Successful H1 stamping in Mexico with 3 yr degree

hardy

Registered Users (C)
I have a three year degree(Bcom) from India, then came to the
US for my masters but did not graduate.
I have been working for three years now and decided to try my luck at Tijuana for a multiple entry stamping.
I took all tax papers and also had an educational evaluation done to show that my bachelors in India along with the courses taken here is equivalent to a US bachelors degree.
The lady at the interview was more interested in my I797, company info and most importantly paystubs.She asked paystubs of the person infront of me also, then that was it, she just gave me the visa, I did notice that there were a lot of people in the Tijuana consulate for H1 multiple stamping and most of them seem to have been approved.
I used a website mexicoimmigrationconsultants.com for help in getting to the embassy and for my Mexico permit and visa fees.

Just an FYI for people planning to go to Mexico for visa stamping.
:)
 
Do you think it'd work for someone who came here on a B1/B2 and changed status to H1B?

Thanks much for your posting!

brat
 
Can you give me info

Thank you sir for great info...I am also in the same position,but i i have Civil engineering degree and working for a multinational company since three years.i have all the documents i am just worrying about my degree.

Do you think if i go to Mexico can i get h1b stamping.

Main thing is i changed status from h4 to h1b.

Thanks in advance
 
Can you give me info

Thank you sir for great info...I am also in the same position,but i i have Civil engineering degree and working for a multinational company since three years.i have all the documents i am just worrying about my degree.

Do you think if i go to Mexico can i get h1b stamping.

Main thing is i changed status from h4 to h1b.

Thanks in advance
 
Is it still possible to get H1 multiple entry stamped in Mexico?

I am now on my 4th year of H1. My first H1 was processed while I was in India and was stamped in India. I am now on a new H1 from a different employer and this visa was obtained while I was here and hence is not yet stamped. Is it still possible to to get the visa stamped at the Mexican consulate? How risky is it to go to India without a stamp on the visa? Is it very difficult to get it stamped in India?
Thanks
 
can you pls let me know if were able to go thru that visa revalidation from H4 to H1b

Thanks
 
Stamping in Tijuana

Do we need to get any visa to go to Tijuana/Mexico? I am in Los Angeles and have 2 pay checks (from H1) but have other paychecks (OPT) and w2 forms aswell so do u think I need to wait for few more months before I go for stamping?

How many days ahead did u make the appointment?
 
tijuana

If you have not gone there yet, let me know, I will share my experience.
thanks
ela

sk999 said:
Do we need to get any visa to go to Tijuana/Mexico? I am in Los Angeles and have 2 pay checks (from H1) but have other paychecks (OPT) and w2 forms aswell so do u think I need to wait for few more months before I go for stamping?

How many days ahead did u make the appointment?
 
Info Req

Hi Ela,

That would be really great! I am planning to go sometime in thrid week of October. If you can provide my what exactly you did It would be of great help for me.

I appreaicate it!

SK
 
I will explain in detail shortly. I had trouble as I am a research scientist and my area (chemistry) falls under TAL.

If your occupation falls under TAL, there is a good chance you will need a background check.

I will post my experience shortly. Meanwhile if you want, you can email me specific questions at elango at hotmail dot com.

I can only talk about the occupations listed under TAL. If you don't fall under that list, you might be fine.
ela

sk999 said:
Hi Ela,

That would be really great! I am planning to go sometime in thrid week of October. If you can provide my what exactly you did It would be of great help for me.

I appreaicate it!

SK
 
Hi Folks,
Just wanted to share my H1 stamping (renewal) experience (problem) at Tijuana. Eventhough this happend at Tijuana, it might be relevant to other consulates too.

I work as research scientist for a medical device company and my area is chemistry. Scientist profession / chemistry area falls under Technology Alert List (TAL) and that is one of the main reason for the trouble I had.

Just for your information, the bank at Tijuana opens only at 9 am. So, make sure your appt is at a later time (although they allowed me to report at 9 after getting the draft. Had appt at 8 am). I got called in at about 11 a.m.

The consular asked me what I do and I told her that I was working as a research scientist and I develop insulin formulations. She glanced at my wife and kids and asked me if they were my family, I said yes. She asked me if I had travel plans and I said yes. She then said " I am glad you are here because, your case will take a little longer to process". She said I needed a security check. I asked her if that meant that I will be stuck in Tijuana. She said that she is NOT cancelling my (expired) visa and I MIGHT be able to go into San Diego based on the valid I94. She said that she will call me once the security check is complete or I could call them after 5 weeks. My passport was stamped "received appln on 09-14-04" and was given back along with H1 papers. She took my job description and typed it in her computer (for security check).

I came down to the border. The person at the border who checked my documents said that I cannot enter the country as I do not have a valid visa. I tried to explain to him that the consular said that it is fine. He refused and refered me to OB Court (I don't know what that means). Basically I had to go to another office building and meet an officer. I had to wait about an hour (during which I was calling my travel agent to figure out how I can fly out of Tijuana to India!!). That officer looked at my childrens passport (US Citizens) and then looked at my Valid I94s and then said that "you are good to go!!". He took the new I94 stapled it on the passport and stamped "entered on 09-13-04" and then when I came back to the regular entry point again, I was allowed to enter the country.

Moral of the story, if your occupation is under TAL list the chances are that they might make a security check. This might happen at any consulate including India. (perhaps that is what the consular said that "I am glad you are here". Just prepare your backup plans, no matter where you go. One more thing, I saw her "log" for security checks, it had a lot of chinese names like lu, lee, etc. The log had about 25 names. Which means Tijuana is involved with at least 25 security checks. Now the issue is whether the 25 checks were ordered in 1 year, 6 months, ???? So, the frequency of these checks are unclear. As far as I could see, I did not see Indian names (just had a couple second peek at the log).

If you fly into Canada and Mexico, you will not be able to come back as they would collect your I94. If you drive, you have some chance especially if the consular does not cancel your expired visa. In my case everyone involved including the consular, immigration officer might have given me a break as I had my wife and two children aged 3 and 6.

The article at http://www.faegre.com/articles/article_1053.aspx and some other articles that I read suggest that "people listed under TAL MUST undergo security check". So, if you are in TAL don't try at Mexico or Canada. Go to India and be prepared for a longer wait.

I will try to update once my security check come through so you guys can have an idea as to how long it takes for the check.

Meanwhile, if any of you know the time it takes for security check, please let me know.

Feel free to ask any questions that you may have, I will try to answer.

ela


ela6 said:
I will explain in detail shortly. I had trouble as I am a research scientist and my area (chemistry) falls under TAL.

If your occupation falls under TAL, there is a good chance you will need a background check.

I will post my experience shortly. Meanwhile if you want, you can email me specific questions at elango at hotmail dot com.

I can only talk about the occupations listed under TAL. If you don't fall under that list, you might be fine.
ela
 
Yes, I did. I went to Tijuana last thursday and got my visa stamped. There was another Indian guy there and apparently it had taken 7 weeks for him to clear the security/background check. He has his masters degree from the US and he was changing from F1 to H1.

By the way, one of the articles mentioned that we need a permit to go to Tijuana. It is totally misleading. I have been to Tijuana 4-5 times (at least twice after 9-11), but they never asked for the permit. Also, I want to clarify, they do NOT check (on your way back to US) to see if you did enter Mexico with permit. The only officials you will see is the US immigration officials whose main goal is to ensure your visa status to enter US. They care a damn how you went to Mexico. It is none of their business and frankly they don't even have time to check if you have proper papers for entering US.

So, please don't waste your money on permit. You are only making someone else's pocket full. I can assure you that no one will check your mexican permit on your way back.

One more thing, Stay away from Tijuana consulate if you are not from the west coast. A computer programmer had contacted me for info for Tijuana trip. She also ended up getting referred for background check. The consular was very skeptical (I was told) about why she came all the way from the east coast. This question was asked at the beginning and also at the end of the interview. - (why did you come to Tijuana, instead of going somewhere else).

My opinnion is that Tijuana consulate discourages third country nationals going over there for visas. The background check referrals are unusually high at that consulate. If you have anything to do with computer security, science, or anything that remotely connects to national security, the chances are you WILL be referred to security check. (delay between 3 to 8 weeks). However, it does look like everyone did manage to enter back into the US (some had to meet the immigration officers and get approval). But, overall, you will be able to come back into the US (at least right now). Hope it helps.


niroshan95 said:
Did you get the visa stamping at last Mr.Elango?
 
-1B Visa stamping at Nuevo Laredo (Mexico) or Motamoros (Mexico)

Has anyone attended for H-1B visa stamping at Nuevo Laredo (Mexico) or Motamoros (Mexico). Are there any difficulties in attending there? Will I get my passport the same day?Please advice. Thanks in advance.
 
hardy said:
sorry, I have a question. Visa stamping in Tijuana
hardy said:
Sorry, what is "paystubs"? Is it the same as paychecks?
I also have my H1-B approved. I have a bachelor's degree diploma and its evaluation. I liv ein San Diego so Tijuana would be the closest place for me to get my visa stamped in my passport (I need to go home to Belarus in May). Can you pls tell me what I need to do. Make an appointment? Where? And do I need any visa to go to Tijuana and back? Now I just have my Notice of Approval and my passport with I 94.
I's be very grateful to you if you share your experience concerning getting your multiple entry stamped.
Thanking you in Advance!

Ira.

hardy said:
I have a three year degree(Bcom) from India, then came to the
US for my masters but did not graduate.
I have been working for three years now and decided to try my luck at Tijuana for a multiple entry stamping.
I took all tax papers and also had an educational evaluation done to show that my bachelors in India along with the courses taken here is equivalent to a US bachelors degree.
The lady at the interview was more interested in my I797, company info and most importantly paystubs.She asked paystubs of the person infront of me also, then that was it, she just gave me the visa, I did notice that there were a lot of people in the Tijuana consulate for H1 multiple stamping and most of them seem to have been approved.
I used a website mexicoimmigrationconsultants.com for help in getting to the embassy and for my Mexico permit and visa fees.

Just an FYI for people planning to go to Mexico for visa stamping.
:)
 
Visa stamping: India vs Mexico, Canada etc

I'm on my opt right now, which expires in May 05. If I get H1B approved by the company I'm working for, then I'll have a 4 month lag till Oct 1st when I can start working. Are there any (dis)advantages of visa stamping in India versus Canada or Mexico. Which country has a more favorable acceptence rate.. (generally speaking) ?
Thanks,
Nihal
 
To make appt, go to www.nvars.com. Paystubs show the details of salary (salary, 401k contribution, etc). You do NOT need a mexican visa to got to Tijuana.

Take W2 (if available), old tax documents (if available) and any other documents that will help to show that you were continuously employed (if you were laid off for a long time that will reflect in W2 and tax documents as a small yearly salary). In addition, I would take a letter from the current company which states that you are working as xxxx and drawing a salary of xxxx.
ela
volchonok said:
Sorry, what is "paystubs"? Is it the same as paychecks?
I also have my H1-B approved. I have a bachelor's degree diploma and its evaluation. I liv ein San Diego so Tijuana would be the closest place for me to get my visa stamped in my passport (I need to go home to Belarus in May). Can you pls tell me what I need to do. Make an appointment? Where? And do I need any visa to go to Tijuana and back? Now I just have my Notice of Approval and my passport with I 94.
I's be very grateful to you if you share your experience concerning getting your multiple entry stamped.
Thanking you in Advance!

Ira.
 
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