H1 Visa stamping experience- Canada
- Thread starter arsraj87
- Start date
manishg_in
Registered Users (C)
Re: info regarding montreal stamping
You need not go to any bank. US Consulate in Montreal accepts US Cash. I stayed in Travelodge Hotel, which is 3 blocks away from the Consulate. It takes 5 minutes of walk to go to the consulate. Address of the hotel is:
Travelodge
50 Rene-Levesque Blvd. West
Montreal, QC, H2Z 1A2 CA
514-874-9090
Hotel is about 12 miles from the Dorvel airport, and you can take Aerobus to go there, which starts from the airport. They charge CA $13 for one way. Taxi may cost you about CA $31 one way.
You may find other hotels also in the neighborhood, but they may be expensive. Travelodge is not so great, but as long as it saves you some money. Rooms are small, they are studios rather.
Let me know, if you need more information.
You need not go to any bank. US Consulate in Montreal accepts US Cash. I stayed in Travelodge Hotel, which is 3 blocks away from the Consulate. It takes 5 minutes of walk to go to the consulate. Address of the hotel is:
Travelodge
50 Rene-Levesque Blvd. West
Montreal, QC, H2Z 1A2 CA
514-874-9090
Hotel is about 12 miles from the Dorvel airport, and you can take Aerobus to go there, which starts from the airport. They charge CA $13 for one way. Taxi may cost you about CA $31 one way.
You may find other hotels also in the neighborhood, but they may be expensive. Travelodge is not so great, but as long as it saves you some money. Rooms are small, they are studios rather.
Let me know, if you need more information.
ragster1 said:
xpress_man
Registered Users (C)
Visa Revalidation Stamping in Canada
Friends,
I am on an H1B visa in the US and it expired two years back and I havent travelled anywhere outside the States. Recently I got my Canadian Permanent Residency and I am planning to go to Canada and spend 2 weeks there.
I am not working with the same employer as in the passport stamping, I have changed a couple of employers with a valid I-797 / I-94 valid till next year. My first stamping on the passport for H1B visa was done in India. I have all the all the documents ready for stamping.
My question is, can I get my passport stamped in Canada for my current H1B visa or should I go to India to get stamped? If I can get visa stamped in Canada, should I make any prior appointment?
All your responses are highly appreciated.
Xpress Man
Friends,
I am on an H1B visa in the US and it expired two years back and I havent travelled anywhere outside the States. Recently I got my Canadian Permanent Residency and I am planning to go to Canada and spend 2 weeks there.
I am not working with the same employer as in the passport stamping, I have changed a couple of employers with a valid I-797 / I-94 valid till next year. My first stamping on the passport for H1B visa was done in India. I have all the all the documents ready for stamping.
My question is, can I get my passport stamped in Canada for my current H1B visa or should I go to India to get stamped? If I can get visa stamped in Canada, should I make any prior appointment?
All your responses are highly appreciated.
Xpress Man
H1 Stamping in Toronto
I am landing in Canada on 15th May.
And I am in 7th yr. ext. I fixed an appointment in Toronto. But the letter says that "To be eligible for a visa, Passport must be valid for at least 6 months past your intended stay in United states"
My passport expires on Aug 2nd 2006. My current H1B approval is valid upto March 31th 2006. I have only 4 months past the intended stay (Which is Approval Valid date).
To be on safer side, Can I put intended stay Jan 31st 2006.
Did Anybody come across this situation?
Please help.
Thanks
I am landing in Canada on 15th May.
And I am in 7th yr. ext. I fixed an appointment in Toronto. But the letter says that "To be eligible for a visa, Passport must be valid for at least 6 months past your intended stay in United states"
My passport expires on Aug 2nd 2006. My current H1B approval is valid upto March 31th 2006. I have only 4 months past the intended stay (Which is Approval Valid date).
To be on safer side, Can I put intended stay Jan 31st 2006.
Did Anybody come across this situation?
Please help.
Thanks
nkimmigration
Registered Users (C)
Same boat. Please help.
I am pretty much excatly in the same boat as you are. Did you find out any response ? I too have all the required documents, and everything is in order. If you can either post back to the same post, or send me a private mail I would greatly appreciate it. Please guys, anyone out there.. please help. I have a family emergience, and need to go to India as soon as possible, but the appointment in Chennai are not available for 4 months, and even delhi I will have to wait for more then 100 days to get an appointment. Please any advise will be greatly appreciated.
xpress_man said:
I am pretty much excatly in the same boat as you are. Did you find out any response ? I too have all the required documents, and everything is in order. If you can either post back to the same post, or send me a private mail I would greatly appreciate it. Please guys, anyone out there.. please help. I have a family emergience, and need to go to India as soon as possible, but the appointment in Chennai are not available for 4 months, and even delhi I will have to wait for more then 100 days to get an appointment. Please any advise will be greatly appreciated.
Last edited by a moderator:
crazy_apple
Registered Users (C)
tusharvk said:
Thanks for the reply tusharvk. My concern is that since my last stamped H1 visa in the passport expired one year+ back, will that be grounds for them to return me back to the home country for stamping? I asked my H1 lawyer and his recommendation was to not goto Canada and instead apply in India.
nkimmigration said:
I suggest you to get the appointment in Canada (check out nvars.com); if you were to choose not to go to Canada for whatever reason, you can cancel the appointment and lose about $10-15. Later, you can go through this forum and search for cases similar to yours (if you have not already).
nkimmigration
Registered Users (C)
Thanks tushar for your advice. I will do exactly that. But is anyone in recent times done this. Going to Canada for H1 revalidation. I can find people getting H1 stamped change from F1 to H1, but not able to find any one having their H1 revalidated. And ofcourse, because of the stupid finger printing, we can't get this done from within the US as we used to.tusharvk said:
Come on guys, please.. seme help!!
jillendula
Registered Users (C)
Ottawa Info Need
Did you book your Hotel? Can you share the name and other details?
I also have an appointment on May 19th and i located at NJ so am planning to go by my car and may be next week planning to go Canadian consulate personally to get the visitor visa.
Can you share If any info regarding this? My personal E-Mail is jillendula@hotmail.com
Is any body have any idea or any experience?
Thank You - Jith.
I am also in the same boat.angelene said:Can anyone give some information about parking around US embassy? Do they allow parking outside the US embassy? is it free? if it is not, how much? If there is no parking, where is the nearest parking? since I will drive my car there and reserve a hotel a little far.
thanks
Did you book your Hotel? Can you share the name and other details?
I also have an appointment on May 19th and i located at NJ so am planning to go by my car and may be next week planning to go Canadian consulate personally to get the visitor visa.
Can you share If any info regarding this? My personal E-Mail is jillendula@hotmail.com
Is any body have any idea or any experience?
Thank You - Jith.
Last edited by a moderator:
I finally got my visa
I just wanted to update this thread with my Vancouver experience. I'm an H1B holder (on my 5th year), been in the US for 9.5 years (F1 previously). From one of the SR countries..
03/03 - Landed in Vancouver as a Canadian PR
03/04 - Went to the US Consulate to revalidate my H1B. I had to do this since I have "Cancelled without prejudice" stamps on my old H1B stamps (therefore I don't think I could use the 30-days grace period to come back to the US). Was told by the consulate that my application needed additional "administrative processing" that would take somewhere between 2-3 weeks.
04/06 - DOS clearance after 4 weeks and a couple of days.
04/07 - Vancouver Consulate left me a voicemail.
04/12 - Went to the Consulate to get the visa, got it stamped on the same day, and flew back to the US. Referred to secondary inspection at the airport, but everything went smoothly.
Moral of the story? You'll never know if the infamous administrative processing is necessary for your case. Therefore, only leave when absolutely necessary. Always have a backup plan. Make arrangement with your work beforehand. Good luck for all.
I just wanted to update this thread with my Vancouver experience. I'm an H1B holder (on my 5th year), been in the US for 9.5 years (F1 previously). From one of the SR countries..
03/03 - Landed in Vancouver as a Canadian PR
03/04 - Went to the US Consulate to revalidate my H1B. I had to do this since I have "Cancelled without prejudice" stamps on my old H1B stamps (therefore I don't think I could use the 30-days grace period to come back to the US). Was told by the consulate that my application needed additional "administrative processing" that would take somewhere between 2-3 weeks.
04/06 - DOS clearance after 4 weeks and a couple of days.
04/07 - Vancouver Consulate left me a voicemail.
04/12 - Went to the Consulate to get the visa, got it stamped on the same day, and flew back to the US. Referred to secondary inspection at the airport, but everything went smoothly.
Moral of the story? You'll never know if the infamous administrative processing is necessary for your case. Therefore, only leave when absolutely necessary. Always have a backup plan. Make arrangement with your work beforehand. Good luck for all.
lonesome307
Registered Users (C)
You are luckyFerdie H said:
. I have the same exact background as yours and have been in the U.S for 9 years. Only difference is I came to my home country to get my visa revalidated and it has been almost 4 months to date and no clue from the embassy about the visa. Now that I think about it, i should have opted for the canadian option!lonesome307 said:You are lucky
I would agree that the canadian option could be faster; however, one has to be prepared to spend to stay for a few weeks in Canada if they do not have friends\relatives they can stay with.
indomitable_77
Registered Users (C)
H1b stamping in Vancouver - Plz advice
Hi,
I'm planning to go to Vancouver for H1b stamping on May 20th. I came to US on F1 visa and got my H1 from a software consulting company. They haven't given me the H1 docs (even a copy of I797) and i changed the employer recently and i got the H1. Now, i have these quetions
1) At the consulate, do they ask me to show my previous I797 which i don't have?
2) Do i require a visiting visa to Canada if i'm driving?
3) If yes, how long would it take if i apply by mail (plz suggest the best way to get visiting visa as i don;t want to waste one whole day for travelling to LA or in Seattle to get it)? I live in bay area.
4) What do u suggest abt where to stay if i go to Seattle first (Seattle or Vancouver)?
Plz advice. Thank u for ur time.
Hi,
I'm planning to go to Vancouver for H1b stamping on May 20th. I came to US on F1 visa and got my H1 from a software consulting company. They haven't given me the H1 docs (even a copy of I797) and i changed the employer recently and i got the H1. Now, i have these quetions
1) At the consulate, do they ask me to show my previous I797 which i don't have?
2) Do i require a visiting visa to Canada if i'm driving?
3) If yes, how long would it take if i apply by mail (plz suggest the best way to get visiting visa as i don;t want to waste one whole day for travelling to LA or in Seattle to get it)? I live in bay area.
4) What do u suggest abt where to stay if i go to Seattle first (Seattle or Vancouver)?
Plz advice. Thank u for ur time.
Got H1B stampining in Toronto Canada.
Interview Date : 04/14/05
Started from Upstate NY(I dont want to tell my exact location).
Took own car for the journey.
Note: if you are going thru Buffalo, YOU MUST go through Niagara falls(Dont blindly fallow the stupid Yahoo directions, as I did).
You NEED to have a Canadian visa, in order to go to Canada, unless you are a Canadian PR. Canadian PR is for 60$(single entry)
Misconception : You are permitted only once from U.S for single entry visa
Correction : You can enter as many times as you want from US of A or any North American country, but if you are outta North America, then you CANNOT enter Canada on this single entry visa.
My Status: H1B(No work for 10 months) ---> F1 ----> OPT ----> H1B
First H1B from Singapore(Visa valid for 2 year until Oct-02)
No visa on F1
You need to have :
Pay stubs(They ask for most recent paystabs, and dont worry about your 5 yrs old paystabs, as they dont give a DAMN!)
W2 forms
EMPLOYMENT LETTER(Starting date, salary, and duration must be mentioned)
if you are on F1, then take all your related documents(I20..yada yada)
One photograph : They say two photographs, but you need only one photo on DS156(stampled or glued)
DS157, DS158 forms(Dont be too dumb to fill that with red ink, use only black or blue color) One Paki lady in the que at the embassy filled her forms in red ink, and guess what...she need to fill all her forms again with blue point pen -- she is too dumb to argue that they never mentioned that the form to be filled with blue or black ink.
100$ DD from Scotia Bank(Dont bother even if you lose the draft they sent you, you can always get it in the Scotia bank) They are so many Scotia bank branches all over Toronto.
You should plan for atleast 2 days in Canada.
Send me a mail if you need information about spending a night in Toronto.
This is a brief experience, but i will share more info later.
Interview Date : 04/14/05
Started from Upstate NY(I dont want to tell my exact location).
Took own car for the journey.
Note: if you are going thru Buffalo, YOU MUST go through Niagara falls(Dont blindly fallow the stupid Yahoo directions, as I did).
You NEED to have a Canadian visa, in order to go to Canada, unless you are a Canadian PR. Canadian PR is for 60$(single entry)
Misconception : You are permitted only once from U.S for single entry visa
Correction : You can enter as many times as you want from US of A or any North American country, but if you are outta North America, then you CANNOT enter Canada on this single entry visa.
My Status: H1B(No work for 10 months) ---> F1 ----> OPT ----> H1B
First H1B from Singapore(Visa valid for 2 year until Oct-02)
No visa on F1
You need to have :
Pay stubs(They ask for most recent paystabs, and dont worry about your 5 yrs old paystabs, as they dont give a DAMN!)
W2 forms
EMPLOYMENT LETTER(Starting date, salary, and duration must be mentioned)
if you are on F1, then take all your related documents(I20..yada yada)
One photograph : They say two photographs, but you need only one photo on DS156(stampled or glued)
DS157, DS158 forms(Dont be too dumb to fill that with red ink, use only black or blue color) One Paki lady in the que at the embassy filled her forms in red ink, and guess what...she need to fill all her forms again with blue point pen -- she is too dumb to argue that they never mentioned that the form to be filled with blue or black ink.
100$ DD from Scotia Bank(Dont bother even if you lose the draft they sent you, you can always get it in the Scotia bank) They are so many Scotia bank branches all over Toronto.
You should plan for atleast 2 days in Canada.
Send me a mail if you need information about spending a night in Toronto.
This is a brief experience, but i will share more info later.
You NEED to have a Canadian visa, in order to go to Canada, unless you are a Canadian PR. Canadian PR is for 60$(single entry)
Misconception : You are permitted only once from U.S for single entry visa
Correction : You can enter as many times as you want from US of A or any North American country, but if you are outta North America, then you CANNOT enter Canada on this single entry visa.
Thank you for the info. Would you clarify about the single entry visa? Where did you find out that you can enter as many times as you want (from USA) on a single entry visa? Appreciate the response.
Misconception : You are permitted only once from U.S for single entry visa
Correction : You can enter as many times as you want from US of A or any North American country, but if you are outta North America, then you CANNOT enter Canada on this single entry visa.
Thank you for the info. Would you clarify about the single entry visa? Where did you find out that you can enter as many times as you want (from USA) on a single entry visa? Appreciate the response.
We are leaving to canada next month for Visa Revalidation, H1 & H4 for my wife.
We both got Approvals. But my wife's name came wrong on approval. First name came as last name and last name as first name. My lawyer is sent couple of faxes to USINS. No response yet.
Will that be a problem, if I go for stamping with current approval.
Please help.
Thanks,
We both got Approvals. But my wife's name came wrong on approval. First name came as last name and last name as first name. My lawyer is sent couple of faxes to USINS. No response yet.
Will that be a problem, if I go for stamping with current approval.
Please help.
Thanks,