Close call in Ottawa
Here’s a long & unabridged account of my H1-stamping in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Background: I came to the US as a student with an admission to a graduate program. I completed my Master’s, applied for an OPT and landed a job soon after. I left my employer for a better job offer about a year later and consequently had my H1B transferred to my current employer. All of this happened over a period of 6 years and in the interim, I never stepped outside the US and so never got my H1 status stamped in my passport.
Fast forward to the present: I decided to get my H1B stamped in Canada, back in November 2006. I had a lot to learn about the whole process. So, I scoured the internet for every bit of information I could find. Immigrationportal.com was by the far the only website that I could that had extensive testimonies of all sorts. My spirits were buoyed by the positive recount members gave of experiences in Ottawa. I quickly found an appointment on the 20th of December at the embassy in Ottawa.
As I prepared the necessary documents I found myself missing my OPT card and could only find have the bottom half of my previous employer’s I-797. Perturbed by this discovery, I returned to the forums for a solution and as luck would have it, I found the account of a gentleman who tackled the horns of a very similar dilemma. This man was missing his I-797 and had only a copy of it. I found after further investigation that I had in my possession the jacket that my OPT card was mailed in. It had confirmation of my OPT approval, the EAC number and my name, of course. I did try contacting the INS for a duplicate OPT card, but they said it would cost $200 and would take 6 months to process.
The man I mention recounts in his post that he called the consulate in Ottawa for counsel on this matter and they advised him to get the copy of his I-797 certified by his attorney. This course of action paid off in his favor at the consulate.
I contacted this man for further details. He told me to call the consulate and let them know of my predicament and have them advise me to get the jacket certified instead of doing it of my own volition.
So, I call the consulate’s 1-866 number and the person on the phone says, she does not have authority to dispense advice in such matters and gives me another number. This is a number that goes straight to the consular officer’s department. I couldn’t get a hold of a single officer due to their interviewing schedule, so I leave about 4 messages on a certain officer’s voicemail. In spite of his busy schedule, he calls me back and unfortunately gets my voicemail, which is just as well because in his message he says that he would not be able to help me and directs me back to the 1-866 number. So, this time when I call the 1-866 number, I recap in detail my several phone calls. I still get nowhere with the lady on the phone, so I take the first step and ask her if I could certify copies of the documents. She says that should be fine, but the final decision still lies with the consular officer and assures me that as long as I have all the documents listed on the website I should be okay. On my request, she proceeds to add a note to my appointment in the database saying I had called about missing documents and will be bringing in certified proof.
My mood slightly alleviated, I got about the business of getting my documents certified. Meanwhile, I postpone my appointment to Jan 4, 2007 due to personal commitments. Fortunately, I had very little trouble finding appointments. All, I did was logon to the appointment page every morning at work and kept refreshing the page twice or thrice a minute between work. Appointments seemed to be plentiful at around 3pm or 4pm. Perseverance pays off! Of course, one must also have the time to spare.
Back to the mission on hand, after I gather all my documents, I find myself with the following:
1. Current employer’s I-797
2. Copy of current employer’s I-129
3. Copy of current employer’s LCA
4. Current employer’s employment letter stating my job position, annual salary and employment start date.
5. Bottom half of previous employer’s I-797 and a copy certified by my attorney
6. Print out of online approval of previous employer’s I-797, certified by my attorney.
7. One passport sized photo.
8. Copy of previous employer’s I-129
9. Copy of previous employer’s LCA
10. Previous employer’s employment letter stating my job position, annual salary and employment start date.
11. OPT card jacket & copy certified by my attorney.
12. Print out of online approval of OPT, certified by my attorney.
13. Master’s certificate.
14. Master’s transcripts in University sealed envelopes.
15. Visa appointment letter
16. DS-156 form filled online.
17. Bank statement (No particular reason, but I was advised by another gentleman that in case you answer ‘Myself’ to the question in section 28 of the form DS-156, you should carry your bank statement with you. I answered ‘Employer’.)
18. Current employer’s brochure
19. All possible pay stubs of current and previous employer
20. Tax returns and W2s for all the years I have been living in the US straight from the IRS.
In the meantime, my husband and I headed to NYC to get our Canadian visas. We applied for a temporary resident visa (TRV), single entry. It cost us $70 USD each. There seems to be a lot of confusion about a single entry visa and multiple entry visa. From what I read on the Canadian embassy’s website, a single entry visa allows unlimited travel between the US and Canada until the visa expires. But travel from Canada to any other country invalidates the visa, which means once you travel out of Canada to say Mexico, UK, Spain, India, you can’t get back into Canada. Traveling back to the US and then to another country will also invalidate the visa. In short single entry is strictly for travel between Canada and US only.
Multiple entry visa on the other hand gives you the flexibility of traveling to other countries also and still having a valid visa. This costs around USD$130…….I think, check with the website. The documents that we needed were as follows:
1. Application
2. Bank statement
3. Two passport sized photos
4. Employment letter
5. Pay stubs
6. I-797
7. LCA
8. I-129
We were at the Canadian embassy in NYC at around 7:20 AM; the embassy opens at 8AM. It is located in a huge building, can’t miss the building. You wait outside the building, until the guard ushers you in. You can of course mail your application; it takes around 10 days to get it by mail. Once you are in the embassy, you have to go through a security check, (only applicants are allowed in) following which the guard gives you a token number, and any other supplementary forms you need to fill in. Once you are done filling them, you pay your fee at the cahier’s counter and wait your turn. There were very few applicants when we got there, but people started trickling in later. The waiting space is larger than the US embassy’s. After about 45 minutes wait we were called to an ‘Information’ counter and not to an ‘Interview’ counter. There a lady told us that our visas had been approved and wished us well on our trip. Surprised at the short turn around time, we left the embassy. The visa is valid for 6 months.
Apprehensive and resolute, I head to Ottawa with my husband, at the stroke of midnight, Jan 4 2007 in a rental car. As we enter Canada, we encounter Canadian customs. The guard asks for our passports, asks a few rudimentary questions and lets us go.
My appointment was scheduled for 9 AM, but we get to the embassy at around 7:10 am. The embassy is a huge, imposing building you can’t miss, once you are on Sussex drive. It has “US embassy” emblazoned in bold letters across its façade. A long, concrete barricade, on the road in front of the embassy separates it from the daily commute of vehicles and pedestrians.
We walk towards the embassy and get to the gate at exactly 8 AM. All applicants file into a line outside the building. Lines are separated into “visa services” and “non-American citizens”. The guard asks for our appointment letters, he sees that my appointment is at 9 and tells me to return at 8:45 and no earlier and we were not allowed to loiter around either. The 8 AM appointments are only let in. So, we kill some time in a nearby shopping complex and come back at 8:45. The guard once again checks my appointment letter and directs us to the other side of the gate, separating the ones who have been checked from the ones who have not. All food (including gum & candy), car keys were confiscated at this time. Tickets are given for each key confiscated so applicants can pick them up after the interview. Food is held as is, as far as I know. I did not see anyone with a cell, so I can’t comment on that. Purses and bags were the applicants’ responsibility and had to be removed from the premises by the applicants themselves. So, some applicants had to run back to their cars/hotels/motels to dump their purses/bags/backpacks. My document folder looks like a mini briefcase, so the guard had me open it to inspect it and approved it.
We are still not in the building at this time. Soon we were let in the building in groups of three for a security check. All applicants pass under an awning that looks like a mini gazebo on their way into the building. It seemed to have some sort of a scanning device or camera installed on its roof…can’t be sure.
When it was my turn to get in, I walked through the awning into the actual physical building and there, there was another line for a security check. Soon we were in a hall where the security check machine was setup. We were asked to take out coats, belts and any metallic items off for security .Our document folders were also scanned.
Another guard there ushers us into the interview room and tells us to head straight for counter number 7, which is the cashier’s window. At this point all doors are automated; you should not be turning any knobs to get it, unless you are told to. The interview room is not very large, but well maintained. There are about 6-7 rows of seats at about 10 feet from the consular officer’s windows. Once these seats are taken, applicants stand by until they are called. I walk up to the cahier’s counter.
The cashier asks me for my DS-156, I-797 (I give her my current I-797), passport (I was recently issued a new passport, so I hand her both the old and new passports, she picks the new one and hands me the old one) and of course the fee of $100.00 USD, which I pay in cash. She informs me that the receipt will be given after the interview process. I head back to a line of standing applicants and await my interview. All of this takes about 15-20 minutes, so by this time it was around 9:05 AM. As I wait, I see that there are five other counters apart from the cashier’s. Two of these counters, counters 1 & 2, have ‘Interviews’ written above, two others counters 3 & 4, have ‘Check-in’ written above them (don’t know what that means) and the last one was for ‘Diplomatic visas’ and was tucked away in a cranny that was mostly out of site to most of the applicants.
I gleaned from what I saw, that I would most likely be called to counter number 1 or 2. There was a female officer at counter 1 who seemed very friendly and cheerful, counter 2 was a gentleman who looked decidedly American, he had a somber expression and rarely cracked a smile. At counter 3 was a slightly elderly gentleman (could be in his late 40s) who looked very British. He had a constant scowl on this face and looked very intimidating. I definitely didn’t want to have to walk up to his counter. At counter 4 was another woman who wasn’t interviewing anyone. As I observed her, it looked like the cashier was passing all applications on to her. She would then enter information from each of the applications into a computer. After this was done, she sets all the applications out on a shelf from where the interviewing officers grab a bunch of applications as they go.
And so, I wait my turn anxiously as hours pass by. People who came in after me are called to interview, as I remain waiting. I couldn’t tell by the look on anyone’s face if they were being rejected or not. There was no melodrama and hysteria in the room. Some applicants at the end of the interview thanked the officers profusely and I guess they definitely were not rejected, some applicants had neutral expressions.
I really couldn’t hear any of the interviews in spite of being a few feet away from the counters, so it’s difficult to know what questions were being asked. There were very, very few applicants who had easy interviews, meaning very few questions. I could positively say that there were not more than three such interviews.
Its 11AM, and I am still waiting. I am hoping that I am called by the lady at counter 1, because I was told by one person that she is very easy going. Now, a young lady who was previously interviewed at counter 1 returns to the consulate and walks directly to counter 1. I guess she was asked to go back to get some documents as proof. As soon as she gets in, a long and tedious interview/argument ensues between the officer and the lady. I am not exactly sure what the problem was, but the conversation takes almost an hour. So its 12AM now, and I am sure I am the next person to be called to counter 1. But I am not so sure I want to be interviewed by the lady at counter1 anymore. She seems vexed, exhausted and frustrated from the previous interview. And, surely enough, she calls out my name. I walk over to the counter with a lump in my throat. She looks at me impatiently, forces a smile and says “Hello!” Gone is the cheerful demeanor. She asks me to place my index fingers on a scanning device. She then asks me when I graduated from my Master’s. I give her the date. She then asks me for my OPT. I explain about my missing card and give her the OPT jacket. In an exasperated tone, she says she needs the dates of my OPT as proof of my status in the US after my Master’s. She then asks me if my employer had filed my OPT, which didn’t make sense to me at all. So, now I start to panic and try to tell her that my University had filed for my OPT and I then got hired by my previous employer. She then lifts her hands in despair and says she can’t do the interview without the OPT dates. Now, I am sweating bullets. Then she asks me for my I-20. “Damn it!” I think to myself and tell her that I don’t have it. She is clearly irritated now and says, “Why are all your documents missing? Why don’t you have your I-20 with you?” I tell her that it wasn’t part of the list of documents on the website. She then asks me if I have my previous employer’s I-797, I quickly grab it and hand it to her. She looks at it almost grudgingly and at that point I guess, resigns herself to giving me the visa. Then she looks for my F1 visa in the new passport, not finding it there, she asks agitatedly, “Where’s you F1?” I quickly hand her my old passport. She then starts to get the fee receipt out and the visa pickup token (a red token with a number on it) out and I find myself relaxing. Phew!! She seems less agitated now, and asks me why I changed jobs. My answer, “They had a better medical package & better pay rate”. To my surprise, the officer nods knowingly/understandingly!!! Her last question, and at this point she was just trying to make conversation, was “Do you still live in xxxxxx?” I reply “Yes”. She hands me my old passport, and tells me to pick my passport up the next evening.
Frazzled and relieved I walk out of the building in a daze. I check with the security guard on when to pick up my passport tomorrow. The guard says between 3PM and 3:30PM. The guards have a booth right inside the main gate of the building, but not in the building. This is where they hold all the passports.
We return the next day at around 3:05PM to pick up the passport. I hand the guard the red token and take my passport back. The visa was dated to expire on the date my H1B expires.
As for our accommodation in Ottawa, we stayed at a motel owned by an Indian. The owner was kind enough to waive the tax and taxes are pretty steep in Ottawa. Do not worry about finding a motel around the consulate there are plenty of economical options around. Same goes for Indian restaurant; in fact there is one right in front of embassy. Right opposite the embassy’s main gate is a street that runs perpendicular to Sussex drive, there on your right hand is an Indian restaurant named ‘Haveli’. Now, I haven’t been to this restaurant, nor I have validated my belief that it is indeed an Indian restaurant. So, check it out for yourself when you get there. Also, there are at least half dozen other Indian restaurants on Sussex drive. If you are planning on skimping on your budget and eating at fast food joints like McDonald/Burger king, forget about it! On our way over to the consulate we only saw one Subway and one
McDonald, all pretty far from the embassy. So, unless you have a vehicle at your disposal, don’t plan on finding burger king or taco bell.
Parking is a b***h in Ottawa! During the time we spent there, we couldn’t find one free spot. If anyone can find one, they are God! You either use parking meters or parking lots. The parking meters seem to accept US quarters and give you 6 minutes per quarter. Parking lots charge CAD $1.25-1.50 for a half hour, so both options pretty much add up to the same deal. Luckily everything is nearby. There is a mall called ‘The Rideau’s center’ (pronounced Ree-doh’s center) a block from the embassy. In case you need to exchange your USD for some CAD, there is a currency exchange on the third floor of the mall next to a café called ‘Michele’s’.
In case you like museums, there is a museum of aviation about 10 minutes from the embassy. It’s not so much a museum of aviation as it is a museum of armed combat. It’s pretty good to kill time.
We were on our way back to the US soon after we picked up my passport. The US customs was a breeze, the customs guard looked at both our passports and asked us where we live, how long we have been in the US, what the purpose of our trip to Canada was?(answer: immigration). This interrogation took place at a booth on the road. The guard looks at my passport for a TN paper, not understanding what that was, my husband asks him if he meant I-94, he says yes. I replied that, the I-94 was taken by the consular officer. He says I need to get one before we can proceed and asks us to park the car off the road and disappears into an office with our passports. We enter the office, there another officer takes my details, like address, job title, index fingerprints takes my picture, gives me a new I-94 and sends us on our way.
I live in central New York and the drive from here to Ottawa is about 5 hours by car. We got our directions off of Google maps, and this particular route is very unlike a regular one. It can be risky because it takes you through isolated almost uninhabited patches of land that stretch for hours. Finding, gas, exits, service plazas, convenience stores on this route is pretty tough. So travel a day ahead if you take this route. The toll on our route came to a total of $6 USD, to & fro.
From my experience I would advice applicants to take all possible documents to the consulate. Any document that corroborates your legal status in the US from the time you set foot on it is critical. Even if you lived in the US in your previous life, save the documents and take them with you. I am exaggerating, but such is the nature of the interview. The officer who interviewed me really seemed to want to give me the visa, all she wanted was the relevant proof and documents. Forget about the inconvenience of lugging around a huge folder full of documents, unless you don’t care about coming back to the US. If you do find yourself missing any document during the interview, try convincing the officer with other documents that would give the officer what he/she needs. Do not give up; keep talking to them until they are convinced. Do not loose your temper, its not going to get you anywhere, do not look nervous. Be persistent and accommodating. I did notice during the interviews that applicants were allowed to go outside the embassy to get any extra supporting documents that were required by officers and they were allowed to come back in. The applicants did not have to schedule another appointment, but then again that can only happen at the discretion of officer.
Most importantly, this post contains my opinions. I am in no way qualified to give legal advice. So, always consult a trusted immigration attorney. At the end of the day use your discretion, because my attorney advised against getting my documents certified and I think that would have been very risky. I went ahead and got it done anyway. Research! Research! Research! Do a lot of research before hand and talk to friends who have been to Canada. Always consult the respective embassy websites for information about documents, fee structures, holidays, hours of operation, location, etc
Please feel free to contact me with questions. I will be glad to help in whatever way I can.
. Anyways u don't have to worry about getting a reject. They may just ask u to go to India t oet it stamped. It should be fine.