H1 Visa Experience Chennai Consulate

H1-B Revalidation from Calcutta

Hi Guys,

I am planning to go to India (Kolkata) in October to have my H1-B stamped. I had got a stamp on my H1-B before in 2003, but that H1-B expired this May. So I need to get a stamp on my new H1-B(extension with I-94 attached below). I have scheduled an appointment online through ttsvisas.com.

Could anyone please let me know what documents I need to take with me for the process? Also if anyone has had a recent experience in this regard, could you please share it with me?

Thanks,

Rania
 
H1 visa stamping issue

Hi Guys,

One of my friend recently went to Chennai consulate and he got his H1 visa. But he has some issue with his stamped visa. Below is his email:

=====================================
Hi Everybody,

I am in India right now. I applied for H1B visa, and a few days back
I received my passport with a stamped H1B visa. But on the H1B VISA
PAGE, the 'Given Name' column had 'FNU'. FNU stands for 'First Name
Unknown'. Surname field had my whole name(both last and first).

Something I overlooked all these years is that my passport doesnt
have surname(it is blank).However the Given name section has my name
as <first> <lastname>.

Won't this be a problem while re-entering USA?
How can I get this rectified? Do I need to re-apply for H1B visa or
is there any other easy solution?
==================================

Do you guys see any problem with this? Does he need to correct it before coming to USA?

Thanks in Advance!
 
Taking appointment from TTservices website

When filling in the details for TT Services appointment for H1b visa, they ask for "Present residential address" on fourth or fifth page of online entry form. Can someone please tell me if this address is US address or India address. This is my first H1b stamping.
 
krisp2 said:
When filling in the details for TT Services appointment for H1b visa, they ask for "Present residential address" on fourth or fifth page of online entry form. Can someone please tell me if this address is US address or India address. This is my first H1b stamping.
Click to expand...
I had the same question regarding the "present residential address". I tried entering my US address but, as you probably figured out, the pull down menu in the on-line form does not have "United States" listed. So I ended up giving my Indian address. I guess this is to facilitate the Consulate to return your processed passport to you.
 
Reply from TTS Visas regarding this issue

I had the same question and sent an e-mail to TTS Visas. This is the reply I got:

Dear Sir,

Please enter the current Indian address in the 'Present Residential Address' fields ..

If appearing for an interview at the US Consulate, after submission it takes three to five working
days to get back the passport.

Warm Regards,
Customer Support,
T.T.Services - Chennai.
 
Name issue

If the name in the passport reflect in the visa, OK.
Usually spelling mistake in name slight variations in name, POE does not bother.

Make sure your H1 approval notice "name" and visa "name" match each other.
 
H1B Visa Stamping at Chennai Consulate for the 1st time

All,

My employer has filed for my H1B visa and it has been approved. I have been a student till now (I have done my MS from Canada) and right now, I am in India. This will be my first job.

I would like to know, what kind of questions are/will be asked at the US Chennai Consulate. What to expect at the US consulate. Any pointers will be helpful.

Kindly advise.

Thank You, all
Edit/Delete Message
 
Stuck in Chennai

Folks,

My H1-B visa stamp renewal is still in process at the Chennai consulate. This issue was that I did not have original W-2s for all the 4 years I had worked with my current employer.

The consulate asked me to reapply with originals (I could get copies notarized from my employer for the missing W-2s) and also asked to request IRS to forward transcripts of my tax returns to the DOS address in Washington, D.C. I faxed my requests immediately. But it has been almost 4 weeks since then. The consulate says that they haven't received the transcripts yet.

My questions.

1) How long does the IRS take to mail tax return transcripts to any third party address? Is 4 weeks normal?
2) Would it help, if I go to the consulate with a letter from my employer requesting the consulate to expedite the process as much as possible? I have procured all the additional documents asked for by the consulate (detailed employment history, client reference, w-2s for all the years).

Please help.
Thanks in Advance
Nanmukhan
 
Need Sample covering letter.

Hi all,

I am Software Engineer. I have to get the H1B visa stamping at Chennai consulate.

If anyone could please send the sample covering letter to my email id sai28@hotmail.com?

The sites says the covering letter should narrate the roles and responsibilities etc etc.

Also, submitting the inside and outside the photograph of the present company is the must? I don't know if they could provide me any, inside the company photos.

Moreover, my B2 visa got rejected past 3 years. Will it affect my H1B?

Your early reply would help me a lot.

Thanks in advance.

Sai
 
Are you in IT Field? Did they ask any Techical Questions? If so, please share with us.

stocknsurf said:
I feel obligated to post this here.

This is just to share my experience of getting the H1B visa stamped at the Chennai consulate General on 27-May-2004.

My appointment time was around 11.00 a.m.

- They allow me to get into the consulate at 10.30 a.m. itself.
- Lot of crowd inside
- Go inside the consulate, first pay the 400 Rs. DD for TT services courier
- Then go to a cashier pay Rs. 4600 and get a receipt
- Now opposite to the cashier room is a board wher they have put the list of documents and their sequence to be arranged. I arranged those for a H1B visa. It says 'previous years W2s and 1040s' but I only provided the latest W2 and 1040 i.e. for year 2003. It is up to you to provide for all other years if you want to. They will just accept the W2/1040s for the latest year.

- Go to the next Register
- Present the document to one of the Indians working there (remember these are not Americans). They will go through your documents and give back those unnecessary and ask for anything that you missed
- YOu will get a paper token with a number on it.
- Now you have finished the 1st stage inside the consulate building. Now there will be a lot of crowd there with people waiting with tokens. The security guard will call a list of token numbers and ask those people to go to another building for interview
- Wait for your turn. Go to that building when your token is called.

In the other building

- There is again a lot of crowd in the other building with people sitting in chairs and standing in queues before the visa interview counters
- Now once again you have to wait for your token number to be called. THis might take some time or long time depending on the crowd there and how fast they are interviewing people
- Unlike what I thought, there is no token being displayed, but your token # will be called
- When ur token is called, you have to go into the queue that is already standing/waiting for interview with a particular consular officer. I didn't see any particular pattern. THe same officer interviews for all kind of visas (tourist, student, work etc.)
- Now finally you come to the front of the queue and it is your turn


My experience in the interview

- I kept my cool confidence
- The visa officer called me
- Asked the purpose of teh trip - I answered loud and presice
- few other questions to which i provided instant unambiguous answers
- the interview was done, they asked me to pay 2300
- i paid it and was told that my passport will arrive in 3 days to my home address
- i am done - Thank God - Thanks to all of you here for sharing your experiences

Wish you all good luck.

Be cool, calm, confident and talk loud and clear and provide precise answers.

It will be better to be on the defensive side i.e. don't provide more information or documents than what is being asked for.

Overall i see Chennai consulate as a take it easy Consulate. That is my personal opinion.

AGain do your homework and be confident.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. I will be glad to reply when I get a chance. Appreciate your patience.
Click to expand...
 
Need few more details

Are you in IT Field? Did they ask any Technical Questions? If so, please share with us.

stocknsurf said:
I feel obligated to post this here.

This is just to share my experience of getting the H1B visa stamped at the Chennai consulate General on 27-May-2004.

My appointment time was around 11.00 a.m.

- They allow me to get into the consulate at 10.30 a.m. itself.
- Lot of crowd inside
- Go inside the consulate, first pay the 400 Rs. DD for TT services courier
- Then go to a cashier pay Rs. 4600 and get a receipt
- Now opposite to the cashier room is a board wher they have put the list of documents and their sequence to be arranged. I arranged those for a H1B visa. It says 'previous years W2s and 1040s' but I only provided the latest W2 and 1040 i.e. for year 2003. It is up to you to provide for all other years if you want to. They will just accept the W2/1040s for the latest year.

- Go to the next Register
- Present the document to one of the Indians working there (remember these are not Americans). They will go through your documents and give back those unnecessary and ask for anything that you missed
- YOu will get a paper token with a number on it.
- Now you have finished the 1st stage inside the consulate building. Now there will be a lot of crowd there with people waiting with tokens. The security guard will call a list of token numbers and ask those people to go to another building for interview
- Wait for your turn. Go to that building when your token is called.

In the other building

- There is again a lot of crowd in the other building with people sitting in chairs and standing in queues before the visa interview counters
- Now once again you have to wait for your token number to be called. THis might take some time or long time depending on the crowd there and how fast they are interviewing people
- Unlike what I thought, there is no token being displayed, but your token # will be called
- When ur token is called, you have to go into the queue that is already standing/waiting for interview with a particular consular officer. I didn't see any particular pattern. THe same officer interviews for all kind of visas (tourist, student, work etc.)
- Now finally you come to the front of the queue and it is your turn


My experience in the interview

- I kept my cool confidence
- The visa officer called me
- Asked the purpose of teh trip - I answered loud and presice
- few other questions to which i provided instant unambiguous answers
- the interview was done, they asked me to pay 2300
- i paid it and was told that my passport will arrive in 3 days to my home address
- i am done - Thank God - Thanks to all of you here for sharing your experiences

Wish you all good luck.

Be cool, calm, confident and talk loud and clear and provide precise answers.

It will be better to be on the defensive side i.e. don't provide more information or documents than what is being asked for.

Overall i see Chennai consulate as a take it easy Consulate. That is my personal opinion.

AGain do your homework and be confident.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. I will be glad to reply when I get a chance. Appreciate your patience.
Click to expand...
 
Can someone recollect the order
in which the documents are to be arranged. Can I clip them to gether etc..
there are so mank of it, I dont want to fumble there :confused:
 
221g refusal & required documentation

Hi All this is what the document structure one get in Chennai if visa get's refused under 221g these are the additional information that one need to provide.Find document as an attachment. This is to help one to go better prepared while going for H1B visa stamping.
Thank's
 
The documents asked are just insane...
So for consultants, they want letters from each of the clients.... Well that might not be possible.

Kgooty, why did you get this RFE? is it common to get these sort of RFE's.... scary :(
 
kgooty said:
Hi All this is what the document structure one get in Chennai if visa get's refused under 221g these are the additional information that one need to provide.Find document as an attachment. This is to help one to go better prepared while going for H1B visa stamping.
Thank's
Click to expand...

I guess, chennai is cracking down and want to discourage small consulting companies. By looking at RFE, consulate is asking stuff in investigative mode. As every one knows that not all H1b employees are not paid on bench as market was slow in Y2002/Y2003. :(

The tough thing is you employer has to amend W2s and pay more taxes to IRS to show every one on H1 are being paid LCA wages.

For last one year, W2/tax returns are mandatory for consulates....

work with your employer and good luck... :)
 
re:

lohith.
aren't the LCA wages the prevailing wage for labor cert. and this is the wage we need to be paid after GC.
H1B wage is different i guess.
can u pls explain.
 
re:

ok i got confused. it is actually labor condition application. can i know what my wage on my H1B should be (or how much is my employer required to pay me ??? as per the law).
 
I140helppls said:
ok i got confused. it is actually labor condition application. can i know what my wage on my H1B should be (or how much is my employer required to pay me ??? as per the law).
Click to expand...

You must be paid at least the higher of the actual wage paid to other employees with similar experience in the same position or 95% of the prevailing wage.
 
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