H1b stamping for pakistanis

Society Business and Career
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hey guys,
I m from Pak but currently in usa.
The reason of this posting is to get some knowledge from you guys who have successfully gotten stamped their H1b immigration visa either from Canada or Pakistan. Pretty soon I m goin out of usa to get the H1 stamped. maybe canada or UK.
please share your experiences if you have any. I would appreciate.
cheers.

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

dont u have to go back to country of origin for H1 Visa stamp thingie now?
no idea btw I did not go thru H1 process.

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

You can get H-1B stamped from Pakistan. Depending upon whether your name shows up on any kind of terrorist list etc, expect to stay at least 4-5 weeks for the whole process. It can be longer if the name matches. You first submit your passport and forms to AmEx and wait for an appointment. Then you get an appointment date (often giving you a few days of heads up). Then if your visa is approved, it takes them at least 10 days to get you your passport back (this is for a repeat H-1B visa holder). For new H-1B, it could be 30 days or more.

A friend of mine just got his H-1B stamped from Singapore. He was there for official business on his way to Pakistan. In Singapore his visa was stamped and passport returned to him in 2 days. Now he doesn't have to go through the time-wasting rigamarole in Pakistan.

US Consulate/embassy in Canada had stopped stamping visas earlier, saying you need to go to the country of origin (i.e. Pakistan). But looking at the Singapore experience just now, I guess Canada is again a good bet. Call them or email them to find out if they will stamp it for you.

Not sure about Mexico or other countries.

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

well if it does not work in mexico, one can always just jump the border :D

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

Some of the people who went to PK to get their h1 stamped got stuck there for almost a year. I guess canada is a better option.
any pakistani friends here who got their h1 stamped from canada recently

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

ok i'm indian, i don't know if the process is different for pak nationals, but this is the info i have.

on an h1 visa, even if u don't have multiple entry, u can go to canada and return as long as the duration of the trip is under 30 days, this is called automatic revalidation, u can look it up online . u just hold on to ur I94 when u cross the border. and for visa stamping:

if u get an appt with the us consulate in canada, and if u get successfully stamped, then no probs, u can return to the US. however if the consulate rejects your application, u have to return to ur country of origin and get stamped from there before u can reenter the US. if you're planning to try for stamping from canada, try for an appt immediately as they are usually not available for abt 1-2 months. in india, first time applicants usually have to wait the same amt of time to get their appointment, but if u already have an h1 visa, and u are going to be in india for whatever period of time, u can request an emergency appt for the dates that you will be there. i don't know if it's the same in pak.

on a related topic, here is some info:

Recapture of H-1B Time Spent Abroad

Q: Can a foreign national who has used up all six allowable years of H-1B eligibility, and is not eligible for any other provision which allows extension beyond the six years, get back or "recapture" time spent abroad to receive additional time on an H-1B?

A: Yes. Citizenship and Immigration Services has adopted as official policy a court decision which states that all time spent abroad during the approved period of a nonimmigrant visa may be recaptured, and added to the end of the normally allowable nonimmigrant visa period.

U.S.C.I.S. had historically taken the position that time spent out of the U.S. could only be recaptured if that time was interruptive of the foreign national employee's U.S. employment. In other words, if the foreign national performed a three-month assignment abroad during the six years of H-1B employment, with another employee or employees covering his or her work from the U.S. job while the person was abroad, then the foreign national could get three additional months of H-1B time.

Under this old policy, vacation time spent abroad wouldn't count as being interruptive absent a prolonged leave, and so normally couldn't be recaptured. The shift in policy changes this, which makes available for recapture all time spent abroad without regard to the purpose or length of the trip.

Hope it helps :)

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

it usually is a one day process, but if your background check turns up something "suspicious", it could be a few weeks before you get your visa in hand. one of my friends from india working for intel had a two week delay based on "background check". given the current climate, it'd probably be safest to get the visa stamped in your native country.

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

Now why would you go to the UK for visa stamping??? Why dont you just go to the local USCIS office. You can do it there without leaving the USA.

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

no you can't.

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

you can get it done from Canada. Ottawa is the place you should go since the staff is really nice over there and you should get your visa stamped easily. Even if your name matches still it shouldn't take more than a month however it is likley that you can get is in 3-5 business days if there is no match.

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

got the visa in one day. back in the USA. any body need help let me know.
peace out

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

just for info's sake, where did u get it stamped? what was the experience like?

Battle of the mods
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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

Please share your experience. DId you fly or did you drive? Did they take the I-94 at the border going into Canada? If yes, did they give you a new one entering in? I have a friend who was asking me these questions recently.

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

Asif you have to surrender your I-94 if you intend to apply for visa/stamping or you plan to stay in Canada for more than 30 days.

You don't surrender I-94 when you intend to travel to Canada for less than 30 days and have no intentions to apply for visa, or travel to any other country from Canada.

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

Did u go to Pak????
What were u asked on interview....

Can u describe ur Experience In detail??

Share ur eyez pics!
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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

I got a call from US embassy in Ottawa that my case will take 3 months but I said what the hell . 3 months vacation would b nice.
It was fun. I flew to ottawa. went to embassy next day with my transcripts, w2(IRS tax stuff), paystubs, vacation letter from my company.
I went in the embassy paid the fees and all. My appointment was at 10 o clock. they called my name and I went in a special room. Everybody else was going at the windows but they called me in a special room where they issue visas for the diplomats and other. The spanish girl there saw my application and said I'll call you back. she called me back in 10 minutes and said your pic on the application is older than 6 months ( pic on the application and passport was same :D). "We need a recent one" and she gave me the directions to where to get the pic. I was thinking man I should have thought abt it instead of using a 2 year old pic. I walked fast to the nearby mall and got the damn pics in half an hour. Went back to the embassy in the same special room n she said we'll call you. I waited there for almost one hour and they called my name on the window this time. I went to the Visa officer. All suited very serious looking guy. I said "how is it going" in a chill way n he said good. He asked me "what I do for work" I started telling him my job description in complete technical words which I am sure he did'nt understand. He asked me how long I have been living in USA? Do I have the degree? where are the pay stubs? how much money I make? then he asked me for finger printing, gave me the sticker and said come tomorrow at 3 pm.
Next day I went there thinking man its too good to be true cuz in the embassy they have the list of the names of the most wanted terrorists and my name was matching three of them ;). But Thanks to Almighty I got the visa next day.
If You guys have any questions lemme know.
Peace love

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

I got the visa from Ottawa and after three days I went back to PK. My i-94 was taken by the VO in US embassy at Ottawa. When I came back to USA I was issued a new I-94.
Cheers

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

Sorry guys cant reply you PM. I have very less post to reply any pm.
Most recent pay stubs would do fine. The VO did'nt ask for the W2. I just showed him along with the paystubs. He only asked for the paystubs.
cheers

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

^^ How was ur Company letting you go on Vacation for 3 months?

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Re: H1b stamping for pakistanis

Company said one month is good. I was letting myself go on vacation for 3 months. you have to enjoy man.

Share ur eyez pics!