I got my H1B visa and my wife's H4 visa stamped on my passport from Toronto, Canada on October 6th, 2003. This forum helped me a lot in preparing for my appointment. I thought I should return the favor by sharing my experience with all of you here.
My appointment time was 10:00 A.M. I reached the consulate at 9:30 A.M and saw that there was a small line. My wife and my baby daughter(a U.S passport holder) were with me. The security guard asked me for my appointment letter before letting us in. There was some fruit and other food in my daughters bag and we were asked to throw it out. I obviously obliged.
Once inside, there was an another line just before we got to the first window. My wife and my daughter were asked to be seated while I waited for my turn. At the window, I was asked where I lived, and when I told her that I was in the U.S, she marked my applications with some alphabets. I also turned in my application fees and passports. I was then asked to sit and wait for my turn. The time was 9:45 A.M.
I waited for a very frustating period of 2 hours since I was very stressed about the whole thing. Finally, I was called to counter #5. As all of us approached the window. The lady at the window asked my wife to take the baby and go back to the waiting area. She then asked me to turn in my old passport since the passport I initally submitted was brand new. She then asked me to turn in all my documents. I was very confused at this point since I was expecting her to be specific. Anyways, I turned in the following documents to her:
1) Letter from my H.R indicating my salary and my start date.
2) Reference letter from my Manager
3) H1B and H4 approval notices (I-797) - Originals
4) I-129 and LCA papers - Copies attested by my attorney
5) OPT card - Original
6) Masters Degree Certificate - Original
7) last 5 to 6 paystubs - Originals
8) Company Brochures
While I was submitting all this, she was intensely going through every page on my old passport. She then showed me a copy of an old U.S visa and asked me if I had ever used it. And I, in a fit of utter confusion, said "No". Big mistake. This was a visa(F1) that I used to travel to the U.S sometime in '96 but had to return to India in 2-3 days due to a family problems. Since I did not go to the school on which this visa was issued, I instinctly said no to her query. She then looked pretty mad and showed me the entry stamp into the U.S that proved that I had used the visa to enter the country. When I explained that I had to leave in a couple of days, she said that she could not find any stamp on the passport that indicated that I left the U.S and entered any other county. I was in complete shock by then and was confused as to why she could not easily find the stamp that indicated that I entered India. The lady then threw the passport at me and asked me to find the stamp myself. I was now sweating and panicking while looking for this elusive stamp. The visit was so long ago that I was not even sure where to look for the stamp. Finally, there it was, the stamp that proved that I entered New Delhi. When I showed it her, she looked satisfied and chided me for telling her that I did not use the old visa. I apologized and explained that my reasoning for not using the visa was completely different from her interpretation. She asked me not to repeat this ever again.
The lady then asked me about how many employees worked for my company. I work for a small company of around 100 employees. She that pointed me to my paystubs and asked me why my Year To Date totals were showing such a small amount when I had been working for this company for the last two and half years? I was stumped since I did not realize that after my company was acquired, my payroll had changed and the new payroll had reset the Year to Date numbers. I started explaining to her about the acquisition and the payroll. She said she did not see any proof of my claim and said that all my paystubs indicated that my I had been working there only for 5 to 6 weeks. The acquisition was very recent and I FORGOT to include the older paystubs. Anyways, I was very well equipped with all my documentation. I immediately took out the folder with each and every paystub that I received from my company and placed it in front of this lady. She took a quick look at it and seemed happy.
I had just survived the second attack.
She then took a good look at my OPT card, my U.S. degree and my Marriage Certificate before returning everything to me. She then wrote up the Reciprocity Fee receipt and asked me to go to the 3rd floor to pay the fee and come back to her. I took the receipt and in the elevator, on my way to the 3rd floor, I was just thinking of what I had gone through. I paid the reciprocity fee of $75 each for both my H1B and my wife's H4. Anyways, by now, I was releived that I was actually getting our visa stamps.
I turned in the fee receipts to the lady at the counter and she had both our passports stacked up with I-797's in them. She then said she had another question for me. And her question was why my wife's I-797 had an approval date a week or two earlier than mine? I was stumped for the third and final time. I calmly started to explain to her about how the company that I was working for on OPT had also applied for my first H1B during which I had also applied for my wife's H4 and then in a couple of weeks, the company that I currently work for also applied for my H1B and therefore the discrepencies in the dates. She said that she did not understand a word I had said and just wanted to know why the dates were different. I immediately dug into my folders and took out my first I-797 notice and showed it to her. And she immediately said, "Oh, so you got it from a previous company that you worked for. Why did you not say so?". And she gave me back the H4 approval notice and kept both our passports and my H1B approval notice. She then asked me to pick up the passports the next day between 3:00P.M and 4:00P.M. All this took a total of 15-20 minutes.
I went to the consulate the next day at 2:45 P.M and found out they were already giving out the passports from the Window at the entrance. I turned in my receipts, got my passports, verified that all the information on the visa's were correct, and rushed to the airport to catch a flight at 6:40 P.M to return home. The gentleman at the U.S. immigration in Toronto was very nice and friendly and we were back on U.S. soil in a couple of hours.
It was a pretty nerve-wracking experience for both of us. But I guess we survived. I am happy that when we go to India on vacation in November, we will not have to worry about the stupid stamp and will just have a great time.
My only suggestion to anyone going for a visa stamping interview is to be very prepared. Take every document that you beleive is important. It'll surely help when the Consular Officer has doubts or questions.
Please let me know if you have more questions on my experience.
My appointment time was 10:00 A.M. I reached the consulate at 9:30 A.M and saw that there was a small line. My wife and my baby daughter(a U.S passport holder) were with me. The security guard asked me for my appointment letter before letting us in. There was some fruit and other food in my daughters bag and we were asked to throw it out. I obviously obliged.
Once inside, there was an another line just before we got to the first window. My wife and my daughter were asked to be seated while I waited for my turn. At the window, I was asked where I lived, and when I told her that I was in the U.S, she marked my applications with some alphabets. I also turned in my application fees and passports. I was then asked to sit and wait for my turn. The time was 9:45 A.M.
I waited for a very frustating period of 2 hours since I was very stressed about the whole thing. Finally, I was called to counter #5. As all of us approached the window. The lady at the window asked my wife to take the baby and go back to the waiting area. She then asked me to turn in my old passport since the passport I initally submitted was brand new. She then asked me to turn in all my documents. I was very confused at this point since I was expecting her to be specific. Anyways, I turned in the following documents to her:
1) Letter from my H.R indicating my salary and my start date.
2) Reference letter from my Manager
3) H1B and H4 approval notices (I-797) - Originals
4) I-129 and LCA papers - Copies attested by my attorney
5) OPT card - Original
6) Masters Degree Certificate - Original
7) last 5 to 6 paystubs - Originals
8) Company Brochures
While I was submitting all this, she was intensely going through every page on my old passport. She then showed me a copy of an old U.S visa and asked me if I had ever used it. And I, in a fit of utter confusion, said "No". Big mistake. This was a visa(F1) that I used to travel to the U.S sometime in '96 but had to return to India in 2-3 days due to a family problems. Since I did not go to the school on which this visa was issued, I instinctly said no to her query. She then looked pretty mad and showed me the entry stamp into the U.S that proved that I had used the visa to enter the country. When I explained that I had to leave in a couple of days, she said that she could not find any stamp on the passport that indicated that I left the U.S and entered any other county. I was in complete shock by then and was confused as to why she could not easily find the stamp that indicated that I entered India. The lady then threw the passport at me and asked me to find the stamp myself. I was now sweating and panicking while looking for this elusive stamp. The visit was so long ago that I was not even sure where to look for the stamp. Finally, there it was, the stamp that proved that I entered New Delhi. When I showed it her, she looked satisfied and chided me for telling her that I did not use the old visa. I apologized and explained that my reasoning for not using the visa was completely different from her interpretation. She asked me not to repeat this ever again.
The lady then asked me about how many employees worked for my company. I work for a small company of around 100 employees. She that pointed me to my paystubs and asked me why my Year To Date totals were showing such a small amount when I had been working for this company for the last two and half years? I was stumped since I did not realize that after my company was acquired, my payroll had changed and the new payroll had reset the Year to Date numbers. I started explaining to her about the acquisition and the payroll. She said she did not see any proof of my claim and said that all my paystubs indicated that my I had been working there only for 5 to 6 weeks. The acquisition was very recent and I FORGOT to include the older paystubs. Anyways, I was very well equipped with all my documentation. I immediately took out the folder with each and every paystub that I received from my company and placed it in front of this lady. She took a quick look at it and seemed happy.
I had just survived the second attack.
She then took a good look at my OPT card, my U.S. degree and my Marriage Certificate before returning everything to me. She then wrote up the Reciprocity Fee receipt and asked me to go to the 3rd floor to pay the fee and come back to her. I took the receipt and in the elevator, on my way to the 3rd floor, I was just thinking of what I had gone through. I paid the reciprocity fee of $75 each for both my H1B and my wife's H4. Anyways, by now, I was releived that I was actually getting our visa stamps.
I turned in the fee receipts to the lady at the counter and she had both our passports stacked up with I-797's in them. She then said she had another question for me. And her question was why my wife's I-797 had an approval date a week or two earlier than mine? I was stumped for the third and final time. I calmly started to explain to her about how the company that I was working for on OPT had also applied for my first H1B during which I had also applied for my wife's H4 and then in a couple of weeks, the company that I currently work for also applied for my H1B and therefore the discrepencies in the dates. She said that she did not understand a word I had said and just wanted to know why the dates were different. I immediately dug into my folders and took out my first I-797 notice and showed it to her. And she immediately said, "Oh, so you got it from a previous company that you worked for. Why did you not say so?". And she gave me back the H4 approval notice and kept both our passports and my H1B approval notice. She then asked me to pick up the passports the next day between 3:00P.M and 4:00P.M. All this took a total of 15-20 minutes.
I went to the consulate the next day at 2:45 P.M and found out they were already giving out the passports from the Window at the entrance. I turned in my receipts, got my passports, verified that all the information on the visa's were correct, and rushed to the airport to catch a flight at 6:40 P.M to return home. The gentleman at the U.S. immigration in Toronto was very nice and friendly and we were back on U.S. soil in a couple of hours.
It was a pretty nerve-wracking experience for both of us. But I guess we survived. I am happy that when we go to India on vacation in November, we will not have to worry about the stupid stamp and will just have a great time.
My only suggestion to anyone going for a visa stamping interview is to be very prepared. Take every document that you beleive is important. It'll surely help when the Consular Officer has doubts or questions.
Please let me know if you have more questions on my experience.
