L1 to H1- Is Stamping at Canada possible?

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gcmani

Registered Users (C)
My friend has Bachelors in ECE (Electronics & comminication Engg) and worked in India for about 8 years for the same company and visited US couple of times on L1 and worked in Canada too on a short term assignment. His latest L1 stint was from 06-DEC-2005 that had expiry till 01-JUL-2007. He never held H1 visa before. Also he did not go to school in US.

But he wanted to switch to H1 with a US based consulting company and got his L1 to H1 switch done last year and started working from 01-OCT-2006 that has validity till 30-SEP-2009.His wife and kid who were on L2 also got H4 visa.

Given this background,

1) Can he go to Canada for his H1-B stamping and his wife/kid's H4 stamping ?
He has pay stubs, W2, working on a project with MA State Govt being the client.

2) Is Visa stamping at Canada restricted only to F1 to H1 converts, or those who had H1 Multiple Entry stamping from home country once beofre and revalidating their H1 extension?

Anyody with similar situation, pl.share your experiences and advice.

Thanks in Advance
gcmani
 
As far as I Know, you have to get your first H1B stamped from your home country...

Please consult an attorney before drawing conclusions from others.
 
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Yes he can, provided he carry all his educational evaluations for all educatonal degrees outside of U.S. I knew a couple of similar cases. I personally didn't convert myself to H-1 from L-1 but I would look at www.amcits.com for details.
 
If your friend got his degree from a college in a country other than United States or Canada, I wouldn't recommend it. In all cases I know, not one was able to get an H-1B visa. Even if you have an educational evaluation, it is their official position that Consulates in Canada don't have resources to evaluate degrees earned in a foreign country. If you make an appointment, it is also clearly stated in its instruction. There may be some successful cases out there like the above poster said, but I would say it was sheer luck.

Besides, this is his first-time H-1B and it generally draws extra attention. Moreover, if the Consulate denies the H-1B/H-4 visa issuance for any reason, they won't be able to return to the United States. When this happens, they either have to stay in Canada and reapply until ther visa are issued, or go back to their home country and apply there. It's not worth risking.
 
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