Hi Guys
I had a my H-1 revalidated successfully on November 08. Just want to post my experiences here which
others may find useful.
I flew to Tucson from Bay area, the previous night. I tried to contact Best Western earlier to make
a reservation but I could not reach them , I ended up staying at Motel 6 which is a couple of miles north
of Best Western.But I would recommend Best Western for obvious reasons( costs abt 55$ a night). Tucson to Nogales was a brisk one
hour (abt 63 miles)drive with hardly any traffic delays,on I-10 S.
I drove to the border the next morning and parked the car at Mc.Donald's ( all-day parking for $4).
Crossed the border without any difficulty (absolutely no verification whatsoever). Do not worry abt getting
a permit/visa for yourself. As you cross the border, you will see many taxis. Got hold of a cab ( their
english is not so good but we can manage with words like Consulate, Banamex etc) to get to the consulate.
There were hardly 10 people in the line by then time I got there. A person from Consulate asked us to show
all the forms DS-156 (make sure this is computer generated with barcode), DS-157 and DS-158 ( yes this is
mandatory now) and I got in, by 8:30. You are not supposed to carry things like remote keys,cell phones
inside the consulate, there is small place yards away from the consulate where you can keep your belongings
for $3. Then I passed thru the security clearance and was directed to a clerk. She asked me for
1. Forms (DS 156,157 and 158)
2. Petition (I-797)
3. Employment verification letter
4. Banamex recipt
5. Passport
From there, I was directed to the interview hall. Initially I was called to a counter where my forms
were verified and later took my finger prints and photograph. Five minutes later, I was called to a different
counter for the visa interview. The visa officer asked me for my resume, LCA and I-129. Then she asked
a very few questions abt my job responsibilities. It was a 2 minute interview. She asked me to pay the visa
fee ($ 50) at a different counter and come back. Then she gave a recipt of fee and said that my visa had been
approved and passport would be given in the next 2 business days, however she asked me to check the reception
counter at 3 pm. I thanked her and came out by 9am. There are not many places around to kill time, if you
are a shopping freak, there is this Nogales Mall very close to the consulate and a wal-mart too. I came back
at 3 pm and collected the passport. Got hold of a taxi again to get back to the border. There were not many
aliens that day and it did not take more than 30 minutes to get my new I-94. There were a very few questions
at the US customs, like current address and stuff. Then I paid $6 and got the new I-94. Drove back to
Tucson the same night to catch a flight back to the bay area.
Hope this helps, feel free to email me if you have any questions.. santhu721@gmail.com
Good luck
I had a my H-1 revalidated successfully on November 08. Just want to post my experiences here which
others may find useful.
I flew to Tucson from Bay area, the previous night. I tried to contact Best Western earlier to make
a reservation but I could not reach them , I ended up staying at Motel 6 which is a couple of miles north
of Best Western.But I would recommend Best Western for obvious reasons( costs abt 55$ a night). Tucson to Nogales was a brisk one
hour (abt 63 miles)drive with hardly any traffic delays,on I-10 S.
I drove to the border the next morning and parked the car at Mc.Donald's ( all-day parking for $4).
Crossed the border without any difficulty (absolutely no verification whatsoever). Do not worry abt getting
a permit/visa for yourself. As you cross the border, you will see many taxis. Got hold of a cab ( their
english is not so good but we can manage with words like Consulate, Banamex etc) to get to the consulate.
There were hardly 10 people in the line by then time I got there. A person from Consulate asked us to show
all the forms DS-156 (make sure this is computer generated with barcode), DS-157 and DS-158 ( yes this is
mandatory now) and I got in, by 8:30. You are not supposed to carry things like remote keys,cell phones
inside the consulate, there is small place yards away from the consulate where you can keep your belongings
for $3. Then I passed thru the security clearance and was directed to a clerk. She asked me for
1. Forms (DS 156,157 and 158)
2. Petition (I-797)
3. Employment verification letter
4. Banamex recipt
5. Passport
From there, I was directed to the interview hall. Initially I was called to a counter where my forms
were verified and later took my finger prints and photograph. Five minutes later, I was called to a different
counter for the visa interview. The visa officer asked me for my resume, LCA and I-129. Then she asked
a very few questions abt my job responsibilities. It was a 2 minute interview. She asked me to pay the visa
fee ($ 50) at a different counter and come back. Then she gave a recipt of fee and said that my visa had been
approved and passport would be given in the next 2 business days, however she asked me to check the reception
counter at 3 pm. I thanked her and came out by 9am. There are not many places around to kill time, if you
are a shopping freak, there is this Nogales Mall very close to the consulate and a wal-mart too. I came back
at 3 pm and collected the passport. Got hold of a taxi again to get back to the border. There were not many
aliens that day and it did not take more than 30 minutes to get my new I-94. There were a very few questions
at the US customs, like current address and stuff. Then I paid $6 and got the new I-94. Drove back to
Tucson the same night to catch a flight back to the bay area.
Hope this helps, feel free to email me if you have any questions.. santhu721@gmail.com
Good luck