I had gone for H1B stamping to New Delhi in May 2011 and I thought it would be nice to tell you my experience:
Situation: 6 years of H1B expired. I-140 approved, another 3 years of H1B visa renewed and needed to get that stamped. Unfortunately, I had an arrest record which made me extremely worried.
Arrests - 1) May 2008 arrested for DUI. Case dismissed August 2009. 2) April 2010 arrested for family violence based on allegations by ex-wife. Case dismissed Dec 2010
I am working for a Fortune 50 company and have an MBA from a top B-school in USA.
Experience:
First window: Indian guy sitting at the counter took my finger prints and asked me to wait. After waiting for about an hour I was called to the next window
Second window: American consular at the window interviewed me for around 20 minutes. She asked me the entire story. I told her that I was arrested but charges were dismissed. I produced all the papers from court and police. Charging documents, judgments of courts, receipts of payments made to court, certificates of classes I had to take. I told her the entire story about what happened in each of the instances, and how the charges were false and thus dropped. She asked about my background and I told her my education, that I had been living in the US for so many years, that I had a good job, well educated, etc, etc. She was convinced and I received my passport back with the visa granted after 7 days (usually it takes 3-4 days, but I guess they were doing some background checks on my case, hence the delay). I was not asked to undergo any medical examination. I was fearing that would happen, given the DUI arrest.
So my recommendation is - carry ALL your documents, prepare a good truthful story to tell to the consular office. You need to be able to convince the officer that you are a good person, and shit happened that was not in your control. Having a good job and good education, and good credentials obviously helps
Situation: 6 years of H1B expired. I-140 approved, another 3 years of H1B visa renewed and needed to get that stamped. Unfortunately, I had an arrest record which made me extremely worried.
Arrests - 1) May 2008 arrested for DUI. Case dismissed August 2009. 2) April 2010 arrested for family violence based on allegations by ex-wife. Case dismissed Dec 2010
I am working for a Fortune 50 company and have an MBA from a top B-school in USA.
Experience:
First window: Indian guy sitting at the counter took my finger prints and asked me to wait. After waiting for about an hour I was called to the next window
Second window: American consular at the window interviewed me for around 20 minutes. She asked me the entire story. I told her that I was arrested but charges were dismissed. I produced all the papers from court and police. Charging documents, judgments of courts, receipts of payments made to court, certificates of classes I had to take. I told her the entire story about what happened in each of the instances, and how the charges were false and thus dropped. She asked about my background and I told her my education, that I had been living in the US for so many years, that I had a good job, well educated, etc, etc. She was convinced and I received my passport back with the visa granted after 7 days (usually it takes 3-4 days, but I guess they were doing some background checks on my case, hence the delay). I was not asked to undergo any medical examination. I was fearing that would happen, given the DUI arrest.
So my recommendation is - carry ALL your documents, prepare a good truthful story to tell to the consular office. You need to be able to convince the officer that you are a good person, and shit happened that was not in your control. Having a good job and good education, and good credentials obviously helps