the Mumbai consulate on December 8th, 2011. I gave the Visa Officer my passport, I-797, visa appointment letter. The following were the questions asked.

- What company do you work for?
- Job Title
- Salary
- How long have you worked at the present
   company?
- Is this your first H1B with this company?
   (Mine was not, so i explained that this was the
    second one and the first H1B was with XYZ
   Company).
- Are you married or single?
- Did you study in the US?
- Which university?
- What degree?

Thats it, then he gave me the thumbs up. Put my passport the approval bin behind him, gave me back my other documents and i was on my way.

They have opened most of the counters at the BKC consulate now so it was very fast. My appointment was at 10 am. I got there at 9:10 am, stood in line outside the consulate, but they were taking people in and i was probably inside by 9:25, finished my finger printing in the next 5-8 minutes, and sat next to the counter waiting for my number to be called. I was done with the interview and was out by 9:50 am, 10 minutes before my scheduled appointment. So I advise you to get there early and get done, doesn't matter what time the appointment is, they take you in anyway. Plus they have dedicated counters for different visa types.

I am a science major, working at a major pharmaceutical company. I had heard that for people with science background they definitely keep your passport for additional verification. They also state that on their website, but my experience was very different I even got my passport back in the mail the very next day.
So, don't believe what you hear.
Good luck!! and remember that there is nothing to worry about. Just make sure to keep your calm and take all documents with you.