H1 Visa stamping experience- Canada

H1B Stamping in Toronto..URGENT!!! Please Reply ASAP!!!

Hi All,

Finally I was able to talk to nvars and they said I am good to go to the U.S Consulate,Toronto to get my new H1B stamping. I am leaving today and will post my experience once I return back.

Thanks everyone for the quick turn around.

Thanks,
Priya
 
Visa Stamping

My husband and myself we are planning to visit canada in sept for H1 renewal for my husband and H4 for me.Our current visas are getting expired in oct.I have several doubts.
1)Incase if our visas are denied will we be able to get back to U.S
2)I am expecting very soon ,will they deny visa bcos of this reason
3)Is it better to get stamping in India later after my delivery.
4)Will my status be illegal after my H4 expires.
please help me with the following questions.Only then i will be able to decide whether to go to India or Canada.

Hi Giraffe,

Here are the possible responses to your questions

1)Incase if our visas are denied will we be able to get back to U.S

No, you may not be able to get back to US. However, under certain circumstances the VO has told people to go and wait in the US and once the issues are cleared they (US Consulate) will contact the person(s) for visa issuance. If you wish to know whether that can happen to you, you will have to appear for the interview and find it out yourself

2)I am expecting very soon ,will they deny visa bcos of this reason

They may not deny a visa because you are expecting. They only look at the merits of your application. Anyway, how soon are you expecting. I am sure you are taking precautions for traveling and undertaking the strain for yourself and the future incumbent

3)Is it better to get stamping in India later after my delivery.

That's a personal call that only you can make. At best others can put in lot of suggestions, counselling, advise and opinions

4)Will my status be illegal after my H4 expires.

Yes, your status will be illegal once the H4 expires and if you do not have a petition filed for its extension. The EAC number for renewal of H4 will enable you to continue your legal status within the US

If your H4 is expiring, then you should apply for renewal along with the renewal for H1 of your husband.

You should seek legal opinion. Hope this helps, else drop a line and the forum will rise

Subramanya
 
DS-156 online

Anyone successfully filled the DS-156 online recently? When i try, the site is always down and my interview is in a couple of days!!
 
DS-156 Online is currently not available. I have tried it multiple times over past few days, and looks like its down and dead. Not sure what importance the bar code has, which gets generated once we submit it online apparently.

A friend of mine did confirm that they will allow us to take a filled in printed copy directly to the consulate and that the online submission is not mandatory.

Other people who had successful appointments, can you confirm?

Thanks.
 
I hope they do so, because i'm guessing the barcode is the ID to the information we enter into the database when filling the DS-156 online.
 
Ie 8.0

nervewreck said:
DS-156 Online is currently not available. I have tried it multiple times over past few days, and looks like its down and dead. Not sure what importance the bar code has, which gets generated once we submit it online apparently.

A friend of mine did confirm that they will allow us to take a filled in printed copy directly to the consulate and that the online submission is not mandatory.

Other people who had successful appointments, can you confirm?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Download the version 8 of Internet Explorer and the DS-156 form will work. There are some updates that you need to get it going. I did that a few days back and it works for me.
 
finally able to fill DS-156 online today.
I emailed them about abt the problem thru their support page, so maybe they worked on it??..... yeah right!!!!
 
Hey man,

doesnt matter where u go. alls the same calgary is quicker definitely than vancouver or toronto. well, i am not sure but i would kinda recommend u to go backto pakistan to get ur visa stamped unless its an emergency. i have heard and seen cases of visas in hold and everything for pakistani citizens. goodluck.

mugsg said:
Hi guys,

I am also planning to get my H1-B visa stamped from Canada in early September and have the following questions .
I got my first h1-b visa (from F1 to H1) in July 2003 and then I transferred it to my current employer in Oct 2004 , I am working for a large Engineering firm with almost 60 offices nationwide and more then 1500 employees, this will be my frist H1-B visa stamp.
My wife came here on F-2 visa and she already got her H4 stamp last year from my home country.(Pakistan)

The concerns are

1. Which embassy should I go to any prefrence?.
2. I do not have Canadian PR, would that be a problem.
3. I have not started my Greencard process yet.

I am at east coast.


Your assistance will be highly appreciated
Click to expand...
 
Stamping in vancouver status update

Hi I thought I will let everyone know here that my wife and I had successful stamping experience in Vancouver last month. We are in fact on an extended h1b visa period and the only bothering question i got was "wow you have lot of h1b visa stamps". I don't know what to make of it unless someone has any comments.
 
I have an appointment on 21st Sep @ 10am in Toronto. I am in 8th year of my H1b, Labor filed in Jan 2004, canadian resident and have 2 Stamps on my passport (from ISB).

This is the first time I am going for stamp in Toronto and thinking to get my degree credentials evaluated before the interview. Anyone has any experice with any company? I am looking for some good name professional company (or can get it done from state university?).
 
Question about H1 stamping

Hi,

I will be going to Canada for h1 stamping, i have transfered my h1b from 1st employer to 2nd. I have Original I-797A for 2nd employer but have only a copy of I-797C for 1st employer. Also I have I-94 from 1st employer. Please let me know if the I-797A copy will be ok for 1st employer.

Thanks,
 
Successful H1B Stamping in Toronto

Hey Guys,

I am backkkk from Toronto. The H1b Stamping (2nd time), first time in Toronto as well, was very very smooth. I had my appointment at 9AM, but went to the consulate at 8:10AM, after paying the $100 fees at the Nova Scotia bank. As always, the appointment doesnt matter and its first come first serve basis. I went in and submitted the following documents at 8:20AM
1. Appointment letter.
2. DS -156 (with photo)
3. DS - 157
4. DS - 158 (Just in case)
5. I-797A
6. Passport
7. Nova Scotia Fee Receipt

Then waited in the lobby for 1 hour (9:30AM) to be called for finger printing. Then I waited another hour (10:25AM) to be called for the interview. The interviewer asked me the following:

1. Are you working for XXXX Company?
I said "Yes, I am"
2. Then he pointed at my old visa and asked me "You dont need this visa anymore rite"
I said "No, I dont think so"

Then he asked me to pay the reciprocity fees ($50) and bring the receipt back. I paid, brought it back and off I went.

Smoooooooooooth huh!!!

Then the next day, I went to the consulate as the first person :) and got my passport with the visa and I-797A at 3PM. I verified my info and started to drive back to US.

At the immigration when entering into US. The officer just saw my passport, I-797A and I-94 that came with my I-797A. He said I am good to go with that I-94 itself. Thats it...I am here now...

If anybody has any questions, please let me know. I am glad to help.

Thanks,
Priya
 
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priya suri..... awesome news!
btw, silly question, but do u know which is the closest scotia bank that is open early? ( the one on univ ave only opens @ 9.30am!)
 
Hi,

I am planning to go to Canada next month as my PR is approved.

Currently, I am in US on H1B and my spouse is on H4. I changed job couple of months back. I have valid till 2007 H1B visa from old employer on my passport and fresh I797 from my currrent employer.

1) Do I need fresh H1 visa stamping, in order to come back to US
2) Can I go to any US consulate in Canada for stamping ?

Please advice.

Regards,

Mezz
 
H1B stamping in Toronto

Hi Danmagaji,

There is one branch in King Street (Toronto) which opens at 8Am. Actually I went there around 7:50AM and they were opened then itself. If you want, below is the address of the bank.
44 KING STREET WEST
TORONTO , ON, M5H 1H1

Its just a mile away from the U.S Consulate.

GoodLuck!!
Thanks,
Priya
 
Beware of H1B stamping in Canada!!

I just came back from Vancouver and was delayed there for 1 week!!! This is unaccepable but they said that it's the law and there is nothing that they can do about it. I'm posting here because they say that it should take only 1-3 business days but you can be delayed there for over a month.

There are new laws in place that can delay you regardless of location of H1B stamping. While I was there about a third of the people were delayed. These are the new laws.

If you do not have all 10 finger prints in the database, you will have to pay $85 and they will send them to Washington DC which takes a minimum of 4 weeks.

If you have a common last name, you will be delayed 2-3 weeks for them to make sure that you are the correct person.

In my case, they said it would take 1-3 weeks and didn't give me a reason. I fortunately got it done in 1 week. The immigration officer on my side was already in a bad mood and requested additional processing on so many people. The other guy was fast and even stamped som bs job descriptions.
However, the visa section ladies were very helpful and nice. I'm just glad that I was done in a week.

Most of us plan for 3 days worst case scenario. I saw so many people being told that they were stuck in Canada. These were phd's, bachelors and masters in tech, finance and accounting. I saw several from Microsoft, Intel and other tech companies. Eventhough you have all your docs in place this type of scenario is unexpected so if you go, have a backup plan in case you are one of the unlucky ones. There were no distinctions with countries. I saw some indians and chinese getting delayed but also saw others getting theirs approved.

You will be unable to re-enter the US with your valid I-94 because the one exception to it is 'if you have applied for a visa'. DO NOT LIE to the border guys and try to come back in because when they find out, you will be denied entrance for a long long time.

Make sure that you have a multiple entry visa because I had to have Canada extend my current visa since I had to stay longer.

Hope this information benefits someone. I'm in the hole about 1K just for 1 week because vancouver is very expensive. Hotels are about $80-$150/night. I can't believe the hasle that I had to go through. I had done my first H1B in vancouver and it went fine. This time, it was horrible. I shouldn't be subjected to that kind of delay and expense. If they want to do any background checks, they should have done it when I applied for the H1B and not when I'm just getting the stamp. I have a clear background and have no criminal records. I've never overstayed my visa or lied to them so I am still puzzled as to why I was delayed. Maybe I just fit their profile.

Good luck!!
 
Just back from toronto consulate - H1B 2nd stamp - all cool! Waited 4ever but when called, interview was 4 just 1 min. The very nice VO only asked which school i attended in the US and did not even ask 2 see a single document! I was still a nervous wreck never the less (don't ask me why!!) - maybe thats why d VO took pity on me!
Will be back 2morrow @ d consulate 2 pick up passport n head back 2 USA.
Don't worry... visa process is ok if you have all docs n have not been out of status 4 long periods!

Priya Suri, thanks 4 the Nova Scotia address - i used that branch!
 
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