H1b renewal and stamping

C

crore

Registered Users (C)
Hi , a few questions for the experts

my 3 years of h1b visa r over in mar 2006. i am getting the h1b status renewed currently, and plan to go to get the visa stamped.

for H1b visa stamping.-

when can i go to canada/mexico to get the visa stamped, meaning how much time to give before my current i 94 expires...

is canada a safe place to go or is mexico better or home country....

if the new H1b is denied and my previous H1b visa (i 94) is valid, can I reenter the country based on prior I 94.

should one go with a lawyer, or go alone to canada/mexico
 
H1 stamp in Canada

Hi there. I posted this on another thread elsewhere but will share my first-hand experience again here. I got my visa stamp in Calgary, Canada in November last year. I went alone and everything went as well as one could hope for. Before I decided to do it myself, I contacted a couple of lawyers who of course asked for exorbitant amount of fees, plus I'd still have to do it pretty much in person eventually. I made an appointment with the Calgary consulate online. (https://www.nvars.com/use/) The appointment didn't really mean much because I had to wait outside for over an hour before I could get in and waited inside in consulate for an hour before talking to an agent. The staff seemed to be familiar with the procedure and didn't make a big deal out of it. I got the stamp the same day in the afternoon. The one thing to make certain is to get all the paperwork ready, i.e. letter of employment, paystubs, tax documents, employment contract, proof of education/degree and so on.

Having mentioned all this, I still think the best bet is to get a stamp in your home country. I don't know anything about getting a stamp in Mexico but hope that my experience with Canada gives you some useful information. Good luck.

HappyNeige...
 
thank you happy.
what was your back up plan if the H1b visa got rejected in canada. was your previous i 94 valid, so you could re enter the US. or did you have a lawyer contact number as a back up, to call him/her, if things didnt go well up north.
 
Backup plan

Hmm... I didn't really have a backup plan per se. I guess I would have contacted the lawyer who did the J-1 waiver and H1-b petition for me so she could talk to the consulate and find out what else they wanted. An option would be to go back to the native country from Canada and reapply for the stamp at the US Embassy in the native country.

It was my first H-1 so I didn't have a backup I-94 at the time.

Just remember one more thing, the expensive lawyer I spoke with mentioned that he worked mainly with the US consulate in Halifax. I guess that's another consulate that is familiar with the stamp. However, you should check with other forum members/experts to verify this info.

HappyNeige...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top