H1 Visa stamping experience- Canada

visa stamping in Toronto

Priya Suri,

Did you have to take any additional (than the ones you mentioned below) when you had stamping done first time. I have been on F1 (now on OPT) and just got my H1B approved. Do I have to take I-20s and such?

Thank you,
Gopal

Priya_Suri said:
Hey Guys,

I am backkkk from Toronto. The H1b Stamping (2nd time), first time in Toronto as well, was very very smooth. I had my appointment at 9AM, but went to the consulate at 8:10AM, after paying the $100 fees at the Nova Scotia bank. As always, the appointment doesnt matter and its first come first serve basis. I went in and submitted the following documents at 8:20AM
1. Appointment letter.
2. DS -156 (with photo)
3. DS - 157
4. DS - 158 (Just in case)
5. I-797A
6. Passport
7. Nova Scotia Fee Receipt

Then waited in the lobby for 1 hour (9:30AM) to be called for finger printing. Then I waited another hour (10:25AM) to be called for the interview. The interviewer asked me the following:

1. Are you working for XXXX Company?
I said "Yes, I am"
2. Then he pointed at my old visa and asked me "You dont need this visa anymore rite"
I said "No, I dont think so"

Then he asked me to pay the reciprocity fees ($50) and bring the receipt back. I paid, brought it back and off I went.

Smoooooooooooth huh!!!

Then the next day, I went to the consulate as the first person :) and got my passport with the visa and I-797A at 3PM. I verified my info and started to drive back to US.

At the immigration when entering into US. The officer just saw my passport, I-797A and I-94 that came with my I-797A. He said I am good to go with that I-94 itself. Thats it...I am here now...

If anybody has any questions, please let me know. I am glad to help.

Thanks,
Priya
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gopalr said:
Priya Suri,

Did you have to take any additional (than the ones you mentioned below) when you had stamping done first time. I have been on F1 (now on OPT) and just got my H1B approved. Do I have to take I-20s and such?

Thank you,
Gopal
Click to expand...

That is very old post - posted in jUly 2006. She may not be around here.
 
Got 221G from Toronto consulate

manwithnoname said:
Canadian PR has nothing to do with your H-1B revalidation. As long as you are able to enter Canada (using PR card or by any other mean) and have a justification for traveling to Canada, you should be okay.
Click to expand...

So I got interviewed for H1 visa stamping (8th year extension) on 12/17. Visa Officer asked me about the work details I do for my employer and then asked for I-140 approval copy only and handed over me a yellow slip telling me that it will take a month to complete the administrative processing on my case. Lets see how long does it take. Good Luck to all of us.
 
JohnZ07 said:
Hi Guys,

This is for a close friend of mine who is going to Canada to get his H1B visa. The problem is that he doesnt want to get stuck into a long name check B.S. This is where he stands at the moment:
- He is from Pakistan
- He is a Non-Muslim
- He was arrested for disorderly conduct
His friend who is from India had the similar charge. He selected NO on the "Have you ever been arrested..." question and nothing happened to him he(Indian friend) has security clearance at the moment. Just to add to this, his case happened back in 01-02. I'm here to find out whether its safe to check NO and proceed? Any suggestions comments thanks.
Click to expand...


Update: My friends visa is approved and ready for pick up he checked NO on the arrested part.
 
weird situation

Hello All,
Its nice to see such support and help from all the members.

I am in a very weird situation and would like your advice.

I came here in 2000 with my family on b1/b2 visa. My parents decided to stay here. My dad got a job and applied for h1, which made me a dependent-h4 status. My dad applied for my mom's and my brothers green card BUT did not apply for me as I would be turning 21 which would make me ineligible to get my greencard as a dependent. So, i turned 21 and got a change of status to f-1. I am on f-1 visa since 2006 and currently a full time student in good academic standing. My parents and brothers have their greencard but i don't since they never filed for me.

My question is can i go to Canada and get my visa stamped so i can travel?? Or is it going to be hard? Which is the best consulate to go to?

Please advice me on this matter..more the better:)
thanks once again

Wishing you all "A Prosperous Year ahead"
 
Would appreciate help on my situation - Stamping

Hi Guys,

I came to the US in 2001 on F-1, did my Undergrad. and now on a H1-B working for a fairly large financial company. Although the company is in the process of filing the GC, I dont think it will be happening anytime soon. I am thinking of going to Canada for Stamping...

I am from Pakistan :)confused:) and the last time I visited home was in 2002, so I really want to visit but I am afraid that I might get stuck in Security Clearance and B.C. After reading the forum, it appears that that my (very) muslim name is going to make the situation even worse and I am afraid of getting stuck.

How long can I get stuck there for (approx.)?
The fact that I did my Undergrad. here, would that be of any help in reducing the additional security tests?
Is there a way to find out if I will get stuck in Security Check BEFORE I go to canada?

What are my options -if any- if I want to avoid over a month long wait outside canada - as I can't afford the time or the money.

Thanks in advance for your help!
MM
 
Your U.S. education will help for visa stamping at a consulate in Canada. Since you are concerned of namecheck hit, I would consider moving out of Canada to the home country if the security checks take longer than a month or so. Not sure how long the process may take. Later, when the visa gets approved, you can enter Canada to get your visa stamped. Other otion is to get the stamping from the home country. Please read this thread in Murthy forum.
 
@manwithnoname

Thanks for the quick response. I wish there was a way to do the security check, name clearance first (while in USA) and then take the results to the embassy.

I could stay in home country, Pakistan, but I just dont want it to be longer than a month. and thats why I am not willing to take that step yet.

p.s. Last name is Sheikh - perfect hit for the name check.
 
^After talking with my buddy who for better lack of a word, also has a muslim sounding first name "Shohail" but is not a muslim. I'm thinking that helped him.
In my friends case he hasn't gone out of U.S. for last 10yrs so that kinda helped him also, but another guy who went a week before him had a similar name as a terrorist, they gave him 3 weeks to 3 months time.
In any case you should be ready for plan B, i.e. working from Canada or Pakistan, if your company allows it.
 
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hellomms said:
@manwithnoname

Thanks for the quick response. I wish there was a way to do the security check, name clearance first (while in USA) and then take the results to the embassy.

I could stay in home country, Pakistan, but I just dont want it to be longer than a month. and thats why I am not willing to take that step yet.

p.s. Last name is Sheikh - perfect hit for the name check.
Click to expand...

One more thing: according to several posts in Murthy forum, if you take an appointment at Ottawa Consulate, you will be notified in advance (while you are in the U.S.) by phone that a security or name check maybe necessary to process your visa application.
 
manwithnoname said:
One more thing: according to several posts in Murthy forum, if you take an appointment at Ottawa Consulate, you will be notified in advance (while you are in the U.S.) by phone that a security or name check maybe necessary to process your visa application.
Click to expand...

I noticed that but I thought its case by case. But if they can do that in my case, I can actually decide whether I want to go or not.
 
Contrary to popular belief names belong to languages, not faiths. One can argue that certain names are more common in certain religions.
Consider the following:-
(1) Tariq Aziz - Former Iraqi deputy prime minister
(2) Hanan Ashrawi - Former PLO spokesperson
(3) Khalil Gibran - Lebanese American artist, poet and writer.

Want to take a guess which faiths they belong to? :)

JohnZ07 said:
After talking with my buddy who for better lack of a word, also has a muslim sounding first name "Shohail" but is not a muslim.
Click to expand...
 
Triple Citizen said:
Contrary to popular belief names belong to languages, not faiths. One can argue that certain names are more common in certain religions.
Consider the following:-
(1) Tariq Aziz - Former Iraqi deputy prime minister
(2) Hanan Ashrawi - Former PLO spokesperson
(3) Khalil Gibran - Lebanese American artist, poet and writer.

Want to take a guess which faiths they belong to? :)
Click to expand...

Well name like "Shohail Samuel" is less likely to raise red flags than "Mohammed Shahid "
 
Totally agree, since Mohammed is the most common name in the world. The more common a name is, the more likely that there will be a hit, the more likely it will result in a longer name check. Ask Senator Edward Kennedy :)

JohnZ07 said:
Well name like "Shohail Samuel" is less likely to raise red flags than "Mohammed Shahid "
Click to expand...
 
Toronto visa stamping experience

For benefit of future visa stampers:

Go with a cool mind and a brave heart!

Our appointment was on Jan 2nd morning (Wednesday). H1 and H4. Only one question was asked about nature of H1 employment and both visas were approved. But officer said we could not get back the passport until 8th i.e after four business days. We waited in Toronto till tuesday. On tuesday, a very rude and extremely dumb officer told us that our passpors were not ready and we had to come the next day and check. We asked if tomorrow it would be readyfor certain, she just said "come and check". At this time we were really scared. They would not tell us when we would get it or why it was not ready. Our main concern was, if they could not check our records in 4 days how could they do it in 5 days? and we had already been in toronto for more than a week now in bitter winter. It was extremely frustrating. This happenedd to another five people in our waiting line.

Luckily next day after an hour's wait they returned back our passport. Maybe we over reacted. But trust me, it doesnt feel good to be stuck in a foreign country without permission to enter into your own home. Not to mention that I left my iron on back home.

We stayed at Knights Inn(Richmond Hill) - excellent place - we payed $50 per night for a huge room with free breakfast, Fridge, microwave etc.

Savana Bhavan (Indian restaurant) was 10 minutes drive and Ganesha Temple (To pray for your passport) was behind the Hotel. The consulate was about 20-30 minutes drive.

Dont stay at days inn-lake shore. we stayed there the first night. The room was extremely small and over heated. And only paid parking was available.

good luck!
 
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