Protectorate of Emigrants Stamp on Passport–Post H-1B Visa Stamping Action Items

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “Post H-1B Visa Stamping Action Items”.

What is Protectorate of Emigrants Stamp?

For every Pakistani citizen, who is going abroad for any reason, it is a mandatory requirements to get NICOP, Life Insurance and Protectorate of Emigrants stamp on his/her passport. It is IMPORTANT to note that without the Protectorate of Emigrants stamp, ASF/FIA/Custom officials at the airport will not allow you to get onboard.

Location / Address / Map:

Protector of Emigrants
Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment
14-J, Block No.6, Near KFC,
Nursery, PECHS, Karachi.
View Larger Map

Timings:

Submissions are only allowed during 09:00 and 12:30 PST. On Friday submissions are only allowed during 09:00 and 11:00 PST

Required Documents:

1. Original Passport – with H-1B Visa Stamp
2. 4 Photocopies of #1
3. Original I-797
4. 3 Photocopies of #3
5. Original Computerized National Identity Card CNIC
6. 4 Photocopies of #3
7. Original National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis NICOP – If you have have applied for the NICOP and have the Token issued by NADRA, than this NICOP Token would also suffice.
8. 3 Photocopies of #5
9. Original Employment Offer or Contract
10. 4 Photocopies of #7
11. Resignation Letter given to previous employer
12. NOC if your last employer was a Government functionary
13. Life Insurance
14. 2 CNIC Photocopies of your blood relative i.e. Father, Mother, Siblings, Children – required for Life Insurance
15. Bank Challan Receipts
16. Information Form
17. Photographs – At least 4.
18. For #4 and #17 above – If you have more, keep them with yourself, because it’s my experience that our government departments are too obsessed with collecting Photographs and Photocopies of CNIC. The amount of photocopies of documents these government department requires, each one of them “attested” with a 17 or higher grade officer is just insane! I believe this is the main reason why stationary guys and notary public guys are still in business :)

Fees & Duration:

• Fees – Total PKR 6,500 – See breakdown below:
1. State Life Insurance – PKR 2.000
2. Employee’s Welfare Fund – PKR 2,000
3. Protector Registration Fee – PKR 2,500
• Duration – Same day

Process:

• IMPORTANT TIP: Go straight to #10 i.e. the Helper Guy. You will see a man, in his late forties. Ask him about the process, he will guide you step by step, fill your forms, challan, etc, make your file ready to submit by yourself and will accept any nominal fees from you for his services. He doesn’t seems to be greedy as you usually see such places. Seems educated and very polite person to talk to. In my experience, the government should hire him for helping people in such a great manner. But then I thought, may be when he is hired, he might become one of those that are sitting on government seats!
• For all those who can remember the steps and can go through the process on their own, read further
• Go to #7 i.e. Reception Area and tell them that you want the Protectorate of Emigrants Stamp on your Passport.
• They will ask to show the required documents
• They will issue you the Information Form, NBP Challan etc.
• Now, you will have to submit Challan and Fees to three different banks; National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited and United Bank Limited.
• See the map below to locate these:
  View Larger Map 
  
• Go “inside” HBL first and ask for “Employee’s Welfare Fund” Challan. Fill the challan, submit PKR 2,000 and get the receipt.
• Go to the window of NBP, the one which is on the far right side – see the small red circle mark on the image map above. Submit the challan along with PKR 2,500 and get the receipt.
• Go “inside” UBL, fill the “Deposit Slip” with following details
• Account# – 621-7
• Title of Account – State Life
• Amount – PKR 2,000
• Submit the Deposit Slip along with PKR 2,000 and get the receipt.
• Go to photocopy shop and make copies 2 copies of all the receipts
• Go back to the Protectorate of Emigrants Office, fill the forms, attach photocopies, photos, Challans, and other required documents, mentioned above.In what sequence? please ask that Helper Guy I mentioned in first point, because I just forgot the sequence :)
• Present this file (containing all documents, challans, etc) to Reception Area i.e. #7 in the image above.
• You will then be asked to take this file to the Protector of Emigrants Registration Section show at #16 in the image above.
• The Protector of Emigrants Registration Section will check all documents and will send the file to the Protector of Emigrant Officer
• Protector of Emigrant Officer will sign, emboss on Passport and forward the file to the Briefing Section
• At 15:00 PST the Briefing Section will conduct a session where he/she will brief all the newly protected individuals with all the necessary aspects of rights on foreign soil, protection of Government of Pakistan, Insurance matters, Incident and Health Hazards, etc..
• After the briefing session, you will be handed over your original documents which includes the Protectorate of Emigrants Stamp on your Passport.

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).

What is H-1B Petition I-129’s Approval Notice I-797B and How it Looks Like?

 

Please click here to read about variants of I-797 including I-797B.

The USCIS Approval Notice I-797B, is really a receipt that USCIS has received your application and contains information like:

• The applicant's (Petitioner) individual information.
• The Beneficiary's information (if any).
• Name with the petition.
• Receipt Number, using this number you can verify the status of your application.
• Receipt Date, the date your application was received by USCIS.
• Priority Date, is your location inside the waiting list queue. This date depends upon the preference group you come under as well as the nation of birth. If your priority date may be the current date, it means that a visa is immediately offered.
• Notice Date.
• Type of notice, whether or not it is USCIS Approval or receipt.
• Class, what category you belong.
• Validity of one's petition. This states how lengthy your petition is legitimate. The consular authorities have the right to extend your validity interval.

USCIS will send Approval Notice I-797B to Sponsor

 

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

Once H-1B petition I-129 was approved by USCIS, an Approval Notice I-797B will be sent to the employer. Notice that I-797 has different variants, however only the ones that are highlighted below are relevant in our case.

USCIS uses numerous types of Form I-797 to communicate with customers or convey an immigration benefit. Form I-797 is NOT a form you can fill out. The chart below gives a brief description of each:

I-797, Notice of Action - Issued when an application or petition is approved.

I-797A, Notice of Action - Issued to an applicant as a replacement Form I-94.

I-797B, Notice of Action - Issued for approval of an alien worker petition.

I-797C, Notice of Action - Issued to communicate receipt of payments, rejection of applications, transfer of files, fingerprint biometric, interview and re-scheduled appointments, and re-open cases.

I-797D - Accompanies benefit cards.

I-797E, Notice of Action - Issued to request evidence.

I-797F, Transportation Letter - Issued overseas to allow applicants to travel.

Source: USCIS

H-1B Work Visa–Complete Process Trail

 

Below, I’ve summarized complete H-1B Work Visa Process Trail. Later on, I’ll pick each one of them and will walk you through every step in detail, to help you understand the process completely:

1. Find an H-1B Sponsor and Pass their selection criteria
2. Receive and Accept the Offer Letter from the Sponsor
3. Send related documents to the Sponsor
4. The Sponsor will file Labor Condition Application (LCA) with Department of Labor (DOL)
5. Once LCA is certified, the Sponsor will file H-1B Petition I-129 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and USCIS will send the I-797 Receipt Notice to the Sponsor.
   • How to check your H-1B Case Status?
   • What is Request for Evidence (RFE)?
   • Responding Request for Evidence (RFE)
   • Why Request for Evidence (RFE)? Recent Trends
   • Request for Evidence (RFE) Processing Time
6. Once approved USCIS will send an Approval Notice I-797B
   • What is H-1B Approval Notice I-797B and How it looks like?
   • H-1B Petition I-129 Processing Time and Trends
7. The Sponsor will send the I-797 along with other documents to you
8. Submit H-1B Visa Application DS-160 online on USCIS website.
9. Submit DS-160, documents and Fee to American Express and get your interview scheduled in the U.S. Embassy or Consulate
10. Appear for the Visa Interview at US Embassy/Consulate 
    1. Possible Interview Questions That May Be Asked By Visa Officer During H-1B Visa Interview @ US Consulate or Embassy
    2. On the Interview Day - US Embassy/Consulate’s Interview Process for H-1B Visa Applicants
    3. 221(g) Administrative Processing and the Actual Visa Stamping
    4. Check your Visa Application Status Online
    5. Check Current Visa Application Processing or Wait Time
    6. Delay in Visa Stamping – Send Inquiry to US Embassy or Consulate
11. Once approved, you are eligible to fly to USA