H1B stamping in Pakistan

Society Business and Career
21

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Asif2000: *

Yes they did put restrictions on it.

They didn't use to take ur I-94 before when you traveled to Canada or Mexico. This means that u could come back with expired stamp but valid I-94. (Note: You have a valid I-94 that comes with your H1 approval but you don't have a visa stamp or it may have expired.) They now take ur I-94 at exit with intention to give u a new one on ur return based on ur valid visa. So this means that, if you don't get that stamp that you went to Canada for, they won't be able to give you a new I-94 and you won't be able to return back. Whereas before you could still retrun if they US COnsulate denies you visa in Canada (or Mexico) since you still had the I-94.
[/QUOTE]
This is not true. I went to Canada last month and they don't take I-94 out. Even if the visa stamp on the passport is expired, as long as you have a current approval, they will let you back in. They will take out the I-94 on return and give you a new one. There are some countries to whom this does not apply (like Syria etc), but Pakistan is not in this list, so don't worry.

Anyway, this won't help him, cz US Embassy in Canada will not stamp the new visa on the passport. "Will" is a hard word, but they are not likely to. Not sure about Mexico, but I will be very surprised if Embassy in Mexico is doing it.

Plus, with the background checking, one can get stuck in any place. It also depends on the name. If someone has a common enough name that is appearing in any of terrorist listings floating around, it takes much longer to get thru the background check (a friend of mine got stuck in Pak for 4 months). Ideal situation is 1 month and change as mentioned above. So, it depends.

If you are in the US, then the best course of action is to get the visa stamped from State Department and then fly back to Pakistan. This process can take 3-4 months.

22

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by hmcq: *
I would say follow Fraudias advice and get married over the phone, make it legal and have her come here on an H4 visa.
[/QUOTE]

yeah and if u are sad about missing the hulla gulla, toh no masla, we can all show up at your valima here in US :) howz that?

23

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fraudz: *

yeah and if u are sad about missing the hulla gulla, toh no masla, we can all show up at your valima here in US :) howz that?
[/QUOTE]

Fraudz
Easy as it may sound to you but its not possible for me to get married over the phone and its not about hulla gulla either . I think I'll take my chances and will go in december.If worst comes to worst i can find a job there and try to start a new life but I think seriosuly this is a very concerening issue for employed people in US and the state department should do what is necessary to make it conventient for the indviduals on work permits. It doesnt make sense if u have already been fingerprinted and have been interviewed that an FBI check is required for a further stay.If it takes a day for an indian guy to get thier visa stamped who is working with u in the same company why not for us?

Also somebody mentioned autmatic revalidation is still open for entry in US in case of denial from Canada with valid I-94 card..this I need to confirm

Thanks for the update though..

24

There are conditions for automatic revalidation. It only applies to Canada and Mexico. Your stay has to be less than 30 days. You should not apply for another visa while you were there and you must possess approval of the visa. However, I checked all these rules last month but for H-1B continuation. Check to see if it also applies for F to H. I think it will, but double check from your attorney.

Reading back, it seems you are/were on F status and this will be your first H visa. I don't think state department will stamp it. If they don't, then your only course of action is to go to Pakistan and get it done. If you are lucky, you may get it in 1 month.

Is there any way, you can get your employer to allow you to work from Pakistan (depends on the kind of work you do)? Or else, tell them that you will return as soon as possible and if you go over your alloted PTO, then you will just remain on an unpaid status. Depending on how good you are in your work, they may agree to it.

25

Pakistanis cant apply for h1 b stamp in Canada and Mexico now. Only Canadian residents are allowed to get their visas stamped there and they have to take prior interview time.

H1 b visas take anywhere from 1-3 months and unless one has good understanding with boss one should be aware that it could take months. I have seen many having their visas stamped in one month whereas in rare cases it took 3-6 months too.

The background check doest apply to women; recently my cousin got her h4 stamped within a week from Islamabad. Phone nikah is a good option as mentioned by Fraudia and you can actually arrange all documents and go in December for actaul halla gulla.. good luck!

26

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by TommyKnocker: *

Well i came here on F1 for my Matsers which is expired of course since last year. That the only visa i have on my passport
[/QUOTE]

Tommy if I understand the above statement correctly then you are in a dire situation, I would advise you to Consult a very good Lawyer, coz if your F1 is expired since last year than you are out of status, and now the BCIS has imposed some restrictions on reentry into the US (I dont remember the exact period, but it has something to do with the period you have been Out of Status).

second Issue is stamping by state department, that I believe is only possible if you have a Previous H1 stamped on your passport.

Tommy is your H1 approved, if not why dont you ask your employer to sponser you for a permanent Resident Card (Green Card), because now you can file your I 140, I 485, Work Authorisation and Advance Parole all at the same time.

The advantages are numerous

1- you can work (work authorisation can be renewed every year).
2- You can travel (Advance Parole can also be renewed every year).
3- as long as your I 485 (Adjustment of Status) is pending you ARE in LEGAL STATUS.
4- this will also take care of your out of status problem, I think its 245(i) if less than a year and 245 (k) if more than a year you have to pay a $1000.00 penalty and are allowed to adjust atatus. (I may have the i and k in the wrong order please check with a lawyer).
5- There is also a provision to file for spouse to join as long as the marrige has taken place before approval of I 485.

You may also want to check the websites of Rajiv Khanna, and also Sheela Murthy (Both Excellent)

Hope this Helps.

regards

aejaz

27

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Aejaz: *

Tommy if I understand the above statement correctly then you are in a dire situation ...
[/QUOTE]

That may not be true! Visa is not important as it is just for entering and leaving USA.. Person is legal as long as the person has valid I-20 in case of a student! I have known a lot of students whose visas expired but were legal as long as they had valid 1-20's.

They also have one year of practical training and their f-1 visas could expire during that period too.. still they are legal.. they become out of status if they dont fulfill course requirements or exceed time after their practical training period is over when they need h-1 sponsorship.. I think as Tommy has practical tyraining period left having a valid visa on passport is not important but would be required when he comes back to USA.

28

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Degas: *

That may not be true! Visa is not important as it is just for entering and leaving USA.. Person is legal as long as the person has valid I-20 in case of a student! I have known a lot of students whose visas expired but were legal as long as they had valid 1-20's.

They also have one year of practical training and their f-1 visas could expire during that period too.. still they are legal.. they become out of status if they dont fulfill course requirements or exceed time after their practical training period is over when they need h-1 sponsorship.. I think as Tommy has practical tyraining period left having a valid visa on passport is not important but would be required when he comes back to USA.
[/QUOTE]

I was not aware of that advantage of the F1 visa, so I just presumed that an expired visa is being out of status.

Thanks for the clarification.

29

Ditto degas comment vis F1B visa. Good to see you back here Degas. Still working in the same field :)?

30

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Degas: *

That may not be true! Visa is not important as it is just for entering and leaving USA.. Person is legal as long as the person has valid I-20 in case of a student! I have known a lot of students whose visas expired but were legal as long as they had valid 1-20's.
USA....

[/QUOTE]

Yes Visa Stamp is just for travelling purpose. I have H1b and I just need to get it stamped so I can come back to United States with my wife, Other Wise I can stay here for 3 years and another three years with extension without green card.

Thanks for the feedback

31

I know a 3 of friends who got there H1B stamped from Pakistan in 25 days.

32

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by TommyKnocker: *

Yes Visa Stamp is just for travelling purpose. I have H1b and I just need to get it stamped so I can come back to United States with my wife, Other Wise I can stay here for 3 years and another three years with extension without green card.

Thanks for the feedback
[/QUOTE]

I think by now you have heard from so many people, that you probably have no idea what to do......well don’t worry, you are not alone in this battle. Americans have made this country a jail for all those who are from those 21 countries. Anyway, based on latest experience, here are some advices for you and for all those who are facing the same dilemma:

1)) Given that you have the honor to represent one of those 21 countries, there is absolutely no way, you can get H1-visa stamped from Canada or Mexico or from any other country except your parent country. And when I say "Absolutely No", I really mean it. Asif and Aejaz bhai belong to India and it is different for them ( asif i am assuming that you are same asif who used to be active at khel-khalrie. if not please accept my apology).

As a matter of fact, I already had H1 stamped on my passport in August 2000 from Toronto embassy (before 9/11 when usa used to be a free country) and when i tried to re-stamp H1 visa by sending my passport to St. Louis in 2003, i was refused and asked to go back to my parent country. By that time I already had Advance Parole issued and I decided to use it for traveling purposes. In essence, if you are between 20 and 35, not married and you are from those 21 countries, you have no choice but to go back to your country ( and if you are applying for the first time does not matter who you are, married or not married, you have to go back to your country).

2) It is easy for some people to advise you to do nikah on phone and then let whole marriage event happen without your presence. Either they are Abcds with no awareness of our cultural problems or they are too naive. If someone is not marrying into his relatives, I do not understand how come some one will be ready to send his daughter to usa with dulha miyan never showed up in his own marriage. yes, people back home need to be more practical, but when it comes to the sensitive issue of marriage, people back home are not that practical......

But to keep the record straight, yes, some people have done the nikah on phone and I am sure many more will do it in future. However, there is a technical problem in this case too. Say you have done the nikah on the phone, and now you have the marriage certificate ready, but still, there is no guarantee that your wife will get H4. Why? Because by law, your passport is supposed to have H1 visa stamped on it. You can send the passport copy as well as valid H1 petition to your wife but your passport copy will not have H1 visa stamped on it and your wife may be denied the H4 visa. Again, i am saying all this based on my conversation with USA consulate in Islamabad. I asked them the H4 visa requirements and also confirmed that with my lawyer. Again, to keep the record straight, usa consulate in Islamabad also told me that most of the times, we issue the H4 visa even the spouse’s passport does not have the H1 visa stamp but we may reject it.

" it all depends upon the mood of the visa officer dealing your case" was the exact answer of the usa consulate representative.....

3) HMCQ respond is most accurate among all and i will quote it again:

"You can not do the stamping in Canada or Mexico for the countries with these restrictions. She also said the time its taking depends on peoples names. Common names that may be associated with wanted figures are taking longer then names that cant be confused with others."

Yes, believe me or not, it has a lot to do with your name. My first cousin left on November 2003 and applied for H1 visa on December 6, 2oo3 and finally got his passport back on May 7 2004. and yes his name contains shah, syed and Hussain. And trust me Shaukat aziz talked to ambassador Nancy powell personally but she apologized as his passport was stuck some where in DC for FBI clearance. Nancy also said that my cousin’s name matched with some sensitive name in a confidential list and that is why his case was going through some extra checks….What I am trying to say that “Pakistani safarish” will not help in this case. (unless you can activate your representative American congressman to do some thing for you. And it is quite possible.)

Good news are that I also know personally at least three cases where my friends got their passport back within 5 weeks. Again their names were normal such as rehan or bhatthi or adeel etc….

4) Bottom line is that this is your own call………no one can tell you for sure. If your green card is already applied, wait ( if u can), until you get your advance parole and then travel on it. You can still keep your H1 status even if you travel on advance parole but don’t use EAD because you will lose your H1 status once you use EAD.

In end, some of my friends who are facing the same problem like yours told me of a Jewish lawyer in California who has managed to help people to get H1 visa stamped from Toronto office. Yes, all of his clients are from those 21 countries and he will accompany you to Toronto embassy and he will charge 4000 dollar for it. I have no idea how he does it and I have never used his service personally so please don’t take my words on it.

Sorry guys for the long reply but I was just trying to share the information. Good luck every one…..yeah this country is becoming a jail but then we all are living here by our own choice…and after 9/11 americans have every right to make their country safer.....so no moaning……

33

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by phoenixdesi: *

However, there is a technical problem in this case too. Say you have done the nikah on the phone, and now you have the marriage certificate ready, but still, there is no guarantee that your wife will get H4. Why? Because by law, your passport is supposed to have H1 visa stamped on it. "

[/QUOTE]

thnks for ur detailed reply and sharing ur experiences.. but there is no law as such that a h1 stamp is needed for h4 stamping! My cousin as i mentioned in above reply got her h4 stamped last week from Islamabad but her husband is still in USA. All visa officer needs is h4 approval letter and other support documents. Stamping of visa is relevant only for travelling to USA. As husbands h1 status is valid and doesnt want to travel abroad so it doesnt matter if wife comes alone and stamps visa.

Say a couple in USA have F1 visas which later on converts to sponsored h visas and wife comes back.. she needs stamped now not the husband who is already in USA..

In the end of day all depends upon luck and visa officer frame of mind at that time. There is no assurity of visa in any case however strong. One should have good report with boss and should be cleared in his mind that stamping could take more time. important thing is to make boss aware of true picture. 1-3 months is average time of stamping in Pakistan for males..

34

:k: :k:

Very well researched and written post.

Best advise, is if not already applied for GC, ask H1 sponser to sponser for GC, like I said Earlier I 140, I 485, Advance Parole and EAD can all be applied at the same time, another advantage with the EAD would be you can get a SS # (Presuming you dont have one).

phoenixdesi, I too have heard about a similar kind of operation, except that lawyer is in NY and he has anoher office in TX where the lawyer accompanies you into Mexico and gets the H1 stamped, charges about 4 - 5 grand, (Only problem like you mentioned, is that the individual that I know, who used his services is an Indian).

Good job again phoenixdesi

regards

Aejaz