Experience Book

Category >> H Classification and Visa

The H-1B nonimmigrant category is set aside for foreign workers in “specialty occupations” and fashion models of ‘distinguished merit and ability”.
The H-2 visa category is used by U.S. companies to temporarily employ skilled or unskilled foreign nationals in nonagricultural positions for which the employer has a temporary need and for which qualified U.S. workers are unavailable.
The H-3 visa category is used by U.S companies and institutions to bring foreign employees to the United States for a temporary period in order to participate in an established company training program.
The H-4 visa is granted to the spouse of an H-1B visa holder.

Filter By	Records/ page Sort By
After Before Name After Before	[1] [2] [next]

1) Comments: I just want to write about my recent experience.

My passport was expiring 5 months from the date of my H1B Visa appointment. Since the US CONSULATE website said that the passport had to be valid more than 6 months for a H1B stamping, I had to renew my passport.
The question I had was what would be the data I should provide while filling DS 160 and other forms.
So, I sent a mail to the consulate asking for advise.
Here is the reply I got from them. I will have to carry the old passport as a reference. The Form DS160 should have DATA about the new passport.
Hope this helps

Name: Siva

Location: California, United States

Posted on: Apr 28, 2009

Email this link to friend(s)

2) Comments:
Successful H1 and H4 Stamping Experience : New Delhi Consulate : 9 September 2008

I will begin with a sincere thanks for all the information I have got from these forums over the last few months and the amount of confidence I have gained through it.
Now, its my turn give back something by sharing my experience and hope this helps in giving some information to the others like me.

My visa was scheduled for 08:15 AM I reached the car parking in the nearby Malcha Marg parking by 7:45 AM. It is few minutes walk from there. I reached embassy by 7:55 or so. I was with my wife who would get an H4.

Went though the security check outside the building showed them the appointment letter. I was asked to be line no. 2 where the preliminary verification of the documents was being done at the windows. After checking and arranging my documents (the way the Visa Officer expect) they handed over them to me and asked me proceed into the main building where again I had to undergo a thorough security check. After that I entered in the main building where firstly I was asked to go for bio-metrics (finger printing). Did that in few minutes. After which I got into the line where I will finally face the Visa Officer. There were about 8-9 people in front me. Finally my turn came and following is my visa interview in details :

Interview Starts : 09:30 AM

VO : Good Morning
Me : Good Morning Mam

VO : Can I have your forms and passports please ?
Me : Sure (handed over the forms)
VO : Can you please put your right index finger on here please (pointing to a bio-metrics device)
Me : (Done that)
VO : Thanks, can you please put your left thumb here (asking my wife this time)
My Wife : (Done that)
VO : Thanks, This is for an H1, right ?
Me : Yes mam.
VO : Is this your first time you are applying for a States visa ?
Me : Work VISA, yes, this is the first time mam, but I have got a B1/B2 as well.
VO : Ok. What is your educational background ?
Me : (Explained her my qualifications by telling her my degrees and certifications)
VO : What type of organization is ABC Inc. (my US employer) ?
Me : (Explained her that in few lines)
VO : Currently you are employed in XYZ Ltd. (my current employer in India) , right ?
Me : Yes mam.
VO : How long have you been working in XYZ Ltd. ?
Me : XXX years
VO : What work you do there ?
Me : (Explained her that as well)
VO : Where were you employed before that ?
Me : (Answere that)
VO : How much total work experience you have ?
Me : XXX Years
VO : Fine. What work are you going to do in ABC Inc. (in US)?
ME : (Explained her that as well)
VO : Fine. How did you get a job in ABC Inc. ?
Me : (Explained her that as well)
VO : (she had a convincing look on her face, which gave me some relief). Is she your wife (now, referring my wife) ?
Me : Yes
VO : When did you get married ?
Me : (Told her the date)
VO : Can I see the marriage certificate please ?
Me : Sure (handed it over to her)
VO : Fine. (and then after having a look on her screen for sometime and typing something, came the golden words) Your visa is approved and you will get your passports in the next five days.
Me : Thank you very much mam. Appreciate that. (smiles and sigh of relief)
VO : You are welcome.
Me : I just have small query mam, if I may ask please ?
VO : Sure, please go ahead.
Me : I have a valid B1/B2 as well which is valid till next year end. What will happen to that visa ? Will it be cancelled or ... ?
VO : No, you will still have it. It wont be cancelled.
Me : Thank you very much mam and have a wonderful day (and left the counter)

Interview Ends : 09:40 AM

So folks, few points, you may have read them in a lot of forums also :

1. Keep your calm (although I understand how difficult it is, but......you have to do it).
2. Listen carefully to all the questions (as saying I am sorry or pardon me please, can make you nervous and may annoy the officer as well)
3. Answer all the questions clearly, crisply and to the point. No more and no less.
4. And finally which is the most important point as well, go prepared and KEEP ALL THE DOCUMENTS (and I repeat ALL THE DOCUMENTS) with you as you may never know which document the officer may ask for and as per Murphy's law he/she will only ask for the documents you don't have. So all you dreams may be affected by just not having one single document which you may have thought is not important. The list of mandatory and supporting documents is available on the respective consulate websites only, so no need to depend on anyone else for that information. Arrange them in proper way (I made indexed files) so that you don't take long when officer demands them. Plus, this leaves a good impression on the officer as well.

Rest, all is fate and destiny my friends. You can't get what is not destined for you and no one can deny you what's there for you. I know its easier said than done, but this is how I think when I don't have control over things beyond a point. I give my best, do whatever I can and then leave the rest to the almighty.

Wish you all the best to all of you and may God fulfils dreams of all of you.

Name: Dreams

Location: Delhi, India

Posted on: Sep 15, 2008

Email this link to friend(s)

3) Comments: Would like to share my H1 VISA stamping experience at Ottawa, Canada for the benefit of all.

My status: on H1, visa expiring in September 2007. Rajiv's team applied for my H1 extension and I had I797 approvals till 2010. I had an H4 extension approval done for my wife as well. There is no employer change from first 3 years on H1 to second approval.

I scheduled an interview for August-1-2007 at Ottawa. Note that I scheduled the interview about 60 days before my H1 visa expires. There was confusion regarding this to be acceptable or not and traded a lot of emails with Rajiv on this topic. There is a lot of conflicting information on the web - some saying this is not possible and others saying that it is possible. To find out the truth, I went to the USCIS field office in Buffalo, NY and posed the question to them - 'can one appear for an H1 interview, even though he has an H1 that is valid on his passport, and has approval for extension for the next 3 years?'. The USCIS field office personnel did not give a straight forward answer but said that it is not illegal and that they were not aware of any negative effects of doing something like that.

At this stage I consulted with Rajiv and decided to go forward with my interview at Ottawa.

Crossed into Canada through Thousand Islands (NY). I had reservations at the Marriot located at 350 Dalhouise street. This is a great hotel and the staff there are very polite and courteous. Additionally the consulate is only 5 mins walking distance from the hotel making things very easy. If you are into shopping you will find tonnes of stores nearby and can thus kill time. On the other hand if you want to work, the hotel offers free WI-FI...so you can continue with your work.

On the day of the interview my wife and I appeard at the consulate at about 8:00am. Our scheduled time was at 8:30am. The security guard asked us the standard questions - weapons, cell phones, fluids, remotes, keyless entry systems etc on hand or not? We were clear and walked in, went throug X Ray and proceeded to the interview hall.

First stop was at cashiers station were we surrendered passports, I797s and payment receipts from the bank. We were asked to wait in the lobby area. There were about 10 people in front of us. At one counter a lady was calling families to come forward for fingerprinting. When our turn came we got ourselves finger printed and then waited for us to be called for formal interview.

About 15mins later we were called. The consular officer was extremely polite and a very pleasant person. She wanted a letter from my employer and I presented that to her. She also saw that I had paystubs with me and requested to see them. I passed them to her. She glanced through it and said that we were all set and that I could come back next day to collect the VISA and passport. She stamped the existing VALID visa as 'CANCELLED WITHOUT PREJUDICE' on both my wife's and my passports. I asked her if such a stamp means my VISA was ever cancelled by the US government. She said "No, you have not done anything wrong and cancelled without prejudice stamp only means that we are issuing you a new VISA in lieu of this one". We thanked her and went on our way. Today afternoon we picked up the passports and the new visas with validity till 2010 are affixed to the passports.

A few points to note:
1. When you prepare your DS156, please ensure that the barcode is not smudged or covered by the photo. There were folks there with barcode issues who had to create whole new forms. The consulate was courteous enough to provide a computer and printer to do the task, but dont take that for granted.
2. There is very limited room to sit and wait for an interview. So if you have issues standing in line or have babies, kids please give yourself plenty of time.
3. It is possible to schedule and get an H1 VISA even if your current visa is valid. Infact this is the most sane thing to do. Worst case if there are issues with your new visa you will at least have a visa that may help you re-enter the country. For details regarding this one please refer to http://travel.state.gov and search for Foreign Affairs Manual, and view section "9 FAM 41.53 N9.2 Validity of H Visas".

Good luck to all trying to get their visas.

On a side note, a million thanks to Rajiv and his team for a job that is being splendidly done - in terms of supporting clients and the community by putting up a site, information and replying to numerous queries. We need more sincere organizations such as the "law offices of Rajiv S Khanna" to make the world a better place.

All the best.

Name: Hari Nayar

Location: New York, United States

Posted on: Aug 2, 2007

Email this link to friend(s)

4) Comments: H-1B Visa Approval

I have contacted you in the month of June, 05 regarding my F1-H1 Issue. My H1-B visa was approved by the American Consulate in Mumbai with out any problems and I am in the US right now. I would like to genuinely thank you for all your help and advise and I am glad that I took your services as I tried a number of lawyers before you and everyone gave me conflicting advises. I am writing to you my whole experience in detail so that you can put this in forum as other people may get help from this.

In brief, my H1 was approved in May 2004 with COS denied due to gap between my OPT end date and H1 Start Date (Oct 1st, 2004). There was a Cap Gap Memo published in Federal Register on July 23rd, 2004 saying people from F1 to H1 can stay legally till October 1st and on that day their H1 will become effective. This memo was not very clear and ambiguous so there was another clarifying memo asking people to file for MTR in order to get the desired COS within 2 weeks of its issuance. In my case, I missed the memo completely and I was under the impression that the July 23rd Fed Register will be good enough to take care of my status. I came to know about the whole issue in the month of March 2005 and that’s when I started digging into the whole problem.

After consulting with a number of lawyers (who really gave me unclear, conflicting, scary sort of opinions, suggestions, and their personal views), I contacted Mr. Rajiv Khanna. After studying my case, he came to know that I was a student in the US and I have D/S (Duration of Status) written on my I-94. He advised me that I don’t have to worry about the 3/10 Year Bar problem as people with D/S written on their I-94 are exempted from the Bar and this will protect from the same (Though my I-20 and OTP card had expired for more than six months!). Apart from this, Mr. Khanna said there is nothing in your case that can hold the American Consulate to issue you H1-B Visa.

My appointment was on August 22nd, 2005 at 8:30 AM at American Consulate- Mumbai. Here is the conversation that I had with the Visa Officer:

ME : Good Morning.
VO : No Answer !

(She already had my original I-797B, copy of I129 and the questionnaire).

VO

While going through the questionnaire...) So you have been working with this company for last One and a Half Years ha ?
ME : Yes Maam.

VO: Where exactly the company is based at?
ME : XXX, MI.

VO: Where were you working before that?
ME : XYZ company.

VO : So who filed for your H1 ?
ME : ABC Company ( My current employer ).

VO : Ohh, then we have a problem here !
How could you work with the XYZ and on what status??
ME : I was working on OPT that time.

VO: OK, so I can see your OPT card?
ME: Sure maam. (I gave her my OPT card)

She looked at the dates carefully and returned it back to me.

VO: So, you graduated from Florida?
(I came to US with F1 from one of the universities from Florida. After a semester, I changed the university to XYZ State)
Me: No maam, I graduated from ABC University from XYZ State.

VO: But you have visa on your passport from Florida?
ME : Yess Maam but I changed my University to ABC University. I contacted the International Student Office and they said I need a different I20 and not a different visa on my passport.

VO: I see. For your future reference, don’t listen to your school’s International Student Office, just follow the rules.
ME: Yess Maam.

VO: Ok, I am issuing you the Visa. You will get your passport through mail in 3-4 days.
ME: Thank you maam. You have a nice day.

And I left the consulate with almost tears in my eyes. The pain and anxiety was over in that 5 minutes interview with that American lady.
Mr. Khanna, the only reason I could talk to the visa officer was because of your proper advice and other supporting documents that you sent me. I felt lot confidant about my situation and that led me to a successful visa interview. I would like to point out a couple of things here : First, its very important to take legal advise from a good lawyer like Mr. Khanna as my experience tells, many of the Immigration lawyers I tried didn’t even have any idea about Student Visa, I-94 D/S etc. Secondly, if you fall in my situation and have D/S on your I-94, you are in a lot better condition than what you think you are. Leave everything else to Almighty!

I would like to thank you again you for all your help.

Sincerely.

Name: XXX

Location: United States

Posted on: Oct 7, 2005

Email this link to friend(s)

5) Comments: hi all,
i think my experience might help others so i m writing it down.
my husband and i came to toronto canada on sep, 6th 2005 (yes

2 days ago).
we had our interview appointment on sep, 7 9:00 am.
my husband came to US from pakistan in 1999 on a student visa. He did his masters and then got a job in Houston. He is a mechanical enigineer.
we got married in 2002 and got our first H1 stamped from islamabad, pakistan.
it took about 2 months to get the visa in pakistan at that time.
now we came to canada. my husbands office arranged everything for us. the visa appointment....paper work etc etc
the interview went smooth.
the visa officer said everything looks perfect BUT...we will have to run a background check on you.
and it will take 2-3 weeks to do that.
we asked her y?
and she told us...that my husband's name is one of those names...that r common (arabic names) ...thats y
now we r stuck here....for an indefinite time.
my husbands company lawyer assured us before we came here that our case wont take more then 1-2 days.
i would call this a pure case of racisim.
that they just saw the name and did this to us.
they didnt even care that we have a 2 year old son with us.
we are really worried at the moment as we have our appartment + car and all the other stuff in US. then my husbands job is at risk too.
dont know what to do.
plz pray and be careful everyone.
bbye

Name: Quratulain Khan

Location: Texas, United States

Posted on: Sep 9, 2005

Email this link to friend(s)

6) Comments: I was in India for my H1 stamping during Dec 2004. This is my first H1 stamping after my OPT. During my first interview the consulate asked me general questions like:
Where do you work ?
what is you daily routine work ?
what is your Boss's name ?
How much do you get paid ?

Thank he asked me to wait and said my interview would be finished by another consulate. The same thing happend to almost 10 ppl. We all waited in the Mumbai consulate from 9 AM till 11:45AM. And during that time we figured out that none of us were from software. I myself is a Chem. Engineer. Others were either working on some govt. funded projects or physics graduate,biology graduate etc. But none of us were in software.
So at 11:45 all of us were called by our name. And on the same window. The lady consulate than asked same questions and than said "I am sorry, at this time I can not issue you a visa.We need to further verify your case".And upon my asking "Is there something missing or not right here ?" she replied "No mam, we will send your query to Washington.And once that is done we will give you a call. This might take up to 5 weeks."

The same thing happend to all of us.And my first interview was on Dec 29th.My return tickets were on 12th Jan. But due to this I had to extend my stay. I kept calling the US Consulate after 3 weeks passed. I had to continuously follow up with them and on 24th Jan when I called the US Consulate they told me that your case has been verified and you can come to US Consulate within a week at 8:30 AM.

I went on 27th Jan. I was inside the consulate at 9:00 AM and I was called for the interview at 2:30PM. This time the lady did not aske me anything and issued my visa.

I did investigate on website and found that this is a newly introduced method and they randomly verify for H1s.And I was the chosen one.

So anyone out there who z going for stamping after Dec 2004 - don't get upset if they ask you to wait. You just might have to extend your stay in India as this really takes 6 weeks or so. So plan your journey accordingly.

Right now I am safe and sound..back to work !

Name: Jagruti

Location: MA, United States

Posted on: Apr 7, 2005

Email this link to friend(s)

7) Comments: Successful H1 revalidation at Vancouver.

#1 19th February 2005, 05:06 AM
tiesto
Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 12

Successful H1 revalidation at Vancouver.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If anyone's interested: I had an appointment today for H1B visa revalidation. Overall it was a smooth experience. I was asked for my paystubs though.

Degree etc was not asked for. Total interview time was 2 minutes. The only question I was asked was whether I am working for the same company for which I had received an H1 visa previously. In my case that holds true. I also had an F1 visa previously. US Degree.

Also they are very strict about electronics. do not get anything electronic into the building. You'll be asked to toss it or leave it someplace. Strollers etc are also not allowed. I saw a few people with kids asked to leave their strollers someplace.

Name: tiesto

Location: United States

Posted on: Feb 23, 2005

Email this link to friend(s)

8) Comments: Vacation Recapture-- Success Story (Finally)
Just want to post my success story to help all those silent sufferers who are looking for guidance on Vacation recapture.

My 6th year H1 expired on Oct-13-2004. My company filed for LC in Feb-2004 and I did not meet criteria for 7th year extension.

My lawyer filed for vacation(??) recapture of about 6 months (1 month each visits to India every year and not 6 consecutive months). He also requested to recapture the 1.5 month period when my first H1 was approved vs the day I landed in USA *( H1 got approved OCt-1998 and I landed Dec-199

. He applied the petition via Premium processing.

INS responded in 10 business days approving only the 1.5 months and refused to approve the 6 months vacation recapture. Fortunately I had a good lawyer and we reap pealed the case (Premium processing again) asking to recapture only 2 different periods of my vacation accounting to 60 days.
This time I obtained medical certificates from Indian Hospital where I underwent treatment during my visits. I was not really hopeful this would get approved and started looking for other options like pre-approved LC.

I got a response from INS yesterday that my petition was approved and I was granted the 2 Months I had requested. I will worry about 7th year later.

While there are lot of postings and information on how to recapture time but there is no formula for success.. INS is not very clear what it means by meaningfully Interuptive. My lawyer even quoted previous successful attempts to go to Federal Court if INS does not approve my petetion in my filing documents ( Very Very polished way)

IF you need assistance in documentation and format for medical cert please let me know I am more than willing to help you after all I went through the same threads in this forum and else where looking for help and guidance.
For more information click here

Name: mitupan116

Location: United States

Posted on: Nov 16, 2004

Email this link to friend(s)

9) Comments: first time stamping H-1 B - GOT STAMPED- J-1 TO H-1 B..AT CHENNAI...

Hi Folks

With reference to my earlier post, I was really desperate to get replies regarding my query for first time Stamping at Chennai embassy, for first time stamping for H-1 B from J1 Visa.

Now, atlast I got my visa stamped and here are more details to folks who are sailing in same boat.

1. I originally came to US during 2001 August as postdoctoral researcher to work at one of the university on J-1 Visa. It took huge amount of time to convert my visa to H-1 B. I got my waiver, just before the end of second year. Then, my H-1 B visa has been extended for one year only (i.e., from 2003-2004) as one of my prof., didn't had any idea and I too did not noticed it. Later during 2004, my H-1 B visa was again filed for three more years, i.e, from 2004-2007.

2. After it was extended for three more years, I just went to India for H-1 B stamping at chennai embassy. My appointment was on October 14th, 2004, at 8.0 a.m

3. I reached embassy just before 10 minutes. I carried all the necessary documents, including all my certificates (Ph.D), along with employment letters, pay slips, W-2 tax returns, univ pics (front and back entrance) etc. Most importantly, I also carried J-1 Waiver certificate too. As all my degrees are from India (including Ph.D), i also took evaluation certificate (from private consultants from US), just to be in safe side.

4. At the embassy, near the entrance, the security people thoroughly checked and they were particular to check the sealed envelopes too. Thus, just remove any sealed envelopes and make them open, so as to save time.

5. The TTS service folks took the check and then there were different counters, wherein the main forms of DS-156 and 157, along with passport will be checked and kept. After checking, I am given one receipt and told to go to next building (which is very close by).

6. With the receipt (paper token...) in hand I entered next building and wherein there is a lobby with several counters. I waited till my turn and when officers arrived at counters, we were called as per receipt numbers (upto nearly 10) for each counter...and then made to stand in a queue.

7. I was interviewed by a male officer, who was very smart enough and was drilling other folks like anything. Just before me, two candidates, were rejected for visa, which made me little tense. However, when my turn came, the officer just peeked into my visa application forms (DS-156, 157 and passport) and then just said 'just follow the signs of those finger prints and put your left finger on that machine'. I was very happy, as by then, I knew that my case is positive - as finger printing is the last step. Then, afterwards, while looking into other forms, he asked me to explain, what exact research I do, which I explained in detail. (I would like to just inform that, I travelled several countries for research purpose, which might have also created a positive impression. Those details need to be filled in the DS forms (countries visited.....) However, I may be wrong.)

8. Although, I carried all the documents, I was asked only 'Waiver Certificate' (J-1 Visa 2 year home requirement....waiver). He checked that certificate and then, asked me to just pay the fee (which is in the last counter).

9. I paid the fee and was out of embassy, by 10.15. Thus, entire process was from 8.0 till 10.0.

10. My passport arrived just the next day through courier (by TTS), with multiple entry H-1 B visa stamp on it.

Now, I am back to US to resume my work.

Please feel free to contact me at kriskk1@rediffmail.com, for any further clarifications.

I wish you all luck in your future endeavors.

For more information click here

Name: PVK

Location: United States

Posted on: Nov 10, 2004

Email this link to friend(s)

10) Comments: successful H1 stamping in Ottawa

Hello Folks;
I successfully got my H1 (& H4 stamp) in Ottawa on March 8.
This was my third H1 stamp (second for the same employer)
It went very smooth...hardly 5 min interview...
Please note that bar coded DS156 is a must...i had filed my online but for my wife I had to fill in the consulate...for they did not accepted hand-filled form...there were 4 people ahead of me waiting for the computer...so it took 1 hour before I was able to pay the fees...after paying the fess in about 10 min I was called to submit the documents...the lady was very couteous and documents asked were:
H1/H4 approvals
passports
DS156 & DS157 forms
finger printing (both for myself & my wife)
status in Canada ( I had landed 2 days before)
submitted all my papers...after that in about 8 min I was called for the interview....the officer was very cool and had god sense of humour.....following questions....

1. where do you work?
2. what does the company do?
3. how long you have been working?
4. employer letter
5. pay stub

got the passport back at 3 pm. there were about 3 other Indians who also got their visa issued.
There were about 5 other people (I am not sure for what visa) but were from Pakistan and were submitted for security clearance and asked to come back in 3 weeks...

Thank you very much to all who helped me out...this is very useful forum...I will be more than haapy to answer any questions....

For more information click here

Name: immiadvice

Location: United States

Posted on: Nov 10, 2004

Email this link to friend(s)

[1] [2] [next]

Total Hits : 3554388 Unique Hits : 481341 Current Visitors Hits : 2
Developed and Maintained by Anthesys, Inc