H1 Visa stamping experience- Canada

Thanks

Hello Garp,

I understand i need the approval and mere applying does not help. Just wanted to confirm if i get approval for my both my extensions. Thanks for the reply.

Also could anyone please confirm that the Toronto Embassy accepts cash for the US$150 fee for the entire stamping process. My interview letter said so...Just confirming...Thks
 
Toronto Interview and Security Clearence

I went to toronto consulate for my second visa stamped of H1B.........After all security,document check and waiting.....they call for interview, took fingure print, ask only one document, Employer letter.......and thats it.......no question asked about me,my job or employer etc.......
Just said that your name is there in our list and i have to send your case to Washington,DC for security clearence, which will take at least 2 weeks...may take longer......So sorry ............And given letter to bring back with passport when your security clearence comes.......
I am pakistani and have muslim name.......So was expecting this.......That's why i had plan to visit pakistan during this waiting time....and i asked VO too...that can i travel during this time but he not gave satisfactory answer and said that if you can satisfy immigration officer on your arrival then you can travel.......
Now i am confuse, whether i can travel or they might create problem when i come..........Any comments????????
 
Help on appointment at ottawa

gurus need some help:

I went on USCIS website, it says ottawa, Canada has the least waitung period for appointment for H1-B stamping (25 days). however when i tried to go online to the ottawa consulate site for taking appointment, there are no dates availabe for next 8 weeks and they only take booking 8 weeks in advance.

I really need my visa stamped earlier.

Is there a way out?

Thanks,
 
Keep tryying for other consulates. You will find early appointment from Calgry or Halifax. Are you Canadian immigrant?
 
sunilraman76 said:
Hello All,

I went for my 7th year stamping in Ottawa. I work for a telecommunication company and have a canadian PR. my appointment was at 10.30 am. I had all the documents with me , I129, Labor certification, LCA, Indian Degree with evaluation. my name was called and I approached the VO. I was asked to produce my degree certificate along with all past experience letters. I had prepared all docs well. I gave the VO all documents. He then replied that he cannot evaluate my education credentials as I dont have a US degree. So they said that they will verify my degree from university in India and when they get the feedback they will call me for an interview again. I was like, what?

I told him that I have already obtained 2 H1 stamps based on this degree. So in response he said that's another reason that they have to look into my case more. I have an engineering degree from Mumbai university. What else they want to verify.

Finally I was told not to argue and come back after 6 weeks to check on the status my application.

Please tell me what can I do.
Click to expand...

Very bad luck .. Sorry to hear this and makes me worry more.
I have to land before May 19th 2006 for PR purpose.
I have 2 questions.
1. Education credential evaluations from USA in addition to degree certificates help or not?
2. If held for further processing , Can I return only once to pick my stuff car etc from US or not..
.

Thanks in advance for replying
 
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I called up the consulate to check on the status of my application and I was told that I should check back after 8 weeks. This is stupid. Initially I was told 6 weeks , now they are saying it will be delayed by another 8 weeks. I dont know what to do.

As for others questions, I too evaluated my credentials in US for my India degree but still they were not satisfied. Also you cannot re-enter at all once you receive 221(g). Right now I am paying for the hotel but soon I will need to find some place to rent for some time until my application is decided.

IT Job market also sucks in canada. People with US MS degree are driving taxi here. I think India is a far much better option for stamping , at least you know you will get a good job if you get stuck there.
 
Sunilraman76, and all in same boat

This is very bad situation, If you don't have PR then they ask simply to go to your own country, if you have PR ( I beleive sunilrama76 is a landed immigrant) then they still not consider the credential evaluations from US.

My questions:

1. What if we get evaluated the extra experiential credential evaluations too for H1B purpose, or some canadian evaluation as we are or would be landed immigrants.

2. What if our job ( where we work) doesn't allow us more than one week's vacation.

3. Will they atleast consider the Kids education which is going to suffer for 6-8 weeks ( in my case atleast).

I am scared ... now

Thanks and regards
 
7th year extension at US Consulate in Canada

Hi,

I need advise from anyone who has information here. It is very scary to think about going to US Consulate. My H1 expires on May 22nd 2002. I will be getting my 7th year extension soon. I am planning to take appointment on 15th May. Which consulate should I be going to - Toronto or Ottawa? I live in NJ and both seem to be same to me. I have a friend of mine in Toronto. Other than that I don't have any specific preference to any city. To make the things complex, I had a long name, went to court here and made the name shorter. I have got a new passport and also have court order regarding the same. I have stampings in my old passport (Stamping has the long name, but my earlier H1s referred to short name) and my new H1 will have the new short name. Too complex Isn't it? My lawyer believes that the name shouldn't cause any problem. I am really scared.

I don't have not studied in US. I have done my graduation in India. I have my education evaluation which was done for applying for H1.

I don't want to go to Consulate in India - I don't have any travel plans soon. My comapny requires that I should have the ability to travel overseas in a short notice. Hence, I need the visa stamping in my passport soon.

Your advise is highly appreciated.

Regards,
Sarvesh.
 
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It's crazy, yep.

Sarvesh, a quick question. How are you planning to get an appointment fort the 15th May? I took an appointment for April 11th, since that was the earliest available in Ottawa. For Toronto, there is a further two weeks delay.

Since appointments in Ottawa are taken for a 8 week window AND all appts were booked for the next 8 weeks, i had to stay awake till after 12:00 AM (when the next day starts) and then within the next half hour i reserved my spot. I was seeing the available appointment times vanishing before my eyes when refreshing the page.

Looking at the posts out here, sometimes i am also getting scared to go to Ottawa. As someone said, at least in india, we can work. But going to India...well, this whole process stinks....


Edited........

Sorry Sarvesh,
Somehow i read May as March :) Probably i am getting old....


sarvesh said:
Hi,

I need advise from anyone who has information here. It is very scary to think about going to US Consulate. My H1 expires on May 22nd 2002. I will be getting my 7th year extension soon. I am planning to take appointment on 15th May. Which consulate should I be going to - Toronto or Ottawa? I live in NJ and both seem to be same to me. I have a friend of mine in Toronto. Other than that I don't have any specific preference to any city. To make the things complex, I had a long name, went to court here and made the name shorter. I have got a new passport and also have court order regarding the same. I have stampings in my old passport (Stamping has the long name, but my earlier H1s referred to short name) and my new H1 will have the new short name. Too complex Isn't it? My lawyer believes that the name shouldn't cause any problem. I am really scared.

I don't have not studied in US. I have done my graduation in India. I have my education evaluation which was done for applying for H1.

I don't want to go to Consulate in India - I don't have any travel plans soon. My comapny requires that I should have the ability to travel overseas in a short notice. Hence, I need the visa stamping in my passport soon.

Your advise is highly appreciated.

Regards,
Sarvesh.
Click to expand...
 
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I am sorry to hear what happened to you and I got my 7th year stamping from Toronto with Indian Degree, but again I was not asked to any questions. So you ended up in the random lot. I would bet they will call you back much before 6 week time frame and also while you are in Canada try to get the best and don’t loose sleep thinking over this - it is not worth it. Its not that hard to be happy and enjoying. Than missing/feeling bad.

"We all are treated as guilty till we get Green Card".

Ask your attorney to fax required papers to US Consulate to expedite the process claiming that you are absolutely required at work place. It helps.
I was there for three days and I know how it feels to be away from home. Wishing you the very best..


sunilraman76 said:
Hello All,

I went for my 7th year stamping in Ottawa. I work for a telecommunication company and have a canadian PR. my appointment was at 10.30 am. I had all the documents with me , I129, Labor certification, LCA, Indian Degree with evaluation. my name was called and I approached the VO. I was asked to produce my degree certificate along with all past experience letters. I had prepared all docs well. I gave the VO all documents. He then replied that he cannot evaluate my education credentials as I dont have a US degree. So they said that they will verify my degree from university in India and when they get the feedback they will call me for an interview again. I was like, what?

I told him that I have already obtained 2 H1 stamps based on this degree. So in response he said that's another reason that they have to look into my case more. I have an engineering degree from Mumbai university. What else they want to verify.

Finally I was told not to argue and come back after 6 weeks to check on the status my application.

Please tell me what can I do.
Click to expand...
 
H4 to H1 stamping in Toronto without US degree

Can i go for h4 to H1 stamping to Toronto without US degree.
 
Nothing stops you from applying just because you have a non US degree. However, if they think you might have a fraudulent degree, then they might want to verify the validity of the degree. So, it is all about how convincing your degree is. If you have a degree from a good University, it should not be a problem.

There are lot of people who get the visa without a problem (without US degrees). Rarely, some do run into issues.


rad001 said:
Can i go for h4 to H1 stamping to Toronto without US degree.
Click to expand...
 
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ela6/others

I think having degree from good university does not matter. It all depends on your luck as to who you get as VO. I have a degree from good university but I am still stuck.

If your luck is not good like me then you would think you would have been better off stamping in India. At least there are good opportunities there if you get stuck.

I am spending unnecessary amount of money here. I have tried so much to convice the consulate that I can provide them with official transcirpts, my original marksheets which I have in possesion but they just refuse to see it and said they will do their own checks.
 
Hi sunilraman
I am sorry about your state. I is really unfortunate that you got picked on. Once they decide, they are pretty stubborn. So, trying to convince them is in vain. Hopefully, you will get your check cleared soon. Good luck on that.

By the way, where did you graduate from? Is your degree related to your work?

The way I look at it is that every day at least 100 people get visas (from all the consulates put together in Mexico and Canada) without an issue. Once in a while someone gets into issues. In terms of percentage, it is less. However, I do understand that you don't want to be the one that is caught in these issues.

Sorry again about your issue. Good luck.
sunilraman76 said:
ela6/others

I think having degree from good university does not matter. It all depends on your luck as to who you get as VO. I have a degree from good university but I am still stuck.

If your luck is not good like me then you would think you would have been better off stamping in India. At least there are good opportunities there if you get stuck.

I am spending unnecessary amount of money here. I have tried so much to convice the consulate that I can provide them with official transcirpts, my original marksheets which I have in possesion but they just refuse to see it and said they will do their own checks.
Click to expand...
 
I have a MS from US. I have booked an appointment in Calgary for stamping. I had initially thought it would be pretty easy getting a stamping from Canada but after going through the discussions realize that things have changed.

I have been with my current employer for only 1 month. Would this be an issue?
 
Sunil Raman,
Are you a Canadian PR ? If not how long is your visa valid.

If you are a Canadian PR, dont listen to all the negativity about no jobs. Try to embrace life in Canada. Maybe in 6 weeks you will already have job there.
I understand you must be going through a shock but try being positive.

Botton line for everyone: Unless you really really really need to leave the US (sisters marriage, parents death etc ) dont try for visa. Wait to go home until GC if you are only going for vacation.


sunilraman76 said:
ela6/others

I think having degree from good university does not matter. It all depends on your luck as to who you get as VO. I have a degree from good university but I am still stuck.

If your luck is not good like me then you would think you would have been better off stamping in India. At least there are good opportunities there if you get stuck.

I am spending unnecessary amount of money here. I have tried so much to convice the consulate that I can provide them with official transcirpts, my original marksheets which I have in possesion but they just refuse to see it and said they will do their own checks.
Click to expand...
 
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