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/

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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.

H-1B Work Visa Sponsor to file Labor Condition Application (LCA) with Department of Labor (DOL)

 

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

Prospective specialty occupation and distinguished fashion model employers must obtain a certification of an LCA from the DOL. This application includes certain attestations, a violation of which can result in fines, bars on sponsoring nonimmigrant or immigrant petitions, and other sanctions to the employer. The application requires the employer to attest that it will comply with the following labor requirements:

• The employer will pay the beneficiary a wage which is no less than the wage paid to similarly qualified workers or, if greater, the prevailing wage for your position in the geographic area in which you will be working.
• The employer will provide working conditions that will not adversely affect other similarly employed workers. At the time of the labor condition application there is no strike or lockout at the employer place of business. Notice of the filing of the labor condition application with the DOL has been given to the union bargaining representative or has been posted at the place of business.

Source: USCIS

A single Labor Condition Application for H1B may be filed for multiple positions. Each LCA is limited to one occupation with specified job duties.

The LCA must be certified by the DOL and submitted with the Form I-129 before the H1B petition may be approved by USCIS.

Labor condition applications are filed online using the iCERT system

An application which is complete and has no obvious inaccuracies will be certified by the Department and returned to the employer, who may then file it in support of its petition for an H1B visa nonimmigrant with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service USCIS (USCIS).

Current LCA processing time is 7 days.

List of Document required by H-1B Work Visa Sponsor

 

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

Once you have accepted the Offer Letter from H-1B Work Visa Sponsor. You will be required to submit following information and scanned copies of documents for the processing:

Information Required

1. First Name
2. Middle Name
3. Last Name
4. Any other Names used
   
5. Email Address
6. Contact Number(s)
7. Date of Birth
8. Country of Birth
9. Province of Birth
10. Country of Citizenship
    
11. Passport #
12. Date Issued
13. Date of Expiry (MUST BE VALID FOR A MIN. OF 6 MONTHS TO 1 YEAR)
14. Consulate/Embassy (City) in your Country
15. Country
    
16. Ever been on H-1B visa before?
1. If yes then provide all dates of previous stay in From Date / To Date format
17. Social Security Number / SSN (if any)
    
18. Highest Level of Education Completed
19. Total Years of Experience in IT industry
    
20. Additional info for those who are already in USA
1. Date of Last Arrival
2. I-94#
3. Port of Entry
4. Current US Address
5. Current Status
6. Previous Receipt / Case Number

List of Documents

1. Scanned Color Copies of:
1. Passport (Biographic Pages)
2. Resume
3. All Diplomas / Certificates
4. Degrees and Transcripts (with Translation into English, if required)
5. Previous Work Experience / Job Reference Letters
6. Additional documents for those who are already in USA
1. Scanned Color Copies of:
1. I-94 with visible stamped date of entry
2. Previous Approval Notice(s)
3. Recent Pay Stubs

IMPORTANT – Please make sure you have Machine Readable Passport which must be valid for a min of one year.

H-1B Work Visa Sponsors and their Selection Process / Criteria

 

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

How to find H-1B Work Visa Sponsors?

So how you will find an H-1B Sponsor who sponsor candidates with similar expertise and skill sets as yours? There are different ways in which H-1B Sponsors float sponsorship opportunities in the market.

1. Join Local Office for some duration  – Some sponsors publish their local job vacancies with H-1B sponsorship as an “added” advantage. So once you are selected, you will have to join their local office for a year or more (depending upon your specific case) and thereafter they’ll process your H-1B. Also, some sponsors tie the processing of H-1B sponsorship with your performance in their local office, so it is not necessary that once you joined their local office, you are also selected for the sponsorship as well.
   
   So, in order to find such sponsors, refer to my post “Companies who Sponsor H-1B Work Visa for USA in Pakistan” and follow Job Opportunities from these companies on:
   
   Rozee.pk
   pak-jobs-IT
   Company’s own website
   
2. Trusted References Only – Some sponsors do not float their ads directly in the local market, they work through their existing established local trusted references. So, in this case, you have to leverage upon the professional and social circle you are in. In my opinion, I could be wrong, professional networks like LinkedIn.com or Rozee.pk might help in this case. Because your complete professional profile is visible to your contacts and they can see if you are a good fit for the opportunity or not.

Selection and Interview Process

In first case above, the selection process is pretty much the same as with any other selection process for local Job Opportunities. Therefore, I’ll now discuss the second case in detail below.

If an H-1B sponsor is interested in your profile, they will schedule your technical interview. The interview duration will be 30 to 60 minutes in which you will be evaluated in following technical and non-technical areas:

1. Technology (Java/.Net/C++/etc)
1. Hashing
2. Serialization
3. Collections
4. Multi Threading / Concurrent Programming
5. Network Programming
6. JDBC
7. Exception Handling
8. etc.
2. OOP
3. Frameworks
1. IoC (Spring, etc.)
2. MVC Frameworks (Spring WebMVC, Struts 1/2, etc.)
3. ORM Frameworks (n/Hibernate, etc)
4. Web Services (REST, SOAP)
4. Databases
1. SQL
1. Joins
2. Sub Queries
3. Views
4. Stored Procedures / Functions
5. Triggers
6. Query Performance & Optimization
2. Transactions & Locking
3. Big Data Handling concepts like Sharding and Partitioning
4. High Availability concepts like Clustering, Replication, etc..
5. Problem Solving – Scenario based
6. Communication
1. Command over English Language
2. Clarity of Thoughts
3. Confidence
4. Attitude
5. Mental Presence and Attentiveness
6. Punctuality

Besides above, you can be asked about any thing that you have written in your resume/cv.

As far as interview scheduling is concern, you can either receive an email or a phone call confirming your interview time and date. They will also let you know how your interview will be taken i.e. it could be over:

1. Skype
2. Your landline or Mobile phone
3. Goto Meeting Session
4. etc.

The interview could be Audio only (most probably) or both Audio and Video. Some important tips for the interview are as follows:

1. Make sure you are online/ready 5 minutes before your scheduled time. Save yourself from the embarrassment of last minute hiccups.
2. Make sure you are in a safe and sound place, where you can attend your interview peacefully with out kind of interruptions.
3. If you are giving interview on Mobile Phone, make sure it is fully charged.
4. If you are giving interview on Skype or Goto Meeting or any online audio/video service, make sure your Mic/Speakers/WebCam/etc. are all working correctly. Better make test calls to make sure every thing is fine.
5. Speak naturally with a medium pace (not too fast, not too slow) and slightly louder than normal voice.
6. Avoid short answers and very long explanations. Be specific with enough details to satisfy the interviewer.
7. Be prepared for the time when they ask you “if you any questions for us?”, keep a couple or more questions handy for the that time.

You’ll probably be notified within a week about the result of your interview and whether you are shortlisted or not. You will either receive an email (most probably) or a phone call.

In my next post, I will discuss what will happen once you pass the scheduled interview and make it to the shortlisted candidate?