visain said:
Hi
I am new to this forums
My question here is
i sent all the documents needed for the visa to get stamped before july 16th its like 4 months(march) before i posted them and finally i got them back on july 15th saying u need to go to overseas to the interview with the consulate officer. there is no reason at all why all this happened.
ok what i wanted to know is, as right now i donot have a valid visa to go out of the country is it good to think and plan to go to canada to get the visa stamped.Is it safer to go or any other option that i can follow
if the answer is yes
what documents are needed.
thanks
visal
You do nt have to have your visa stamped while here in USA (you are in H1B status enough to stay and work legally). If you want to travel, only then you have to have your visa stamped in your country or elsewhere in US consiulate abroad (otherwise you cannot re-enter USA). Here is also what I found at
http://www.immigration-law.com/Canada.html
"09/14/2004: Challenging Task of Nonimmigrant Visa Stamping After State Dept Termination of Visa Revalidation on 07/16/2004
Ever since the U.S. Department of State terminated reissuance of employment-based nonimmigrant visas within the United States, these nonimmigrants have been facing a serious challenge in obtaining a new visa stamp or renewal of the visa stamp at one of the visa posts because the termination of the visa reissuance program added a substantial workloads to the visa posts throughout the world and visa application waiting times became longer and visa application tended to be riskier because of the heighted scrutiny in the visa processing.
Under the circumstances, these nonimmigrants have a very limited number of options:
No Overseas Trip: Obviously, people do not have to face the visa application problem inasmuch as they do not make a trip outside of the U.S. after the expiration of their current visa stamps in their passports. This option became real for a number of nonimmigrants from certain parts of the world, particularly the Arab nations.
Third Country National Consular Processing in Canada and Mexico for Certain Nonimmigrants: The caseloads for these TCN nationals have increased substantially ever since the termination of visa revalidation program and those who have chances of obtaining the nonimmigrant visa stamp through this process tend to be highly selective and limited in numbers. The general rules of thumb are:
He/she should not be a national of one of those 26 countries, mostly muslim nations. The border posts usually decline to issue the visas to such TCN.
He/she should not have overstayed or otherwise violated the immigration laws in the United States.
He/she should not have entered the U.S. on a visitor's visa and changed to one of the employment-based nonimmigrant status in the U.S.
He/she would have a better chance to obtain a visa if he/she seeks visa renewal rather than a new classification of visa.
He/she has obtained a college degree in the U.S. rather than from a college in a foreign country. This is particularly true with the South Asians. The chance of denial of visa issuance increases if one has only a foreign college degree.
He/she should attempt the TCN visa application only during the period when he/she has a valid nonimmigrant visa so that he/she can return to the U.S. even after the visa issuance is denied by the border posts.
If the visa stamp has already expired, he/she may want to wait until he/she obtains Advance Parole if he/she started the green card application process so that he/she can return to the U.S. even after the visa issuance is denied.
Most importantly, he/she should not venture unless the protracted visa processing would not jeopardize his/her employment in the U.S. or can cause a damage to the employer's business.
Visa Processing at the Visa Posts at the Home Country or Residence Visa Posts: Because of the biometric visa requirement, it becomes mandatory for their appearacne or presence in the country of residence or home. Applying for a visa at a country of residence other than their home country is a TCN process and they should check with each visa post the definition and requirement for "resident" for the purpose of the visa processing. A number of visa posts are liberal in processing of nonimmigrant visas for those who work in their countries unlike the application for immigrant visas. Even for this processing, people should check the foregoing list for the TCN processing to assure that they can return to the U.S. in the event that they experience delays and denials of visa issuance.
Nowadays, it is extremely risky for anyone to venture the visa application process without seeking legal counsel. People should not act on any internet information, including this web site postings, to handle one's matter on one's understanding of the laws and rules. "
