Can anyone tell me if US has resumed issuing H-1 visas to Pakistanis from US consulates in Canada?? or do people must have to go back to Pakistan to get it stamped … in that case whats the approximate time US embassy is taking in Pakistan for sifting thr application, getting clearance and verifying documents etc??? I know for F-1 visas, these days, it takes around 3-5 months after submitting applications & documents before you’d get the interview call from US embassy. But if one has to get the H-1 stamped from Pakistan, how can he simply afford to spend even 2 months staying in Pakistan and waiting for the interview call? Anyone who has recently got the H-1 stamped, please do let me know the procedure and timing factors involved. Thanks
post this quesry in career section to get better advice..
To date one has to go back to country of origin to hget h-1 visa stamped..some of my friends got their h-1 visa stamped within a month while others had to wait for 5-6 months.. recently it seems they have reduced the background check time but there is absolutely no guarantee .. so keep in mind that while going there..
You still have to go back to PAK to get your passport stamped. The time frame is between 3 to 6 months. They don't care how u can afford to spend 2 or more months in PAK they will just take their time. I think minum time rquired is 3 months.
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*Originally posted by teaser: *
You still have to go back to PAK to get your passport stamped. The time frame is between 3 to 6 months. They don't care how u can afford to spend 2 or more months in PAK they will just take their time. I think minum time rquired is 3 months.
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There is no min or max limit.. my friend just returned within a month after getting a stamp from Pakistan..
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*Originally posted by Degas: *
There is no min or max limit.. my friend just returned within a month after getting a stamp from Pakistan..
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I dont know much about this, but a friend of mine who was working in a company for an year in a good position went to Pakistan and his visa expired, and when he applied for a new one, they took his passport and kept it for 2 months, now his company in the US gave him a time period of 2 months and waited, but then they terminated his job and hired someone else. Now hes stuck, he cant get the visa (since his job is gone) and they are not returning his passport, hes tried several times. Hes very depressed right now, and does someone have a clue what he should do? Hes in Karachi right now.
it depends on the company if they r cooperating.. without another job offer from the company hes stuck.. a fellow i know got his case done in a year after second offer of job!
why go pakistan? H1 na? do in Mexico also one day! jest going place border texas and 2- doler for taksi for Mexico. only one day they give stamp (I do same 10 year back). chang nowaday?
Based on my knowledge, first stamp of H-1B can only be from the country of origin. Subsequent stamps (change of employer, extention etc) can be from the State Department within US.
In Pakistan, it is taking 2-3 months for the interview and then the background check of minimum 4 weeks. So yes, its a hurdle right now.
TomSawyer: Yes, that facility is now withdrawn.
I was sifting thr State Dept’s visa services’ site and got some info regarding procedures for non-immigrant visa procedures. The info seems pretty updated but not very conclusive. It gives a very vague hint about third country nationals applying from Canada/Mexico for non-immigrant visas. It does mention of the fact that people from 7 designated countries listed as terror sponsor however can only apply from their home countries.
How To Apply For a Visa at a Border Post If You Are a Third Country National Present In The United States Or Visiting Canada
Appointments are Required
Any third country national (TCN)* present in the United States and visitors present in Canada who wish to apply for a nonimmigrant visa at any of our border posts in Canada or Mexico must make an appointment for an interview. U.S. Consular offices are located in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver, Ciudad Juarez, Matamoros, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo and Tijuana.
- Please note that Border Posts can no longer accept applications from non-resident TCNs who are nationals of the seven countries currently designated as state sponsors of terrorism. For more information, please see the Notice: Special Visa Processing Procedures Pursuant to Section 306 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002.
Appointments by Telephone: If you are in the United States and you wish to schedule an appointment, you should call 1-900-443-3131; in Canada you should call 1-900-451-2778. Callers from the United States or Canada wishing to charge the cost of the call to a credit card may schedule an appointment by calling 1-888-840-0032. Unlike the 1-900 numbers, which are blocked from most hotel, office or pay telephones, the credit card line can be accessed from virtually any telephone. The appointment system requires a touch-tone phone; a push-button rotary phone will not work.
Appointments by Internet: Applicants can also book appointments via the Internet at http://www.nvars.com. Each appointment costs $10.00 Canadian, which will be charged to a major credit card. Applicants are advised to have their credit card information handy.
After your appointment is scheduled, you will be mailed an application form (DS-156) and an information sheet for the post where you will be applying. Please DO NOT call an individual post directly to request an appointment. They can only be scheduled by calling the appropriate 1-900 or 1-888 telephone number or by using the Internet.
Who Can be Issued a Visa at a Border Post
Individuals who have ever been out of status in the United States because they overstayed their visa or their I-94 are not eligible to apply at a border post. In other words, if you have remained in the U.S. longer than the period authorized by the immigration officer when you entered the U.S. in any visa category, you must apply in the country of your nationality. If you are not certain about your status, check with the nearest U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (BCIS) office.
Individuals seeking appointments should be aware that applicants may be more likely to encounter difficulties at the time of interview when they apply for a visa outside of their home district. Consular officers at border posts will deny visas whenever they believe there are fraud indicators present, or their lack of knowledge of local conditions and familiarity with documents in the applicant’s home country prevents them from properly adjudicating the case.
the above details from State Depts' web site doesn't specifically rule out Canada/Mexico as being 2 alternatives for getting non-immigrant visas stamped instead of going back to home country but of late I've not come across anyone from Pakistan who actually has gone to either of these 2 countries to get H-1 stamped.
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*Originally posted by Vonti: *
the above details from State Depts' web site doesn't specifically rule out Canada/Mexico as being 2 alternatives for getting non-immigrant visas stamped instead of going back to home country but of late I've not come across anyone from Pakistan who actually has gone to either of these 2 countries to get H-1 stamped.
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I know someone who got it done from Canada, it was in December last year.
I am wondering why you would go and get your visa stamp?
I mean once u get H-1 do u really need to go back to your home country or exit USA to any other country and get visa stamp?
Can't you just stay and keep on working till your H-1 expires or within this period you can file for green card and once you have a green card you are all set?
Here's an interesting story :)
I was working on OPT after graduating and asked the company if they can sponcer me and they happily did (Ofcourse they took long time to decide since my company has never ever done this before but thanx to my company's CIO he was happy to do it for me). So I hired a lawyer on my own (since my company has never done this before so they did not had a lawyer for H-1 processing). Everything went well and my lawyer filed for H-1. During that time the special registration thing came out so I asked my lawyer if I should go and register or wait till my H-1. She told me to wait till your H-1 visa comes back. So I waitted waited waited no responce from INS. Finally on the last day of registration I went to the local INS office and got myself registered.
Three months passed I still didn't get a rsponce from INS on my H-1. Meanwhild I had to stop working since my OPT was expired and I was sitting home for the last 3 months. My lawyer had no idea whats going on(I was cursing myself why I hired such a stupied lawyer I guess this is what happen when you go for cheeper stuff). After 3 months the Nebraska center sent my file to the local state office to make a decision on my case. This was not normal cuz the local state office has no idea on H-1 and they can't process H-1. Again I waited and waited and waited after 5 months still no answer. All this time I was sitting home enjoying watching cricket matches and getting lazy. Every time I call my lawyer she gets away by saying I called INS I e-mailed the local office I called the senator(Mark Dayton) office but no one is telling her anything, She don't know whats going on. So I decided to go to the local INS office and find out on my own. When I spoke the officer in local INS office he and his supervisor said they don't know where my file is and they don't know who and when someone will find my file and make a decision on my case. I was very mad at the officer and his supervisor they kept saying "we don't know, we don't know". I came back home and next day sent a detailed e-mail to another senator (Coleman) office. After few days I got a call from Coleman secretary. I explained to her the whole situation. So she started calling the local INS office and Nebraska center.
Finally she found out that my file was in the local INS office but no one looked at it. It was just laying in the file room and no one bother to look at it to decide what should be done. So bascially if the secretary has not contacted the INS I might have not gotten any answer on my case for years :(
Another interesting thig is that when the secretary spoke to the supervisor of the local INS office and that supervisor looked at the file it had a note on the outside of the file saying "this person needs to be deported" :( and another note inside the file saying "this person does not need to be deported his status is fine".
Anyway now its been over 6 months since I filed for H-1. The secretary called me yesterday and said they have sent my file back to Nebraska yesterday with note saying everything is fine and hopefully I should be hearing from them in a week or so.
teaser,
As per H-1 rules in place a few years ago, if you get approval for a fresh H-1 alongwith a change of status (these two can be applied at the same time by the employer), then yes, you can just continue working, as long as you stay within US. The only problem is that once you go out of US, you will need the H-1 stamp on your passport to be able to come back, and the first H-1 stamp is only done in the country of origin. So, there you go. :)
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*Originally posted by Spock: *
I know someone who got it done from Canada, it was in December last year.
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is it possible you can post some details from that person about where in Canada he went to, any extra papers required besides the listed ones and his experience with the consulate staff??
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Faisal: *
teaser,
As per H-1 rules in place a few years ago, if you get approval for a fresh H-1 alongwith a change of status (these two can be applied at the same time by the employer), then yes, you can just continue working, as long as you stay within US. The only problem is that once you go out of US, you will need the H-1 stamp on your passport to be able to come back, and the first H-1 stamp is only done in the country of origin. So, there you go. :)
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Faisal,
Thanx for the info. I won't be going out of USA after getting my H-1 and will wait till I get green light ;). Ofcourse thats if Allah's willing otherwise I will just pack up and say bye bye to USA for good.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by teaser: *
I am wondering why you would go and get your visa stamp?
I mean once u get H-1 do u really need to go back to your home country or exit USA to any other country and get visa stamp?
Can't you just stay and keep on working till your H-1 expires or within this period you can file for green card and once you have a green card you are all set?
Here's an interesting story :)
I was working on OPT after graduating and asked the company if they can sponcer me and they happily did (Ofcourse they took long time to decide since my company has never ever done this before but thanx to my company's CIO he was happy to do it for me). So I hired a lawyer on my own (since my company has never done this before so they did not had a lawyer for H-1 processing). Everything went well and my lawyer filed for H-1. During that time the special registration thing came out so I asked my lawyer if I should go and register or wait till my H-1. She told me to wait till your H-1 visa comes back. So I waitted waited waited no responce from INS. Finally on the last day of registration I went to the local INS office and got myself registered.
Three months passed I still didn't get a rsponce from INS on my H-1. Meanwhild I had to stop working since my OPT was expired and I was sitting home for the last 3 months. My lawyer had no idea whats going on(I was cursing myself why I hired such a stupied lawyer I guess this is what happen when you go for cheeper stuff). After 3 months the Nebraska center sent my file to the local state office to make a decision on my case. This was not normal cuz the local state office has no idea on H-1 and they can't process H-1. Again I waited and waited and waited after 5 months still no answer. All this time I was sitting home enjoying watching cricket matches and getting lazy. Every time I call my lawyer she gets away by saying I called INS I e-mailed the local office I called the senator(Mark Dayton) office but no one is telling her anything, She don't know whats going on. So I decided to go to the local INS office and find out on my own. When I spoke the officer in local INS office he and his supervisor said they don't know where my file is and they don't know who and when someone will find my file and make a decision on my case. I was very mad at the officer and his supervisor they kept saying "we don't know, we don't know". I came back home and next day sent a detailed e-mail to another senator (Coleman) office. After few days I got a call from Coleman secretary. I explained to her the whole situation. So she started calling the local INS office and Nebraska center.
Finally she found out that my file was in the local INS office but no one looked at it. It was just laying in the file room and no one bother to look at it to decide what should be done. So bascially if the secretary has not contacted the INS I might have not gotten any answer on my case for years :(
Another interesting thig is that when the secretary spoke to the supervisor of the local INS office and that supervisor looked at the file it had a note on the outside of the file saying "this person needs to be deported" :( and another note inside the file saying "this person does not need to be deported his status is fine".
Anyway now its been over 6 months since I filed for H-1. The secretary called me yesterday and said they have sent my file back to Nebraska yesterday with note saying everything is fine and hopefully I should be hearing from them in a week or so.
[/QUOTE]
Things look fine teaser!!! Inshallah you'll be getting your H1 soon I guess, do let me know when you get the response!!! I cant believe they just kept your file and did nothing.