H1-B Revalidation from UK (US Consulate) - Jim/Jaxen please advise

[Sandeep123]

Hi guys:
My H1-B expired on 31st March 2002. But before that, I applied for my extension.
My H1-B Extension Receipt date: 21st March 2002

I will hopefully get my extension approved by mid-May...but I have to take a business trip to London (UK) in June. Usually people send their passports to St. Louis (Missouri) for visa revalidation or get it stamped during their next trip to their home country (India) ? The current processing times for Visa revalidation in Missouri is 3 months. But I would need my passport to travel out of country in less than 2 months. So what do you guys recommend ?
1) Should I just go to Canada or Mexico to get it stamped ?
2) What reason should I give to immigration officer ? Should I tell him that I have come to Canada/Mexico for vacation or should I tell him that I wanted a multiple-entry visa stamp since I wanted to travel to UK ?
3) Should I just straight go to UK(London) in June with my I-787 approval notice and other papers and get the visa stamped in London US Consulate ?
Do any of you guys have experience with London US consulate ? Whether they are more lenient or strict than Mexico/Canada US consulate ?
4)What happens if my visa stamping is rejected in UK/Mexico/Canada ? I will have to go back to India...right ??? If rejected, can I just go to Mumbai Consulate and get it stamped and come back to USA or would I need a new H1-B application ?

Frankly speaking, my records have been clean...working with the same company since 3 years and never been out of status.
Please help me in taking the right decision of getting the visa stamped in London or Canada or Mexico ? By the way, my highest level of education is Bachelors in Computer Science from University of Mumbai.

Thanks,
Sandeep

 

[jaxen]

Options...

1) You can get the H1 extension stamped in Canada or Mexico. H1 to h1 will not require extensive documentation.
2) Tell the truth : to get multiple entry. It will be safer.
3) As a third country national You cannot just like that walk in and get the stamp. You need to make appointments and should make sure that H1 revalidation stamps are accepted at London US consulates.

4)Generally your revalidation might be denied at the third country US consulates and you will be asked to go to your home country so that expertise to intrepret some document that is relevant to the local condition(s) can be done in your home country only (Birth certificate, Degree cert, marriage cert etc.). So you should be fine in Mumbai. However there is a possibility that Mumbai consulate might request a notification from INS . Consult your lawyer.

Last but not least, you can come into US with an expired stamp and a I797 approval (except when you go out to canada/mexico for revalidation and come back empty handed) from short trips. I have done it a few years ago. Don\'t know what is happening after 9/11 or waht is happening very recently...