H1 Visa stamping experience- Canada

I am also in the same boat like anky :)

I have sent my passport to St. Louis for the H1 Revalidation, but it came back with "Cancel Without Prejudice" stamped on my expired US Visa. And also they sent me the reason "since your visa was expired more than an year, you need to attend the counseler".

Could you guys help me out:
1. Is this is legal to stay after the INS stamps on your passport "Cancel Without Prejudice" ? (Still I have valid H1B documents)
2. If not, can I go to Canada or Mexico for H1B revalidation stamping ?
3. What are the chances of getting stamp ?

I appreicate your responses in advance

Thanks
smbasha
 
1. Stamping your VISA "cancel without prejudice" doesn't effect your stay in the US. Your I-94 determines how long you can stay in the US. At this point though you can't re-enter the US if you leave the country without a new visa stamp

2. You can get it stamped in Canada/Mexico as long as you have valid H-1B (I94, I797)etc.

3. I don't see any problem with getting a new stamp as long as you've always been in status.

I know friends who haven't had a valid US visa for years. It's perfectly legal since a VISA is only required for re-entry not for staying in the US. That's why, if you look at the NJ DMV they don't even look at your VISA but your I-94 to determine whether you are legal in the country.


smbasha said:
I am also in the same boat like anky :)

I have sent my passport to St. Louis for the H1 Revalidation, but it came back with "Cancel Without Prejudice" stamped on my expired US Visa. And also they sent me the reason "since your visa was expired more than an year, you need to attend the counseler".

Could you guys help me out:
1. Is this is legal to stay after the INS stamps on your passport "Cancel Without Prejudice" ? (Still I have valid H1B documents)
2. If not, can I go to Canada or Mexico for H1B revalidation stamping ?
3. What are the chances of getting stamp ?

I appreicate your responses in advance

Thanks
smbasha
Click to expand...
 
tnadkarni,

I appreciate for your response.
I was so depressed, now I got some relief after I saw your response. :)

BTW, do you have any idea which center (Canada/Mexico) is good for stamping ?

Once again Thank you very much!

-smbasha
 
Hello smbasha

This is not a answer to your question instead I wanted to find out how long before 1 year expiry did u send for reval in st. louis that they returned u without stamping. I have sent it just 3 weeks before my one year expiry date so was wondering if u had sent around similar timeline. And also how long did it take for u get it back after u sent it to DOS st Louis.

Thanks.
 
Hello smxhan,

I am not sure about the exact time, but I am sure that it was around 5 months, after my VISA was expired.

Let me know if you need more info

-smbasha
 
smbasha

If it was around 5 months after ur visa expired then u should have 7 months left to do ur revalidation. So this means that even if u sent for reval at the starting of 6th month then u have about 6 months remaining for ur one year expiry period. And DOS takes abt 12 weeks to do reval. This is well within 6 month period time frame. So I dont know why they returned u the app saying that ur visa has expired more than 1 year ago.
 
Hello smxhan,

No, No.

Sorry for my typo, You mis understood my erlier email.
I sent my passport for revalidation after my Visa was expired (1 year 5 months).

At that time I have no idea that, I need to revalidate my VISA with in 1 year after it get expired.

Let me know if you need more info

-smbasha
 
Entering without visa

Hi everyone and thanks for all the great information.

My situation is as follows:

Last entry to US on F-1 in 1997. Since then switched to H-1B, and now I am with 3rd company on H. I didn't go outside the US but have always maintained legal staus (H). The reason I chose to not get a visa was that I am avoiding the "Have you ever been arrested question" which I would have to answer "Yes" to. (small mishap back in 1995 - file got expunged via a "first offender" program - there was no conviction.)

My question is that I would like to attend a professional conference in Canada in November. Can I go to Canada and back without applying for a visa and enter the US only with the latest approval notice?

Thanks for your help.
 
Ds 156

Hi,
I would appreciate if someone can help with the following items in Form DS-156:
1. Item 15, Should this be the Home address in your country or your current address in USA
2. Item 22, when do you intend to arrive in the US? since I am already in the US and am just going to get a stamp, what should be filled in here?
3. Item 25, ???
4. Item 26, how long do you intend to stay in the US? Should this be the amount of time on my I797 approval????
5. What is the purpose of your trip? I was on F1 when I came here and then changed my status to H1, what should I fill in for this item?
6. Item 29, When? For How Long? I am already in the US. I have visited my home country and came back maybe 4 times in the past 5 years, what should I fill in for this item?

Please Please help asap.

Thanks
 
sams8301,

Here are the answers which I got from my friend, who is also applying for H1 revalidation.

1. Item 15, Should this be the Home address in your country or your current address in USA
Ans: Current adress in USA

2. Item 22, when do you intend to arrive in the US? since I am already in the US and am just going to get a stamp, what should be filled in here?
Ans: Leave blank

3. Item 25, ???
Ans: Leave Blank (For Dependent (H4 B) they need to put your contact info. )

4. Item 26, how long do you intend to stay in the US? Should this be the amount of time on my I797 approval????
Ans: Write the date as per your I797 (Ex: Jan 25th 2005)

5. What is the purpose of your trip? I was on F1 when I came here and then changed my status to H1, what should I fill in for this item?
Ans: Employment - H1B

6. Item 29, When? For How Long? I am already in the US. I have visited my home country and came back maybe 4 times in the past 5 years, what should I fill in for this item?
Ans: Enter the date when you first entered in US as per you Passport.

Please visit for more information: http://www.murthy.com/news/n_deptst.html

NOTE: This is just my second hand information, I suggest you to make sure with some attorney

-smbasha
 
Ds 156 Q

Hi,

I have a couple of questions about how to fill the DS 156 form.

1) Q36 "Has anyone ever filed an immigrant petition for u?"

I currently have my I 140. Should I say Yes or No to this Q. My thought is No since I havent yet applied for I485. Any suggestions?

2) Q37 "Are any of the following persons in the US?"

I have a brother who is a Permanent Resident. Will divuling it cause trouble?

Thanks in advance....
 
H1 and H4 renewal in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Did any one renewed their H1 and H4 visa in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico ? If so could you please briefly explain the details like

1) How to get the Mexican visa,
2) Money order / cashiers cheque for issuance fee. Which one i should take? also how to pay reciprocity fee,
3) Questions asked etc
4) How long would it take?

Also do we(me and my wife) need to go separately with the copies of papers / can we go together?

Since we live in Texas, I am planning to goto Mexico with my wife to renew our visa one month before it gets expires. My first H1 was from India.

Thanks a lot
 
Doubts regarding H1 and H4 renewal

1) How early i can go? my crrent visa expires on Nov,2004 and can i go before that?
2) Do we(me and my wife) need to go separately with the copies of papers / can we go together?
3) Suppose if i go before my current visa's expiry date and they denied the visa, can i reenter USA? Or will they canel my current visa also?

Both of our first visa was stamped in India and i do not work in field under TAL .
 
waliansari,

1. Did you appeared to consulate for New H1B stamping or H1B revalidation ?
2. What kind of questions did they ask you ?

Thanks
-smbasha
 
Vancouver Visa Revalidation experience

well I'm glad that everything went very smoothly for us with our US Non-I visa revalidation in Vancouver, B.C.

Our appointment was June 25, 2004 9:am. No problems with the port of entry in Canada. Interview went smoothly. The US consulate was of Indian descent. He asked me the ff questions:

What do you do in the US? - I'm working with company xxx
How long? - nn years
How did you get the job? - applied as blah blah blah
What status did you 1st came in the US? - H1b..etc etc
How long have you been an xxx engineer - x number of years...

Inkless fingerprinting for myself and my wife.

That's it! Interview lasted for barely 3 mins. Returned back about 3pm to pick up passports and also for my H4 dependents. We submitted passports and Approval notice only. No other documentations were required by the consul.

We drove to Canada June 24, 8:10am and returned home to the US about 11pm June 25, 2004. A very smooth experience!

I didn't see any H1B visa rejections except for 2 guys(not H1?) with a DUI and a fighting related arrest. I've heard from the consul, if you have any problems with the police and got arrested, they have to check your background and will ask you to come back another day. In short they cannot issue visa with the same day.

Vancouver...nice place to get a visa based on our experience!
 
Re: Vancouver Visa Revalidation experience

Just have some doubts, like when you took the appointment, was it individual for each one in your family / its a group appoinment? also the previous visa on your passport; was expired ? / it was going to expire within short time?

Thanks,
 
saneesh8 said:
Just have some doubts, like when you took the appointment, was it individual for each one in your family / its a group appoinment? also the previous visa on your passport; was expired ? / it was going to expire within short time?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Ours is a family appointment, so yeah group appointment. However, on the interview itself, you can be the only one answering questions and leave your dependents on the interviewee waiting area.

Our old NI visas is still valid until January 2005, but we must renew it since we are going out of the country in Dec 2004.

I think 2 out of 3 consuls in Vancouver are both of Indian descent. The other is a guy and the other is a woman.

Btw, we didn't pay reciprocity fee and they returned the DS-158 to me but they took the DS-157 supplement.
 
Hi,
Thanks a lot for the information. Is it mandatory to give DS-158? Also we can go before the current one expires and thats a good news to me.
 
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