H1 Visa stamping experience- Canada

Urgent Help required!

Hi,
I am driving to Montreal after two days to get my 8-10th year visa revalidation.
I have a question about I-94. Do I need to surrender my I-94(the one which came along with I-797A at the point of Entry (POE) US-Canada border.

I have heard mixed tales. One friend who went to Montreal asked the PoE officer to accept the I-94 which she denied. Two days later when he was entering into US, one officer asked him why he did not surrender his I-94. My friend explained to the officer. The officer took his old I094 and gave him a new one.

On the forum someone mentioned that if driving, I-94 is not required to be surrenderd (as driving from US to Canada)?

this is very confusing to me.

Can someone with experience please help?

Thank you very much.

Regards.

GCCovet
 
H1 9th year extension

Hi,

I landed as an immigrant in Toronto in Apr 2005. I had my 7th year extension visa stamped in Toronto then. Came back to US. My visa expired in Nov 2005. I had valid I-797 after this for my 8th and 9th year extensions. Since Visa appointments are not available in Toronto, I would like to go to Ottawa for visa stamping this time. My questions are

1. Is it OK to change the consulates for visa stamping?
2. I have changed my employer this time. Does it cause any issues?

Thanks,
longgcwisher
 
it's not required to surrender your I-94 at canada border.
We went to Ottawa, without surrendering I-94 but Ottawa consulate took it.
When we entered US we got new I-94 without any problem.




GCCovet said:
Hi,
I am driving to Montreal after two days to get my 8-10th year visa revalidation.
I have a question about I-94. Do I need to surrender my I-94(the one which came along with I-797A at the point of Entry (POE) US-Canada border.

I have heard mixed tales. One friend who went to Montreal asked the PoE officer to accept the I-94 which she denied. Two days later when he was entering into US, one officer asked him why he did not surrender his I-94. My friend explained to the officer. The officer took his old I094 and gave him a new one.

On the forum someone mentioned that if driving, I-94 is not required to be surrenderd (as driving from US to Canada)?

this is very confusing to me.

Can someone with experience please help?

Thank you very much.

Regards.

GCCovet
Click to expand...
 
Do they allow infants in the consulate (ottawa/montreal/toronto)?

Hi,

I was planning to go to either ottawa, montreal or toronto. Do they let you bring your kids/infants inside the consulate? Is there any age based restrictions? Assuming that the kid is not getting any stamping done at the consulate.

Thanks
 
H1 stamping at Ottawa

Hi,

I have an appointment scheduled on April3rd 2007 at US Embassy in Ottawa, ON(I have previous H1 stamps in my passport. I just moved to another company and hence new I-797) and wanted to find out if they are giving back the passports on the same day as the interview is or on the next day.

When I visited them in June 2005, I got my passport back the same day with my H1 stamp. I am wondering if there any changes in this now

Appreciate a reply

Thanks, Sarat
 
H1 stamping renewal in Toronto

Hi all,
I have my 12 + 4 years degree with BE (mechanical) from India.
My first H1 expires in Nov 2007.I have my new I-797 and need to get my
visa restamped for a valid I94.
I am planning to go to Toronto,Canada before Nov 2007
My questions,
1.What are the chances of getting it sucessfully restamped ?
2.I have heard they can reject the stamping since there is no way to
validate my education.
3.In case 2 above do they still allow a re-entry to US or will i have to
go to India for restamping.
4.Basically i want to know what are my chances of getting H1 renewed in Torornto - and if not i can come back to US and then try Mexico or India or some other place where such a renewal is guaranteed.
5.Where is such an H1 renewal guaranteed.

Does anyone or anyone you know been in a similar situation and got it
stamped sucessfully.

Thnks in advance.
 
Hello h1info_indian

1.What are the chances of getting it sucessfully restamped ?
You should be alright as long as you have the documentation in order.

2.I have heard they can reject the stamping since there is no way to
validate my education.
They can, but they usually don't.

3.In case 2 above do they still allow a re-entry to US or will i have to
go to India for restamping.
If the visa is rejected or needed administrative process, you cannot enter in to US.

4.Basically i want to know what are my chances of getting H1 renewed in Torornto - and if not i can come back to US and then try Mexico or India or some other place where such a renewal is guaranteed.
Visa is not gauranteed any where. There is always a % chance for rejection even in our home country. no one knows your chances of getting visa.

5.Where is such an H1 renewal guaranteed.
see #4. have your documentation in order and be confident at the interview.

Does anyone or anyone you know been in a similar situation and got it
stamped sucessfully.
I think every one is in the same situation. my wife and I got our stampings in January.

I hope this helps.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
First of all Thanks a lot aboppana .

I have one doubt though - If my current H1 is still valid till Nov 2007 why will they stop me from re-entry to US - just in case there is a rejection.
Is it because they scrap out the I94 while i enter Canada - so when i return back i do not have a I94...Pl. confirm.

Also can you list all the necessary documents - or is there a link i can refer to for the docs.

Once again Thnaks a lot.
 
hi aboppana,

Thanks for the reply. Is there a chance that passport be given the same day or its same for everybody?

Appreciate your reply

Thanks, Sarat
 
I-797 question

All,

I have a I-797 from company 'A' which was bought by company 'B'. Company 'B' lawyers tell me that they don't have to re-apply for a I-797 as it is still valid with company 'A'. They gave me the merger documents and told me I could go to the Consulate/Embassy for a visa stamp.

Are you guys aware of any problems I might face because of the situation I mentioned above?

I'm planning to go to Canada for my visa stamp.
 
HI everyone, my first post here. Am trying to figure out whether I should do my visa stamping in India or Canada.

Here is my situation. I came to US in 2001 on F1, then got OPT in 2003 and H1 in 2004. I have changed my H1 3 times in 2.5 years, since I switched companies. Is this a red flag with the VO in Canada? I have never left the US in the past 5 years.

My main concern is that I am an Indian Muslim and do not want to get stuck in Canada with my wife and baby if my name gets flagged. My wife (recently switched from F1 to H4) is Russian and our baby is US Citizen.

We plan to go to India and Russia in October this year. Will it be safer to get the visa stamping at the Calcutta consulate as compared to Ottawa consulate? Can my wife also get her approval at the Calcutta consulate even though she is from Russia?
 
When you go for H1 Visa revalidation, the first thing they do at the consulate is void your existing H1 Visa stamp on your passport, this is a standard procedure. So the question of whether you can use your old H1 to re-enter into US does not arise.

Hope that helps!

h1info_indian said:
First of all Thanks a lot aboppana .

I have one doubt though - If my current H1 is still valid till Nov 2007 why will they stop me from re-entry to US - just in case there is a rejection.
Is it because they scrap out the I94 while i enter Canada - so when i return back i do not have a I94...Pl. confirm.

Also can you list all the necessary documents - or is there a link i can refer to for the docs.

Once again Thnaks a lot.
Click to expand...
 
If I were you, I will make sure that I talk to an attorney of my own who is not paid for by the company. If the attorney is paid by the company, then he would have the company's interest first before yours. Having said that your company attorney could be right, but why risk it.

Good luck!

jadeblue said:
All,

I have a I-797 from company 'A' which was bought by company 'B'. Company 'B' lawyers tell me that they don't have to re-apply for a I-797 as it is still valid with company 'A'. They gave me the merger documents and told me I could go to the Consulate/Embassy for a visa stamp.

Are you guys aware of any problems I might face because of the situation I mentioned above?

I'm planning to go to Canada for my visa stamp.
Click to expand...
 
2-3 months for security clearance?

Has any body been told 2-3 months for security clearance by consulates in Canada? I was told 2-3 months wait at Toronto on 2/28 because I have a common name. No fingerprints were done.
 
If you have a common name, then whether you go for stamping in Canada or in India you have the risk element that you have to take a chance with.

On the other hand if you don't have a common name, and both you and your spouse maintained legal status during your entire stay in US, then it should be fine going for stamping in Canada or in India. Changing 3 employers in 2.5 years should not be an issue, as long as you can answer questions on that to the Visa officer's satisfaction.

If you decide to go to Canada, be prepared for the worst, which would be either going to India/Russia from there. I am sure that won't be necessary if you don't fall into that common name criteria and you have all the documents with you.

Some of the documents that I can think of that you should carry are listed below. Remember this is not comprehensive list.
- all your H1's for previous companies
- all the tax returns and W2's
- offer letter's from current and previous employers
- school certificates, diplomas
- your marriage certificate
- your spouse's F1 documents, and any tax returns

About your wife getting her H4 stamping in India, I would say talk to an attorney to get that clarified. I am thinking it should be fine since you are the primary applicant, but it is better to get it clarified by an attorney.

Good luck!

dojidesi said:
HI everyone, my first post here. Am trying to figure out whether I should do my visa stamping in India or Canada.

Here is my situation. I came to US in 2001 on F1, then got OPT in 2003 and H1 in 2004. I have changed my H1 3 times in 2.5 years, since I switched companies. Is this a red flag with the VO in Canada? I have never left the US in the past 5 years.

My main concern is that I am an Indian Muslim and do not want to get stuck in Canada with my wife and baby if my name gets flagged. My wife (recently switched from F1 to H4) is Russian and our baby is US Citizen.

We plan to go to India and Russia in October this year. Will it be safer to get the visa stamping at the Calcutta consulate as compared to Ottawa consulate? Can my wife also get her approval at the Calcutta consulate even though she is from Russia?
Click to expand...
 
Has anybody been in similar situation

All,

I am Indian citizen and have masters degree from US (completed in 2002) and since then been living in US . I worked on OPT for 7 months. Then I got my H1B visa through one employer and since then changed my employer 2 times(total of 3 h1-b visa till date). I have all paystubs with no gaps etc.
I have been with my current employer for over 15 months and its very large IT consulting firm.

My problem is that my H1 visa is not stamped till date. Essentially it means that I have been working for 4.5 years approximtely on H1 visa but since I did not travel to India, I do not have my visa stamp.

Do u guys think now if I go US consulate in canada , I could have problem.. (this is my first h1 stamp.) Currently I have F1 visa stamp in passport which I got from India 6.5 years back.

I would really appreciate any advice and info in this regard.

Thanks
 
rakesh_sharma said:
All,

I am Indian citizen and have masters degree from US (completed in 2002) and since then been living in US . I worked on OPT for 7 months. Then I got my H1B visa through one employer and since then changed my employer 2 times(total of 3 h1-b visa till date). I have all paystubs with no gaps etc.
I have been with my current employer for over 15 months and its very large IT consulting firm.

My problem is that my H1 visa is not stamped till date. Essentially it means that I have been working for 4.5 years approximtely on H1 visa but since I did not travel to India, I do not have my visa stamp.

Do u guys think now if I go US consulate in canada , I could have problem.. (this is my first h1 stamp.) Currently I have F1 visa stamp in passport which I got from India 6.5 years back.

I would really appreciate any advice and info in this regard.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Rakesh,
Though I was not on F1, but I have changed 3 employers in last 6 years and did not have VISA on my passport. I came back yesterday from Montreal with my VISA stamped without any problems.

Just make sure you take all your paystubs (though they just asked me for last 3 recent paystubs), take your w2's as well.
Docs to carry.
1. I-797A
2. LCA
3. I-129
4. (V IMP) employment letter (letter from employer)
Take all other doc's with you as well (degree certi, support letters, pictures of your work, your client ID card, client manager and employer's business card ) etc. just in case.

HTH.

GCCovet
 
jadeblue said:
All,

I have a I-797 from company 'A' which was bought by company 'B'. Company 'B' lawyers tell me that they don't have to re-apply for a I-797 as it is still valid with company 'A'. They gave me the merger documents and told me I could go to the Consulate/Embassy for a visa stamp.

Are you guys aware of any problems I might face because of the situation I mentioned above?

I'm planning to go to Canada for my visa stamp.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Just make sure you have "letter of acquisition" from company 'B'(merger docs will be fine as well). My close friend had a similar case and the letter lf acquisition did work.
 
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