221(g) refusals for H4 in chennai consulate

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live4u

Registered Users (C)
221(g) refusals for dependant visas (especially H4) in chennai consulate

Hi,
I dont know how many people have got 221(g) refusals for their spouses from chennai consulates. Some questions are genuine and some are hopeless. In my wife's case, they asked a genuine first query which my employer answered. Mean time I cam to US and started working with my employeronce I got my SSN. I am here on my first H-1B. Am here for the past 3 weeks. I sent my I-94 and the passport copy again from here which clearly indicated that I came here only few weeks back.

My wife sent all the docs again to chennai consulate by drop box as the consulate asked her to submit by drop box only. They had another check box which said, Donot come in person if this check box is not ticked. If it is ticked you can come in person to the consulate on any monday before 8am without taking ttsvisas web appointment.

Now she got another query from the consulate asking her to submit my W2, tax returns for all my years in US. This clearly indicates how they are looking at the papers. I am assuming that they saw my I-94 copy and have asked my wife to submit the above papers. They havent looked at the passport copy. Looks like they might be careless in these issues. When I contacted DOS here, they asked me to send in my details, my wife's details and the question directly to chennai consualte by fax which I did. I also sent a mail to the consulate. Till now I havent got any reply from them!!!

My wife is asked to take web appointment and come to the consulate. This is just to elongate the proces and keep the couple away from each other for sometime. When I booked the appointment, we got for sep 3rd which is 2 months away. They have removed the any monday clause now. Preference has to be given to people who have already wasted their time with the consulate.

I would like to know if any people had some kind of problems with chennai consulate.
 
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It always helps to include a cover sheet with a summary of all relevant information about the principal applicant's h1 status. Sometimes the consulate just does not connect all the dots.
 
Hi Live4u ,

when they raise query and issue 221g did they cancel your wife's already existing visa? Or your wife's h4 stamp was already expired?
 
My wife doesnt have H4 stamped from the current company still becoz of these 221(g) queries. However, she does has H4 stamped on my earlier H1B from some other company on which I never travelled.
 
nkm,
The consulate should look at all the things submitted before giving a 221(g). infact a covering letter was also submitted by my wife sayign that she is submitting with my I-94 and also my h1 details. How can they miss this? This means they are very careless.
 
live4u was that previous H4 in your wife's passport still valid? If yes then she can come to usa using visa of your old employer and your new approval notice.
 
That was my previous employer's H4. But the problem is,
1) She has 2 queries from the chennai consulate already with the new employer's H4.

2) The H4 from my previous employer A(Indian company in bangalore) was never used. The H1 on tha visa stamped for me through company A is cancelled by chennai consulate itself. I never travelled on Employer A's H1 visa. I applied for company B's H1 to delhi, got the visa stamped and now came on company B's H1. When I was coming out of Company A in India, they took back all the documents of my H1.

3) In this juncture, can she still come on employer A's H4?

Your reply in this regard is hightly appreciated.

Tx
Sreeram
 
check out...
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
It clearly mentions that

"If you changed employers and received a new I-797, Notice of Action, you may reenter the U.S. with a valid visa in the appropriate category and the valid I-797 from your new employer, even though the visa is annotated to reflect your former employer. The Visa Office will not revalidate a visa to reflect a change of employer unless the visa will expire in sixty days or less. "

if your wife's H4 from your previous employer is still valid then why are you doing all these hassels?Or Did they cancel your wife's old H4 when they raise these queries?Your wife can use her old valid H4 visa to come to usa. Confirm with lawyers if you want to.
 
Hi Programmer,
Thanks for helping me till now. I have one more question. After my first company took back all my H1 documents, if they have revoked my H1 visa, will her H4 be still valid? Can she still come on the old H4 visa? Please answer me.

FYI... My first company A got me a new H1 and my wife's H4 when I was in India itself. Then I resigned. So the company took back all my H1 documents. I went to another company B which sent me on a B1 to here. As the visa category changed, consulate put a stamp on my H1 saying that it is cancelled. Company C which is based in USA had done my new H1 papers wayback in Feb 2003. They were holding it as I convinced them that I will be here this May. So I appd for new H1 visa in May and got the same. I am here on the second new H1 from company C right now.

I still dont know whether company A has revoked my H1 or not. I dont know whether my wife can travel on company A's H4 or not as she has never travelled to US.

What do you suggest?

Tx
 
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well ur wife's H4 is tied to ur status, if her H4 has not expired she can join you without a new visa stamp using ur new approval, and employment letter. Do not worry, it is perfectly legal, thousands have done so, as long as the stamp is still valid.
 
I called up DOS, and they say, as my wife's case is still pending for the new H4, the immigration wont allow her in. There shuts another door for my wife :) This is a vicious circle
 
The problem is She has been refused visa under 221(g) for two times till now. So whe asked the lady in DOS, she said, it shows that she has pending visa application with chennai consulate. So till that is cleared, she cant come here as the immigration officials wont allow her in.
 
well it looks like that the main confusion is coming from the fact that, you had a previous H1 and she H4. They seem to be assuming that you wnet to US on earlier H1 and are demanding proof for maintainence of status.
Now that you will provide proof that this is ur first visit on H1, it should be ok.

Remember that since the appointment is in Sep, you will need to provide a current employment letter and the paystubs till date to ur wife.

Carry some proof for stay in India since u last got ur H1, like paystubs, credit card statements, lease documents etc, That should help

Very sorry that you have to wait, but hopefully it will workout.

I wish you had known that she did not need a new visa just cause u changed employers.
 
Waiting too long,
Thanks for the reply. I have one paystub from june 29th to 30th ie 2 days as my employer runs payroll on monthly basis. Do I still require the employment letter? Paystub along with offer letter should take care of it isnt it? plz reply me. One happy thing is, the appointment got preponed to Aug 3rd.

Can the relieving letter from my earlier employer be the proof of my stay in India?

Tx
 
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well i think you should still get a letter from the employer, and if possible send the paystub whatever u have. The letter should state the start date, position, salary and responsibilities.

The releiving letter from eployer might work, bt if possible carry other docements like utility bills, credit card statements etc.
 
Hi Live4u,

I didn't read this forum for a while so i missed the discussion here. This is something really strange. Even if your old company has cancelled your H1, the stamp in your passport remains still valid. You should not have gone to consulate for getting new stamp for your wife at the first place. I'm sorry to hear about all the troubles you have to go thorough. I hope things works out for you well.

Now regarding the documents, you need to get the letter from your employer for sure. Ask them to write your job describtion in detail (not to write general emloyment letter).

By the way how did the DOS people know that your wife's case was still pending? Did they track your wife by her name? I think even if this new H4 thing doesn't work out you can try calling your wife on the old existing H4 stamp. I assume they didn't cancel the existing visa stamp in your wife's passport.
 
Hi,
The job description is not included in the letter. Will that pose a problem? Because, the offer letter has the job description.
It is like as below. Will this not suffice? Please reply me.

<date>

To

The officer Incharge

Consulate General of United States of America

Chennai

India

Sub: Employment verification letter for <candidate's name>

Dear Sir/Madam:

This is to confirm that <candidate's name> is employed as a full-time regular employee as Software Engineer since <date>. <candidate's name> employment with the company is permanent. His current salary is <salary> per annum.

We would greatly appreciate if you could give Mrs <wife's name> the much needed H4 visa so that she could come and join her husband in the US. We thank you for your time and consideration

If you need any other evidence or clarification we will be very pleased to provide. Please communicate with us if you need such evidence or clarification.

Sincerely,

(President)
 
Actually for my H1 stamping, my employer had sent a letter (along with the offer letter) to be submitted to the consulate which has all the projects currently available and has explained that my special skills are required to get into any of the projects. A copy of this letter has been given to my wife to be submitted. Will this do?
 
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