H1 Visa stamping experience- Canada

mugsg said:
I took an appointment today for Dec 20 , i started trying 6:00 AM EST and was lucky to get it by 7:00 AM , infact right at that time i saw 10 Appointments available and they were all gone with in a min.
i am scheduled at Toronto.
This will be my first time H1b Stamp i have been working for the past 3 years.
My initial F1 visa stamp was from Islamabad.


You are right , i made a typo, ITS 20NOV.

Does any one know how much it cost for H1 stamp in canada (just the legal fee)

Thanks
Mugsg
 
mugsg said:
You are right , i made a typo, ITS 20NOV.

Does any one know how much it cost for H1 stamp in canada (just the legal fee)

Thanks
Mugsg

hmmm...., What time is your appointment? My appointment is @ 9:00am on Nov 20th. Although I'll try to change it to first week of december but who knows!


Visa Fee is 100$ and if you are not a Canadian Citizen, then you also have to pay reciprocity fee (which i guess is around 50$).
 
web_guru2003 said:
hmmm...., What time is your appointment? My appointment is @ 9:00am on Nov 20th. Although I'll try to change it to first week of december but who knows!


Visa Fee is 100$ and if you are not a Canadian Citizen, then you also have to pay reciprocity fee (which i guess is around 50$).


Mine is at 10:00 AM ,
where and when do you have to pay that reciprocity fee.?
Thanks
 
texancanadian said:
Can Immig,

Thanks for the detailed note. I have 1 question.

Since you have Canadian PR card in hand you must have initially landed earlier in Canada. Did Canadian Immigration officer while entering Canada ask you any questions about how long you have been out or try to verify if you complied with 2 in 5 yr residency reqt etc.
Can you please post more details on your entry into Canada.

Thanks

I landed in 2003 and have been there few times since then, please see my initial post for details. I had freind of mine with me who was driving and answered that we are going on vacation, when CO asked us where we headed. And he let us know withouteven checking our PR card etc...
 
B.Kumar said:
Hi can_immig,

thanx for sharing ur experience with us. actually I have an appointment in the last week of Sept in Toronto, and this is my first H1B Visa Appointment, I am canadian permenent resident(PR) in 2004, I am kind of very nervous, actually i have no idea wht type of questions will be asked in first H1B interview,any information would be helpful Thank you Soo Much in advance.

Also did u fill DS 156 form and bring printout with u or u fill DS 156 at the consulate????

Is anyone who got stamped are/were in similar situation. plz share ur experience ASAP

ur help will be really apprechiating

waiting for ur response


Please see my post for details on what questions were asked. As long as you have all the documents you should be fine.
I did filled DS156 online and took the printout. DS157 is also a fillable PDF form, if you desire you can fill it and take a printout, dont forget to write your name in the native alphabet.
Let me know if you have any specific questions. I will be more than happy to share my experience.
HTH, Good Luck.
 
Finger print - H1B revalidation

refer posts #1657 and #1658

Hi, I am non-muslim from India.

My first H1 stamp 1999, Tokyo, Japan.
H1 reavalidation 2002, Vancouver, Canada.
I travelled many times US<-->India and US<-->Canada.

I took an appointment for my next H1 revalidation at Vancouver, in November.

Since its my first time finger printing and never stamped in India, Does it take more time for visa revalidation? Or usual next day?

Thanks
 
mugsg said:
Mine is at 10:00 AM ,
where and when do you have to pay that reciprocity fee.?
Thanks


check the forum. They ask to pay the reciprocity fee if they are issuing you the visa so dont worry about that now.
 
Planning for H1/H4 visa revalidation in Canada.

Hello friends,
Here is my case:
a) On eighth year of extension of H1 (with my family on H4- one of my kids is US citizen) with 797 valid until May '07. Never travelled outside of US in the last 7+ years.
b)Recently got Canadian PR approved, so i have to visit Toronto by the end of this year. Planning to get my H1 visa revalidated in Toronto at that time and then re-enter into the US.

Here are my questions:
1) Since i do not have masters' from US, is there a risk of US consulate asking me to travel to my home country india to get visa revalidation ? Are there any cases of people without US masters' degree getting successful visa revalidation in Canada? Are there any other risks involved?
2) I donot know if this question is appropriate to this forum, but I heard that if you visit canada for less than 30 days, you can come back in to US without getting visa revalidated, as long as you have a valid/not-expired I-94. Is this true? If i have a substantial risk with option 1, i would like to pursue this option and plan a trip to India for revalidation at my convenience.

Appreciate your help.
 
canada visa

I am living in Boston,MA.
Canadian consulate in Boston has stopped giving canadian visitor visa.
It seems I need to go to New York to get visa.
It sounds like there is no appointment needed if applying in person.
Can someone share their experience with NY canadian consulate ?
Will I be able to get visa stamp the same day ?
 
Quebec City Stamping Experience

Applied for H1 and H4 stamping renewal at Quebec City sucessfully last week.

Suggestions for Quebec City applicants

**Do not come much before appt. time. I was allowed to enter consulate nearly 1 hour after my appt. time. But do show up a little before or at appt. time as security will give you a card with a number even before you go inside.

**Leave you cell phone at the hotel. I had to go back to hotel to leave the cell phone :-(


My experience:

** Shortly after I got in, my application and supporting docs were verified. I was asked to provide I797, Copy of LCA. I-129, Paystubs, employer verification letter, Fees of $100 USD per person in cash

** I was asked to take a seat before interview with Consular officer.

** Was called by Consular officer in 15-20 mins. Only question I was asked was the duration of employment with current employer. My wife and I were then finger printed and asked to pay reciprocity of $50 per person. We wer asked to come back next day for passport pick up.

** Time within consulate was only 30 mins. Total: 1.5 hours (including wait outside consulate)

** Overall a very painless experience.

** Btw, Quebec City is fantastic. Spent 5 days there with familiy and thoroughly enoyed the city and surroundings. Lots of things to see/do.

Good luck to everybody! Reading through everybody's experiences was very helpful. Thanks very much!
 
Canadian Visa

rajivfromin said:
I am living in Boston,MA.
Canadian consulate in Boston has stopped giving canadian visitor visa.
It seems I need to go to New York to get visa.
It sounds like there is no appointment needed if applying in person.
Can someone share their experience with NY canadian consulate ?
Will I be able to get visa stamp the same day ?

Hello -- I recently got my Canadian visa stamped at the Los Angeles Canadian Consulate.

There is no appointment. Check the consulate web site for the days / hours of visa issuance. The LA consulate only accepted visa applications from 8.30 to 10.30am from Monday / Thursday.

-Be there around 8.15. You take a ticket upon entry (like at DMV or SS office) and you get called to the counter by that number.
- Take the US consulate appointment confirmation letter, your pay stub, bank statements and other documents as per web site.
- Take the required fee as on the web site. They don't accept cash. Has to be money order or cashier's check. Check web site for details.

Process is very straightforward. They asked me for the US consulate appointment confirmation letter and my pay stub. Asked me to come and collect the passport around 1.30pm same day.

You can also mail-in passports with the required documents. But I didn't want to take the risk and went in person, even though I had to travel to LA.
 
venkalp said:
Hello friends,
Here is my case:
a) On eighth year of extension of H1 (with my family on H4- one of my kids is US citizen) with 797 valid until May '07. Never travelled outside of US in the last 7+ years.
b)Recently got Canadian PR approved, so i have to visit Toronto by the end of this year. Planning to get my H1 visa revalidated in Toronto at that time and then re-enter into the US.

Here are my questions:
1) Since i do not have masters' from US, is there a risk of US consulate asking me to travel to my home country india to get visa revalidation ? Are there any cases of people without US masters' degree getting successful visa revalidation in Canada? Are there any other risks involved?
2) I donot know if this question is appropriate to this forum, but I heard that if you visit canada for less than 30 days, you can come back in to US without getting visa revalidated, as long as you have a valid/not-expired I-94. Is this true? If i have a substantial risk with option 1, i would like to pursue this option and plan a trip to India for revalidation at my convenience.

Appreciate your help.
\

It is unlikely you will have a problem due to 8 years of experience in U.S. Of course, there is no guarentee. but i do not see any obvious problem based on what you have written. I was not even asked if had Master's degree in U.S. You can re-enter within 30 days only if you had not applied for visa. So that will not work.
 
sharu 03,
Thanks a bunch for information.
On the consulate website they mention that they don't allow children under 18 in the waiting room.
Does LA have similar rule ? How does someone manage when going wiith kids ?
 
Does anyone know Any 'Amit' who got stamped

I was going thru the thread and got concerned by some 2 year old posts by AmitKoh that the name 'Amit' was causing some trouble at the consulates as it matched the FBI database for name checks.

does anyone know any other Amit who got or did not get stamping from any consulate in canada/mexico.

I just called FBI and they told me only first name match will not trigger a security check

Any friend or friend's friend with the same first name ?

would appreciate any help from the memebers
 
Last edited by a moderator:
can_immig said:
Please see my post for details on what questions were asked. As long as you have all the documents you should be fine.
I did filled DS156 online and took the printout. DS157 is also a fillable PDF form, if you desire you can fill it and take a printout, dont forget to write your name in the native alphabet.
Let me know if you have any specific questions. I will be more than happy to share my experience.
HTH, Good Luck.



Hi Can_Immig,

thanks for sharing ur experience.......I have couple of things to ask you....

1) Did u fill DS 157 form and bring it with u at the day of ur interview?

2) I got my appointment confirmation letter. In the end of first page of appt letter it says:

DS 157 Application form: Effective April 12,2006.All male and female nonimmigrant visa applicants , over age of 16, regardsless of nationality and regardless where they apply , they must submit this form.


I wounder,I have read on this website(http://www.amcits.com/form_ds_157.asp) that DS 157 form is necessary for those who belong to specific 7 countries which are listed by US government.

so, I want to confirm tht now this DS 157 form is mandatory for all countries or not????

plz reply soon....ur help is really apprechiating
 
B.Kumar said:
Hi Can_Immig,

thanks for sharing ur experience.......I have couple of things to ask you....

1) Did u fill DS 157 form and bring it with u at the day of ur interview?

2) I got my appointment confirmation letter. In the end of first page of appt letter it says:

DS 157 Application form: Effective April 12,2006.All male and female nonimmigrant visa applicants , over age of 16, regardsless of nationality and regardless where they apply , they must submit this form.


I wounder,I have read on this website(http://www.amcits.com/form_ds_157.asp) that DS 157 form is necessary for those who belong to specific 7 countries which are listed by US government.

so, I want to confirm tht now this DS 157 form is mandatory for all countries or not????

plz reply soon....ur help is really apprechiating

Hello,
I am not sure if its required or not but, I was asked to submit the form by the officer. Its better to take it with you and submit if requested. HTH.. Good Luck..
 
H1B Visa Renewal Before Current visa expiring

Hello,

My H1B visa is renewd for 3 more years now upto 2009. and current visa stamping in my passport is valid upto Nov.2006. Can I go for new visa stamping before the current visa stamping in my passport is expiring.

Thanks,
Mercy1
 
Visa Stamping

My H1B visa is renewd for 3 more years now upto 2009. and current visa stamping in my passport is valid upto Nov.2006. Can I go for new visa stamping before the current visa stamping in my passport is expiring.

---- Yes, you can. After this what's the problem

Subramanya
 
H1 visa stamping

I got my H1 visa here in the US a few months back. However I need to get my passport stamped. Can some one advise a consulate that is pretty hassle free. I was thinking of Mexico, Canada or Chennai. What do you suggest? How long does it take to get the passport back? What documents do we need to take to get our passport stamped?

I also know of another person with J1 and wanting to get his passport stampd too.

I would appreciate any information about consulates for getting H1 and J1 stamped.

Thanks
 
H1B Stamping in Vancouver, Canada

Guys,
I am going to canada for my first H1B visa stamping soon. I did my Bachelors and Master in US. My only concern is that the company holding my H1 does not has many H1 people. Most probably I am second or third person in the company. I have been working for this company for last one and a half year now. Since the H1 peopel head count is very low, will it create any problem while stamping?

Thanks,
R
 
Top