H1 stamp or AP?

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GC_1881

Registered Users (C)
I have a question for the experts. I would like to go back to my country and I am in H1 visa (I have the approval notice but not stamped on my passport) and at the same time I am in AOS pending case. I heard that it is taking few months (sometimes 9 months) to get your passport stamped over there (in my country) so my question is: if I apply for AP based on the I485 pending case, do I have to be worried at the port of entry about a question of type :"Why you did not stamped the H1 visa on your passport?" or should be ok to get in and out of the US with AP only.

Your help is appreciated.
 
I wonder if I get AP and go back home, and I also try to apply for H1-B stamp there. Can I still come back with AP when the H1-B application is pending? Because we may not be able to wait for that long.
 
What do u mean by coming on AP while after applying for H1 stamping and H1 pending?

If u apply for stamping at the consulate - u have to give the passport to them.
U cant come into US without the passport.
 
Originally posted by badobo
JAurora,
Even after using AP to enter US, u can still be in H1 status.
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That is wrong. Entering on AP effectively assumes "parolee" status, which is completely different from H-1B. However, under certain conditions, one can keep using H-1B as his/her employment authorization instead of obtaining EAD.
 
U can continue to work in H1 after entering US using AP.
There was a discussion about this sometime back.
 
While we are discussing, this I have a question. I re-entered using AP during Dec 2002, but am working on H1-B. So I am now a Parolee working on H1-B approval notice. I will have to leave the country on Business(to India) in Sept. My AP has expired and I have not received my second AP approval yet(applied on May 19). Hopefully I should get my approval before Sept. If I do not get it, can I apply for H1-B Visa Stamp at a US Embassy? Will there be any issues since I entered once using AP?

Thanks for any inputs
 
Originally posted by prashanthk
While we are discussing, this I have a question. I re-entered using AP during Dec 2002, but am working on H1-B. So I am now a Parolee working on H1-B approval notice. I will have to leave the country on Business(to India) in Sept. My AP has expired and I have not received my second AP approval yet(applied on May 19). Hopefully I should get my approval before Sept. If I do not get it, can I apply for H1-B Visa Stamp at a US Embassy? Will there be any issues since I entered once using AP?
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According to the current INS regulations, they will admit you in H-1B status if you present a valid, unexpired H-1B stamp at POE. As for a consulate where you are planning to get a new visa stamp, there should be no problem as well. H-1B visa falls into "dual intent" category, so your permanent residency application is not supposed to prevent you from getting a fresh H-1B stamp.

U.S. consulates, however, work on their own schedule and depending on the country and city where it is located, it may take weeks and even months to get an appointment for a visa interview (no H-1B visas were ever issued without an interview).

Also, you should bring ample evidence that you are still eligible for H-1B visa and the sponsoring company still exists and able to pay you the prevailing wage.

If you are going to go to your home country, there is no sense to try to apply for a new visa stamp at a border post (Canada or Mexico). Otherwise, you should explore this opportunity, because only the Canadian and Mexican consulates are instructed to issue visas to the third-country nationals.
 
Re: a fact off topic

Originally posted by ND022202
I got h1b without interview, but it was in '99.
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That is odd. Even when they implemented a drop box visa renewal program, H-visas still required a mandatory interview. So, I'd say in your case it was rather an exception than a rule.

Not to worry, nowadays any visa class requires an interview.
 
When they implemeneted the drop box system, it was not mandatoty for H visa interviews.
Got H1 and H4 stamped by drop box system in 2001 end - no interview.
My friend got stamped last month - no interview.
As u say, nowadays most people have to attend interview.
 
Oh, well. Interview/no interview depends on the consulate, I guess. There is no mentioning of the interview requirement in the DOS regulations, but two of U.S. consulates I have visited so far (in Canada and Ukraine), required an interview.

But if you ask me, this is just insane. Yes, no interview requirement greatly simplifies things for legitimate people, but it also allows bodyshops to operate freely. I don't believe that a regular consular officer is qualified to ask questions about education or job details, but that officer is qualified to verify legitimacy of non-immigrant worker petition and credibility of the sponsoring company. If there is no interview, most likely, they don't do that at all.

It is just sad.
 
Consulates in India have certain rules for drop box applications or did pre 9/11.

If you were going for a first time H1, then 99.9 % of the times you would have to schedule an interview. If it was an extention or you have already been issued either a F1 or H1 visa before then you wouldn't need to go for an Interview.

If you see the number of people waiting for the visa's in India you wouldn't be surprised that the introduced new regulations to cut down the time. If they want to issue a specific number of visa's they had to cut down on the number of personal interviews they took for the people attempting to come to the US.
 
Originally posted by 140_takes_4ever
If you see the number of people waiting for the visa's in India you wouldn't be surprised that the introduced new regulations to cut down the time. If they want to issue a specific number of visa's they had to cut down on the number of personal interviews they took for the people attempting to come to the US.
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Never been to India. But probably will in the next decade or so. As a tourist, not as a temporary worker, though :)

So, you are suggesting that sacrifice of normal procedure for the sake of efficiency is OK? I strongly disagree. It occurs to me that they sacrifice more than the procedure, they phase out their own involvement in the process. This way, a U.S. Consulate becomes just a printing press machine stamping visas here and there without much thought or consideration. No Consulate should exhibit such a behavior, especially a U.S. Consulate, especially now.

Look how many people gather every day under LA downtown INS building... 300-500 easily on a regular day, more on "special" days like Monday and Friday. So, it takes a couple of hours to get in and even a few hours more to get your things done. And nobody cares that the line is too long or wait inside is too tiresome. They follow the procedure.
 
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