My experience in Toronto

D

dazed_confused

Registered Users (C)
Hi All,
I went to Toronto consulate last week to get first time H1B stamping (F1 >> OPT >> H1B) and i got many good tips from this site, and here is my experience. I am not a canadian citizen or landed immigrant (pure desi!) so i got a canadian visitor's visa (took just 3 days). Handed over my I-94 original and the one which came with I-797 at the airport in USA and flew into Toronto, much worried!!!
My appointment at the consulate was at 10:00 AM and prior to that i had to deposit an application fee of $100 at any branch of Scotia Bank using pre-coded deposit slips provided by the consulate earlier. There is a branch a couple of blocks away which opens at 9:30 so by 9:45 i was at the consulate. I got into line (outside the consulate) after the consulate security guard had checked my appointment letter. Basically the appointment time is meaningless as there were people with 8:30 AM appointments who were still waiting to get into the consulate. My turn to enter the consulate came at about 12:45. After going thru a metal detector etc., i was directed to a window where i had to turn in my passport, bank deposit receipt, DS-156, DS-157, original I-797 and a photograph. They are very very particular about the photograph and it is best to get a photograph taken at a machine inside the consulate (4 photos for Can $5). I was asked my status in Canada at this time and i showed them my visitor's visa and canadian immigration stamp in the passport. I was then asked to sit in a waiting area and wait for my name to be called by a consular officer.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
contd....

There were 5 officers calling people at random. My name was called at 1:15 and the following questions were asked of me:-
1. Please give me your employment letter, attorney certified I-129 and LCA and Original Diploma? (consular officer already had the passport, original I-797, etc with her)
I handed over all the asked for documents one by one and the consular officer went thru the entire employment letter, glanced at the salary part of the LCA and noted from the I-129 the approval date, Company name and address and SRC # from I-797. She noted all of this information and also the date of graduation, school name and diploma type on the DS-156. She handed me back the I-129 package and Diploma but retained the employment letter and I-797. I have a US master’s degree. She did not ask for and I did not hand over any undergraduate stuff or transcripts, etc. In the employment letter my employer had written that I need to travel on business many times out of US so to please give multiple entry H1B, etc.
2. What company do you work for?
I answered "company name” exactly as the way it was on I-129
3. What is your job title and since when have you been working for the company?
I answered "Job title” (exactly the way it was on I-129) and "dd-mm-yyyy"
4. On what status were you working since last year as the I-129 was only approved this year in April?
I explained that I was on F-1 OPT
5. When was your OPT approved and till when was it valid?
I showed her the original EAD card and OPT approval notice. She opened my passport to the page containing the F-1 visa and i think she was comparing the school name annotated on the visa to the one appearing on the EAD card.
 
contd yet again...

The consular officer did not ask me any more questions and started writing out a receipt for the reciprocity fee that i had to now pay and told me to go up to the 3rd floor and pay the fee using a visa/mastercard/cash and bring back the stamped receipt to her. I did so and on turning over the receipt to her she handed me a passport collection sticker and told me to collect the passport and I-797 the next day between 3 to 4 PM (standard practice in Totonto consulate). The whole interview process took less than 15 minutes, was polite but thorough. From overhearing other people’s interviews (consular officers sit behind a glass wall in the waiting room and communicate thru mikes) the impression I got was that unless something was very wrong, they were enthusiastic about giving visa. There was one guy who was told to be “don’t be nervous, please take your time and answer” (he got the visa). I had a bunch of other documents like pay slips, bank statements, annual report of the company (it is a Fortune-100 company), my tax returns, etc but they were not asked for so I did not show any! Also, all the consular officer’s are formally dressed so it is best to show up the same way.

I came back the next day and stood in line yet again to collect the passport and I-797 (fast moving line which took less than 30 minutes). I did not get the employment letter back so make sure to have one copy for the immigration guy preferably addressed to ‘Immigration Inspector, POE, USA”



At the immigration at Toronto airport i was basically asked the same questions again by the immigration inspector but he did not ask to see any documents and was just quizzing me and giving “dirty looks” at the passport and I-94 form, etc. He then reluctantly stamped everything and waved me through!

Hope this helps fellow TCN’s with the disclaimer that my experience may be very different from your's so plan accordingly! Thanx.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Can you tell me what do you mean by attorney certified I 129. I have a copy of my I 129 but does it need to be noterized by the attorney
 
hi bobby_2001,
By attorney certified, i mean that the attorney who had processed my case wrote and signed on every page of the photocopy of the I-129 and LCA "I certify that this is a true copy of the documentation submitted to BCIS". My attorney had made computer generated stickers with the above statement and his name and he just put the stickers on each page and then signed his name and date across the sticker so that part of the signature was on the sticker and part was on the page. i dont think this is notarization but the consulate was apparently satisfied with this kind of certification.
 
Dude,

If you dont mind telling us, what is your nationality? The country of origin i mean.
That would really help.

Thanks
Jack
 
When you left the US. What I94 did you surrender? The one you got when you first came to the US (F1 status) or some other one.
Also when you enter the US after your visa did they issue you a new I94 (H1B status).

Thanks for all your help
Jack
 
jackinabox,
i surrendered both my original I-94 (the F-1 one) as well as the printed I-94 that was on the right hand lower corner of the I-797 when i was leaving US. when entering the US on H1B i filled out a new I-94 form at the immigration counter (the same way you do when flying in from India) and the immigration inspector stamped that and stapled it to my passport
 
bobby_2001,
true that there is no reference to attorney certification on the Aimcits site but other consulates (esp. in India) require it, so why take the chance. Also, i am glad that i did it as the consular officer asked for certified copy and you cant argue with them. it is easy to do so i would advise to do it :)
again, i am not a legal person and your experience could be totally different from me, so use your judgement. good luck with your stamping!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi dazed_confused

That is very encouraging to read your experience. I had been avoiding taking this path, going to canada for first time stamping. (I was on F1 -> opt -> h1) for the past 3 yrs Got new H1 recently valid for another 3 yrs.

Could you please write down steps with links, and time frames it takes to go through the process and , and should-have documents so that I can think on those lines.

As much as detailed information is appreciated.

Thanks

Anil
 
hey Anil,
I thought i had given my experience in detail so i think i misunderstand your question. what do you mean by links? please clarify so i can help out.
thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top