Visa Information
Attention H-1 B visa applicants
Friends , I have had a very unique experience during the process of getting my first H-1B Visa into a multiple entry one . I would like to share those moments with all of you . I would recommend all of you to go through this at least once . I am sure it would be very much helpful to all .
It was indeed an exciting moment in my life when I got this job offer from Ericsson Inc. It was my very first one and that too in this new country .I was just out of school and eager to find out whom I would be working for .The answer was obvious and I was glad that it was so.Ericsson had agreed to process my H-1B visa. My Optinal training visa (OPT)
was supposed to expire on December 2, 2000
The first important thing is to request your employer to apply for the H-1B start date
sometime before the expiry of your OPT. This gives you time to wait for the H-1B visa in the
event that it does not arrive on the start date applied for .This is just to make sure that you do
not become out of status .
To begin , Ckeck to see if deductions suchas Social Security and
Medicare are taking place from your pay before your H-1B approval has arrived .There
should be no deductions of the above mentioned kind until the point that your F-1 status
(OPT) changes toan H-1B ( full time work visa ). The average time taken for the H-1B
approval is about 40-60 days but may sometimes take upto 90 days
Once the H-1B is approved you should get an I-797 form which
is the original approval notice .Be sure to ask for the original from your employer if they
havn't sent you one. The I-797 also contains the I-94 card attached at the lower bottom .
This document is your whole and soul while applying for the visa .
A multiple entry visa is obtained by applying at a US consulate
outside the US .It could be your home country or any other of your choice . There is a
huge trend to apply for these visas at the US Border posts . Prospective applicants have been
applying at US consulates along the Border of US in Mexico and Canada.The primary
difference betwen these two countries is that in Canada the Visa is issued on the second
business day while in Mexico it is done on the same day itself .This could save you a
days vacation ...just a little humor.You need to make an
appointment for a Visa interview before you actually visit the consulate .
This could be done through the privately run site : nvars .
They charge a small fee equivalent to $6.25 Canadian . Please visit the site and it
prompts you to select the US consulate of your choice ( Canada & Mexico) and then asks
you to select the the appointment date and time from the ones available.
In order to attend to these interviews you
need to enter either of the countries for which you need a legal Visa.I did not have a very
good experience at the Mexican consulate in Atlanta where I went to apply for a Mexican visa .
I was requested to wait till the consulate heard back from the Mexican government regarding my visa application.
My company suggested me to talk to a person in El Paso who was very much Familiar with these proceedings .
The Person's name :Victor Garcia. With his help I would say that you save a whole lot of running around
here and there. Additionally he makes the process very simple and neat .The only thing you are supposed
to do then is to take the visa interview. Victor has his own web site which explains everything
, right from the appointment till the point you get the visa and return back to the US .Be sure to visit his
web site and read through everything.It also explains how to go through this entire process through his help
and also the probable document needed during the visa interview.
Visit to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
My visa interview was scheduled for Nov 17,2000 at the U.S. Consulate General, Juarez, Mexico at 9:00 AM.
I had sent certain documents to Victor a couple of days before . These were :
Copy of the visa interview letter sent by NVARS
Cashiers Check for $50 in the favor of Victor Garcia.These are the consulate fees that
need to be paid in Pesos.Vicotr takes care of the pesos conversion and pays the money
for you and gives you the receipt of the money paid in Pesos required at the consulate alongwith
the visa application form
Copy of my passport
Spanish letter authorizing Victor to obtain me a permit to enter Mexico.This mexican letter could be down loaded from
Victor's web page . It needs to be notarized by a public notary . What I did was to include the
English translation of the spanish content in the same letter so that there won't be any problem
for the notary to notarize the document.
I flew down to El Paso on Nov 16,2000 and stayed at the Econo lodge . The Lodge has transportation from tahe airport .
you need to call them from the airport and they are there to pick you up in 10-15 minutes time.At precicely 7:00 AM Victor showed up at the
front desk of the Lodge in his MIni Bus that he intented to use on route to Juarez.There were about 20 persons including me who were supposed
to be taken by Victor to Juarez.We sat in the mini bus and he distributed the Mexican Permits and the Bank receipt to each of us.We started the
bus ride at exactly 7:30 AM.
The bus ride takes approximately 15 minutes to the mexican border.There is a river that seperates the US border with Mexico.The bus crosses into
the Mexican side and then Victor drives it into the Mexican INS office where the Mexican permit and your passport are stamped to officially let you inside
Mexico. This is absolutely required . Next The bus is taken to the US consulate which is about 7-8 minutes ride from the INS office.Victor drops everyone there
outside the consulate and then everyone is on their own.
There is a seperate queue for the persons who have taken appointment for the visa interview . SO be sure to ask the guard standing outside and tell him that
you have an appointment . He lets you go inside and you stand in a seperate queue than the one where the Mexican nationals are standing.The queue winds
inside and then you are again let inside by another guard whosees that you have an appointment. At any point make sure that the guard knows that you have
an appointment. Once you are just outside the entrance to the consulate let the guard there know of your appointmment . He lets you inside and then you stand
in a queue to turn in your Passport , I-797, passport size photograph and the visa application form.The queue is the one on the extreme right hand corner.
The person at the end of the queue verifies your appointment letter and then the documents mentioned above and gives your a token number that would be
the serial number for the visa interview. YOu take that number and walk out of the building and stand outside in front of the entrance. The numbers are announced
according to the serial number and the ones announced are requested to proceed to a specific window inside the consulate.Be sure to hear those announcements.
The windows are on the left side of the building.
The visa interview is generally very brief. Be sure to have all the documents in handy and easily presentable to the visa officer.In my case I was asked to furnish my
degree certificate (M.S.) . That was it , but in some cases he might want to verify your employment , and thats when the company provided documents come into the picture .
Be sure that you have your salary payroll stubs in handy as it might be asked for .
Once the interview is done the officer lets you know if you are given the visa and if yes then asks you to go and oay the visa feesa and bring him back the receipt of the payment.
You walk oout of the consulate and go to the main road and then walk to the left about 2 entrances far and then you find a large iron gate with a guard outside . Let him know
that you are there to pay the visa fees and he lets you inside. You walk right across the big open space right till the wall of the big building in front of you and then there is a small
door on the right hand side with a guard outsideit . Enter in there and walk straight to the window ( the two windows on the extreme right ) to pay the fees ( $75 US).You can pay
it with a credit card.
Once you get the receipt for the fees go back to the window where you took the interview and hand over the receipt to the visa officer. He will collect it and then ask you to wait outside.
Once outside wait for some personnel to bring the stamped passports outside and distribute it. That's the only way it is done so be on your toes toes to hear what name she/he calls out .
This is a rather flimsy approach but then considering the crowd there it is the only way that seems possible.
Once you get your passport make sure that you have the original I-797 back and also check the visa for any possible typos or misspellings.It is very important that you let them know of
any errors there and then itself. Now that everything is good you come outside of the consulate premisis and look for a cab to take you to the Mexican side of the bridge that seperates
the US and Mexico. The cab driver would ask you if he should drive you to the other side , but refuse it and ask him to drop you on the mexicna side . Generally he would charge around
$ 5 per person . The ride is about 5-6 minutes and definitely not worth the money.
Now that you have reached the bridge , walk across the bridge to the other side . It is a nice walk and should not take more than 8-9 minutes. when you get to the US side of the bridge , proceed
to the INS office on the left hand side of the road to have your passport stamped saying that you have left Mexico.The permit is retained by the personnel there .Once that is done proceed
to the US INS office on the right side of the road . You need to turn in your passport and visa there to have your I-94 stamped. Your name is called out and then you proceed to the cashiers
window to pay the fees and collect you documents. Make sure that your name is spelled correctly on the card.
Once you get back your documents you are complete in your process of obtaining a multiple entry visa. Before exiting the INS office the guard check the visa and then you officially enter the US.
You need to call Victor from a pay phone there and he comes to pick you up. He then rides you back to the Hotel (Econo Lodge) .
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