Delay in Visa Stamping–Send Inquiry to US Embassy / Consulate

 

Make sure:

1. You have checked the Visa Processing or Stamping for your Location and that duration has been surpassed.
2. OR, if your case has been referred to 221(g) Administrative Processing than you have waited for at least 60 days.

Also, make sure you have checked your Visa Application Status Online.

There are two ways you can send your queries to US Embassy or Consulate in your Location

1. You can send queries to designated email address displayed on US Embassy or Consulate website. For example for US Consulate Karachi the email address is KarachiVisaQuery@State.gov
   
2. You can also send your inquiries using “Non Immigrant Visa Unit’s Web Based Email Submission Form” available on US Embassy or Consulate website. For example, following form available on US Embassy Islamabad’s website.
   

221(g) Administrative Processing and the Actual Visa Stamping

 

On the day of your H-1B Visa Interview at US Consulate or Embassy, when Visa Officer finished asking questions, he/she will conclude the interview by letting you know whether you succeed or failed in the interview. If you succeed, there are two cases:

1. The Visa Officer hand over to you a 221(g) Administrative Processing Form and say that Administrative Processing is required in your case.
   
   It is possible that the Visa Officer will ask for some more documents related to you or your Sponsor, which you and/or your Sponsor has not submitted throughout the process. Not that these documents were required initially, but they might need them in your case for further clarification.

   It is also possible that they don’t ask for any further documents and your application still have to go through the Administrative Process.

   The actual amount of wait might also vary from case to case. Generally they give you the time of 6 to eight weeks, but in actual it can be less or more than.

   “After the interview, many visa applications necessitate further routine but required administrative processing, an integral part of the visa adjudication process that can be neither waived nor expedited. Individuals whose applications require this processing will be informed of that fact at the conclusion of their interview. Most administrative processing is completed within 60 to 90 days of the visa interview, but some cases do take longer. We cannot predict how long this processing will take for any particular case.”

   Source - http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/nonimmigrant_visa_faqs.html

    

2. The Visa Office will inform you about an estimated time frame when your H-1B Visa will be stamped on your Passport.

UPDATE – You can now Check your Visa Application Status Online, click to read more

In either cases, once your H-1B Visa is stamped on your Passport and your Passport is ready to be collected from American Express, you will receive a call from American Express representative to come and pick it up.

Possible Interview Questions That May Be Asked By Visa Officer During H-1B Visa Interview @ US Consulate or Embassy

 

1. For which position you are going?
2. Which company you are going?
3. Are you married?
4. How long you’ve been married?
5. How many kids you have?
6. What is the age of your kid?
7. Please show me the birth certificate of your kid?
8. To Wife – Where were you born?
9. To Wife – Have you ever travelled to any foreign country?
10. To Wife – Was your marriage arranged or love?
11. To Wife – Was your child born full term?
12. To Wife – What time in the day was he born?
13. To Wife – When you were married?
14. How many children you have?
15. Where in USA are you going?
16. How do you come to know about this Job Opportunity?
17. How do you know the person who referred this job opportunity to you?
18. For how long that referrer (in #8) is working with his current company?
19. On which position that referrer (in #8) is working on?
20. Is he/she (referrer in #8) still working with his current company?
21. Is he/she (referrer in #8) currently in USA?
22. What compensation will you get?
23. Will your employer be providing you the accommodation?
24. What was the interview process in your new Company?
25. Were they telephonic interviews or in-person?
26. Where you are graduated from?
27. Do you have any business card or employment letter of the current job with you?
28. Do you have a family in USA?
29. When do you plan to join your Company?
30. Tell me briefly about your travel history in last 10 years?
31. Tell me some of the clients of your company (which you are going to join in USA)?
32. What position will you be having?
33. What’s the business of your Company?
34. What is your last degree?
35. Where did you work after you graduated?
36. Where are you working right now?
37. Does your current employer knows about your H-1B processing?
38. How many employees your company have (the one which you will join in USA)?
39. What will you going to do in your new company?
40. So you studied Mathematics? What is Integration?
41. What is a Stack?
42. What is Debugging?
43. What is a Code Comment?

On the Interview Day - US Embassy/Consulate’s Interview Process for H-1B Visa Applicants

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “The Complete Process Trail for H-1B Work Visa”.

• Try to reach 10 to 15 minutes early on the interview day. Please note that it is not recommended by the Consulate to reach earlier than 10 to 15 minutes.

• Parking – If you are on personal conveyance than you can park your vehicle at the locations highlighted with green lines, in the picture below:

1. Outside the premises of US Consulate Karachi - The security personnel will register your entry by asking your Name, Passport Number and Check In Time
2. Main Gate – Through which you enter into the US Consulate Karachi’s premises.
3. Security Check – You will asked to hand over whatever folder, file you have. Besides that you will be asked to take off your leather belts, wallets, glasses, keys, in fact any thing that is other than your clothes. Once checked and satisfied, they will return your items back to you.
4. Walk way to the main waiting area.
5. Waiting area with a shed and seating arrangements for applicants
6. Waiting area with a shed and seating arrangements for applicants
7. Entrance gate to the building
8. Finger Printing Area – Your finger prints will be taken and your height will be measured. They will also ask in which language you want to give the interview, if you have already not checked it on the sticker that was pasted by American Express on the back or front of your passport.
9. The final waiting area – Contains at least 9 or 10 rows of 4 seats each like:
   [01 [05 [09
   [02 [06 [10
   [03 [07 [11
   [04 [08 [12 …..
10. Interview Counters – Visa Offer’s Interview Counters – Total of 5 or 6.

The total process from your entry into the premises as mentioned in #1 above, up till your interview and exit, it would take around 2 and a half hours or so. The actual interview with the Visa Officer will be just around 15 minutes or so.

Finally, what Visa Officer will ask in the interview? stay tuned for next post on this.

Interview at US Embassy/Consulate

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “The Complete Process Trail for H-1B Work Visa”.

1. All visa applicants, irrespective of age (including infants), are required to appear for an interview at the designated Embassy/ Consulate on the specified date. All applicants below age 14 must appear along with their parents, copies of parents NIC should be provided while submitting the applications.
2. Applicants must carry following documents while appearing for the interview:
   • Valid Original Passport and all previous passports
   • Fee Receipt issued by AEG having the interview date specified on it
   • Original academic degrees/ diplomas/ certificates with a photocopy set of all those documents
   • Any other documents, at their own discretion, to support their visa case (e.g. full travel details, detailed educational information etc.)
   • Original CNIC
3. At the interview, visa officer after review of your application may ask for additional information from you; and will advise the decision on your visa application. Following situations are likely
   • Visa is refused; passport will be returned by the visa officer
   • Visa is approved with some additional administrative process; either a letter would be given to that effect and passport is retained or on your request passport can be returned
   • Visa is approved; passport will be retained and will be returned after a week or so through the visa center where the application was submitted
4. On receipt of the Passport with visa sticker from the Embassy/ Consulate, applicant will be notified on his/ her contact number. You may collect passport personally or through an authorized representative in writing along with copy of his CNIC on surrendering one original Receipt and the letter given by the Visa officer.
5. If you have taken back the passport prior to visa issuance, you would be advised by the Embassy/ Consulate to submit passport once the visa is ready. You are required to submit passport through the Visa Center on payment of applicable service charges. On receipt of passport back from Embassy/ Consulate same process as defined in point 9 will be followed.

Nonimmigrant Visa Unit - Karachi
U.S. Consulate General
Plot No 3-5, New TPX Area
Mai Kolachi Road
Karachi, Pakistan
Phone Inquiries:
(+92-21) 3527-5000
Monday - Friday, 2:00 to 3:00 PM

Fax: (+92-21) 3527-5885
For visa related inquiries: KarachiVisaQuery@State.gov
View Larger Map

Submit H-1B Visa Documents and Fees to American Express and Schedule your Embassy/Consulate Interview

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “The Complete Process Trail for H-1B Work Visa”.

Once you have submitted online your Nonimmigrant Visa Application DS-160, you have to submit following documents and fees to:

American Express
Ground Floor, Shaheen Complex
Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road
PABX 92-21 3263 0260-80
amextravelkarachi@aeg.com.pk
Web: http://www.aegusvisa.com.pk/

View Larger Map

List of Documents to submit:

1. Confirmation page of DS-160
2. Original Passport valid for at least 6 months at the time of submission along with an enlarged (A4 size) copy of the first two pages of current and old passport. Original passport would be returned after due verification
3. Copies of previous passports first 2/4 pages, covering 15 years of travel
4. Travel history form for last 10 years. You will get a paper document from American Express on which you can fill your Travel history.
5. One photograph; having size of 2X2 inches preferably color photograph taken against a white or off-white background, printed without borders on non glossy paper. Computer Scanned photographs are not acceptable and photograph cannot be modified in any way, re-touched, penciled or altered by computer software Photograph should have been taken within last 6 months.
6. I-797, I-29
7. HEC Form – You will get this document from American Express. Fill it, sign it and attach it with the rest of the documents
8. Original SSC (Metric) Certificate
9. Original HSSC (Inter) Certificate
10. Original Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD’s Degree/Certificate
11. Original SSC (Matric) Marks Sheet
12. Original HSSC (Inter) Marks Sheet
13. Original Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD’s Transcript
14. Submit H-1B Visa Fee - US$190
1. Do not forget to get the receipt
15. Once you submit all these to American Express
1. Take receipt against submitted visa application
2. Take an interview appointment date. (Interview date will be noted on the Visa Fee Receipt).

Submit Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application DS-160

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “The Complete Process Trail for H-1B Work Visa”.

Once you’ve received your H-1B Package from your Sponsor, you can now go ahead and submit the Online Non-immigration Visa Application DS-160. The DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application form, is for temporary travel to the United States. Form DS-160 is submitted electronically to the Department of State website via the Internet. Consular Officers use the information entered on the DS-160 to process the visa application and, combined with a personal interview, determine an applicant’s eligibility for a nonimmigrant visa.

Go to Consular Electronic Application Center website. This website is hosted by US State Department and they recommend that you use Internet Explorer or Firefox browser to access the DS-160.

Before you start filling the DS-160, make sure you have following documents with you:

• Photo (digital or soft copy). Please refer to the Photograph Requirements for detailed guidance.
• Passport
• Travel itinerary, if you have already made travel arrangements.
• Dates of your last five visits or trips to the United States, if you have previously travelled to the United States. You may also be asked for your international travel history for the past five years.
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae - You may be required to provide information about your current and previous education and work history.
• Other Information - Some applicants, depending on the intended purpose of travel, will be asked to provide additional information when completing the DS-160.

Do note that, you can save your application or return to a partially completed application. When you begin a new DS-160, you will be issued a unique application identification (ID) number after selecting and answering a security question. Write down the Application ID displayed on the top right-hand corner of the page. If you need to close the browser before submitting your application, you will need this Application ID to continue your application.

IMPORTANT – You have to fill separate DS-160 for every family member going with you to USA. Once you finish your DS-160, on the “Thank You” page you will see an option to create a family or group application. When you select this option, certain information from your application, such as destination, will automatically be imported to and displayed on a new application.

After you have completed the DS-160, you must take these next steps below:

• Print and keep the DS-160 confirmation barcode page. (You do not need to print the full application.)