Me and my wife went to Chennai on Jan 31st for stamping. We had a 7th year h1b/h4 extension based on labor applied by previous company pending at backlog center.
We took all documentation like company tax returns, w2s and paystubs, company pictures, company website printouts, company brochure, company support letter, middleman brochure and support letter, client brochure and support letter, photos at client place and apartment, 45 day letter for labor pending at backlog centeer, marriage certificate, marriage photos, spouse support letter, company's contact persons list and client manager's contact information, bank statements, credit card bills, utility bills, phone bills.
There is a misconception in Chennai Consulate that the fat lady is very strict, but from what I noticed almost every VO was equally strict. We went in at 10.30 AM and our turn came at 4.30 PM. So all this time we were noticing what is this big scare people give about the Chennai Consulate. The VOs took a lot of time in interviewing candidates. They start with a warm smile and nice greeting and generally in first h1b stamping cases they get ready to issue a 221(g). If the candidate does not have prior experience and has obtained h1b visa through friend company or something like that and his skills say Java or C++, the VO has a set of questions that he will ask, if they candidate is not satisfactorily answering the questions, he is given a 214(b). People from known companies like infosys, wipro etc.. must also be carteful. There is a misconception that for these companies VO will not ask anything for revalidation. I saw VOs asking people to bring their w2s or letter from client and come back. Majority of rejects were parents. Parents who want to be with their children during child birth. If the parents show any strong proof that they have absolutely no interest staying in US then getting visa becomes easier eg.. some children are in India, properties, working or business in India etc.. get visa easily. Parents who are retired and have all children in US face some heated interview, the VO keeps asking questions relaed to ties in India and if VO is not convinced then they don't give the visa.
Our turn came at 4.30PM, I was tensed for the first time in my life for these kind of things. The VO took my forms and asked me how many companies did I change in my 6 years. I said 4 and told him all the names and dates. He looked at my 3 previous stamps and also checked for validity and gaps then asked me what is my title. I told system analyst. he asked me what are my duties. I told him ..... exactly what was on my petition. He could see everything on his computer, all my stampings were done in Chennai only. Then he looked at my LCA and asked me my salary. I told him. Then he said he wants to look at w2s of past 3 years. He looked at 2003 2004 and 2005 he did not notice that I changed employer in 6th year and saw only 1 w2. He said he cannot give me a visa because I have not earned enough income stated on my LCA. ThenI told him that he is looking at the LCA of my current petitioner and he did not look at my current w2 and that he has to addup the sum on both w2s for 2005, he said "Ohhhh my, I am sorry, I did not notice that, I had a long day today, go pay your fee". He never even asked for my wife's information or marriage info. Nothing. Did not ask on which company L/C I got 7 th year or did not ask any more specifics about client, nothing. My interview lasted 2 to 3 min in total.
My inputs for people going to Chennai for revalidation
(1) Communicate well and wear a formal, avoid being the cool types and talking in an accent and with attitude. Avoid t shirt and jeans. For a girl, I would suggest a sari or churidar as compared to tights of glamor wear.
(2) Say exactly what is there on petition or LCA and dont say anything more or less. Lot of people do not explain their job duties and description with clarity.
(3) Keep your w2s and paystubs - most important - if there is a gap, explain why there is a gap, sometimes a 2 month gap in employment the VO may ask for a letter from employer.
(4) Don't share jokes or don't act funny or try to impress the VO by cracking tidbits
(5) Don't argue. Explain things well. Do not change tones and pitches.
Good luck
We took all documentation like company tax returns, w2s and paystubs, company pictures, company website printouts, company brochure, company support letter, middleman brochure and support letter, client brochure and support letter, photos at client place and apartment, 45 day letter for labor pending at backlog centeer, marriage certificate, marriage photos, spouse support letter, company's contact persons list and client manager's contact information, bank statements, credit card bills, utility bills, phone bills.
There is a misconception in Chennai Consulate that the fat lady is very strict, but from what I noticed almost every VO was equally strict. We went in at 10.30 AM and our turn came at 4.30 PM. So all this time we were noticing what is this big scare people give about the Chennai Consulate. The VOs took a lot of time in interviewing candidates. They start with a warm smile and nice greeting and generally in first h1b stamping cases they get ready to issue a 221(g). If the candidate does not have prior experience and has obtained h1b visa through friend company or something like that and his skills say Java or C++, the VO has a set of questions that he will ask, if they candidate is not satisfactorily answering the questions, he is given a 214(b). People from known companies like infosys, wipro etc.. must also be carteful. There is a misconception that for these companies VO will not ask anything for revalidation. I saw VOs asking people to bring their w2s or letter from client and come back. Majority of rejects were parents. Parents who want to be with their children during child birth. If the parents show any strong proof that they have absolutely no interest staying in US then getting visa becomes easier eg.. some children are in India, properties, working or business in India etc.. get visa easily. Parents who are retired and have all children in US face some heated interview, the VO keeps asking questions relaed to ties in India and if VO is not convinced then they don't give the visa.
Our turn came at 4.30PM, I was tensed for the first time in my life for these kind of things. The VO took my forms and asked me how many companies did I change in my 6 years. I said 4 and told him all the names and dates. He looked at my 3 previous stamps and also checked for validity and gaps then asked me what is my title. I told system analyst. he asked me what are my duties. I told him ..... exactly what was on my petition. He could see everything on his computer, all my stampings were done in Chennai only. Then he looked at my LCA and asked me my salary. I told him. Then he said he wants to look at w2s of past 3 years. He looked at 2003 2004 and 2005 he did not notice that I changed employer in 6th year and saw only 1 w2. He said he cannot give me a visa because I have not earned enough income stated on my LCA. ThenI told him that he is looking at the LCA of my current petitioner and he did not look at my current w2 and that he has to addup the sum on both w2s for 2005, he said "Ohhhh my, I am sorry, I did not notice that, I had a long day today, go pay your fee". He never even asked for my wife's information or marriage info. Nothing. Did not ask on which company L/C I got 7 th year or did not ask any more specifics about client, nothing. My interview lasted 2 to 3 min in total.
My inputs for people going to Chennai for revalidation
(1) Communicate well and wear a formal, avoid being the cool types and talking in an accent and with attitude. Avoid t shirt and jeans. For a girl, I would suggest a sari or churidar as compared to tights of glamor wear.
(2) Say exactly what is there on petition or LCA and dont say anything more or less. Lot of people do not explain their job duties and description with clarity.
(3) Keep your w2s and paystubs - most important - if there is a gap, explain why there is a gap, sometimes a 2 month gap in employment the VO may ask for a letter from employer.
(4) Don't share jokes or don't act funny or try to impress the VO by cracking tidbits
(5) Don't argue. Explain things well. Do not change tones and pitches.
Good luck