H1B, H4 Visa

On CEAC portal today my dates updated again for admin processing from 10th of december to 17th of december.
Has anyone experienced this before?

Hi,

Consulate: Chennai
Visa Interview: 12/17/2019

VO asked basic questions about petitioner, salary, and education. VO asked for the client letter, as my client won't provide any client letters directly so I started explaining the same with supporting docs. But the VO was not convinced and still want's the client letter, so he gave me the 221g blue slip and my passport back. Anyone in the same situation? what will be the process and how long does it take, Please help.

Thanks.

Hi,

Consulate: HYD
Visa Interview: 12/17/2019

VO asked basic questions about role and salary and work location, at the end of interview, VO gave me a white slip that says 221g is refused and VO said my application needs to go through Administrative processing. Does anyone have similar experience or how long it takes for AP? VO retained my passport. I work directly for client.

Thanks

H1B Dropbox 221G White Slip - New Delhi

I have a case of dropbox with white slip 221g asked to appear for finger printing and interview.
DS-160 tracking site still showing "Administrative Processing" and CEAC site showing old status "Passport has been picked up" which was an old status when i received my passport with 221g white slip.

Nov 27 - Docs submitted at VFS, New Delhi.

Nov 28 - Docs received.

Nov 29 - Case created.

Nov 30 - Saturday

Dec 1 - Sunday

Dec 2 - "Administrative Processing"

Status on DS-160 tracking site / Status on CEAC site

Dec 3 - "Administrative Processing" / "Passport has been received from the Consular Section and is currently being processed for delivery"

Dec 4 - "Administrative Processing" / "Passport has been received from the Consular Section and is currently being processed for delivery"

Dec 5 - "Administrative Processing" / "Passport has been received from the Consular Section and is currently being processed for delivery"

Dec 6 - Premium delivery of passport back to home. Gave 500 Rs. Checked passport with no stamping and 221g white slip attached asked to appear for finger printing and interview.

Dec 7 - Saturday

Dec 8 - Sunday

Dec 9 - "Administrative Processing" / "Passport has been picked up"

Dec 10 - Went to embassy, New Delhi for finger printing and interview. VO asked general questions about work, company, client, salary, client location, my location and petition. At the end, VO said "Your visa is approved" and kept the passport.

Dec 11 - Dec 17 - "Administrative Processing"(case updated on 12/10/2019) / "Passport has been picked up"(old status)

Still waiting for status to update and passport.
 

Hi

I got 221 g white slip and today I received an email from consulate to submit few documents. But I see their is no where it mention on how I should submit them.

Can you let me know on how I should submit these document through email (replying to same email) or in person. Please share your experience.

Consulate: Hyderabad
Interview date: Dec 16-2019

Background: Did my masters in the US and been on H1B since 2015. This is my H1B extension visa interview. I work in EVC model and been with the same employer and client for the past 5 years. My last H1B visa approval was in 2017.

Appointment time: 10.30 am
Actual interview time: 12.20 pm

Questions asked:
Is this your first H1B or an extension?
What is your designation?
What is your highest level of education?
What was the major?
Who is your employer?
Who is your client?
Where is your client located?
What is your salary?
Tell me about your job.
Do your know your worker rights?

The VO was either typing or looking at the screen throughout the process. Did not ask me to show any documents.

At the end, he handed me a 221(g) white form with the second checkbox marked and said he cannot issue my visa at this time and that it would need additional processing. He kept my passport and asked me to contact the embassy if there is no update in two weeks.

Hope it does not take too long to process.

People who previously received 221(g) and passport retained- please share how long it took to get your passports back. Thank you!

I am writing a combined experience for me and my wife here. We both work on H1-B and had separate interviews at the Delhi consulate. Our experience was very much the same except for the questions we were asked, given the separate interviews we had.

Our profile
We both work as Software Engineers (Direct hire) for US based firms.

OFC Appointment
Nov 5 3:30 pm Delhi
The OFC center is in a shopping complex, so it feels very casual and is a nice stress free environment.
Pretty straight forward process.
No need to dress up (formal).

Consulate Appointment
Nov 6 8:45 am Delhi
Arrived only 30 mins early. So, had to wait only 10-15 mins in the queue. I recommend not carrying mobiles phones and bags to keep things simple. Else, there is a hassle of depositing those things.
After a basic security screening, they let us wait in a staging area for a good 20-25 mins.
So there was enough time for restroom breaks. They also had a water cooler and a small food stall in the staging area.
Anyway, onto the important stuff.
You have a total of 3 stops really, at separate counters/windows. 1st stop is just a general check (passport + petition). 2nd stop is Biometrics and the 3rd is for the Interview.
Unlike other consulates, there is a common line here that goes right across the interview windows. So, you can hear everything. All the questions, the answers and also the rejections. So, stay in ur fighting mode and be positive so as to not be affected by all this. We both personally were confident about our cases and prep. So, seeing multiple rejections in person still didn’t affect us much.

Here are the interview questions.

My Interview

Me: Good morning.
VO: Good morning. How are you?
Me: Doing good. Thanks.
VO: So, which company do you work for?
Me: <my company>
VO: What’s your role?
Me: Sr. Software Engineer
VO: What does the company produce?
Me: Software solutions for <domains eg: productivity, banking etc.>
VO: Ok. Who are the clients of your company?
Me: <Companies that need *** solutions (I recommend providing real names
 eg:Cisco, IBM, Fedex etc) >
VO: Nice. Thanks. Actually, we just have a slight problem with our own records. There is absolutely no need to worry. Your visa might take 1-2 days more than usual. Normally it takes about a week to process. Sorry about that.
Me: No problem. Thanks. Have a great day.
VO. You too. Thanks.

Wife’s
Me: Good morning.
VO: Good Morning. How are you?
Me: Doing good. Thanks.
VO: Tell me about your role.
Me: I work as a software developer at <my company>. My actual designation is <my designation>.
VO: So, you work for <my company>'s IT dept?
Me: yes.
VO: What is your highest qualification?
Me: Masters in <>
VO: Did you graduate?
Me: yes.
VO: Did you work on OPT?
Me: yes.
VO: Were you ever out of status?
Me: No. Never.
VO: Can you show me i20 or any document about your OPT?
Me: Sure. Here are my OPT EADs.
VO: Can you give me your old passport?
Me: Sure.(handed over my old passport that had F1 visa on it. VO put a stamp on it as 'cancelled without prejudice')
VO: What's your salary?
Me: <my salary>
VO: Do you know the H1B rights?
Me: yes.
VO: Your Visa is approved!
Me: Thank you. Have a good day!
VO: Thank you. You too.

Later, we both had our application status updated to “Issued”. In my wife’s case, that took a week and for me, 2 days more like the VO had told me. Later, we both got our passports delivered to us at our home in a couple of days as we had chosen the premium deliver option.

Our takeaway: Prep well about commonly asked questions and read a few visa experiences ahead of time to stay confident. That should also help you answer the inevitable unexpected questions in a fairly relaxed manner.

My timeline - much faster than what I had thought.

Employer change, new employer is reputed product company. Mumbai consulate. H1 and H4 together.

11 Dec - Document submission
12 Dec 10 am - Case Received
12 Dec 3 PM - Admin processing
13 Dec 9 am - H1 issued
13 Dec 11 am - H4 issued
13 Dec 3 PM - Passports dispatched.

Played hide and seek with Blue Dart for some days but received stamped passports on Dec 16th.

Background:
Completed 6 years of H1,
Recently extended H1 for 3 more years.
Eligible for drop box.
Worked for a staffing company (employer - client relationship) (before and current)
Different employer from previous stamping.

Dropped of my documents and submitted a copy of H1b(Nov 12, 2019 Tuesday).
Nov 13, 2019 (Wed) - Documents sent to consoluate
Nov 18, 2019 (Monday) - Approved and ready for pick up.

Background
4th H1b Extension
Same employer since first H1b
H1b amendment was filed in 2017 because of client change. That amendment was denied after specialty occupation RFE(Computer Programmer). So, went back to previous client.
Applied for 4th H1b Extension in September 2019 with same client with Software Developer title.
Client doesn't provide client letter. But, client gave email confirming project and responsibilities for extension.
Extension approved in premium processing(NSC) in 3 days for 3 years.
Employer-->MSP-->Client.(No layers)

Decided to go for stamping.

Interview Date: 11/26/19
Is this your first H1b?
Employer?
Are you working for same employer since first h1?
Do you work for end client?
Who is your end client?
Same end client?
Where do you live and work?
Highest education?

Picked up passport on 12/03/19

No questions asked at port of entry.

I believe, Strong and Genuine petition is key.