3 More H1B Visa Stamping Experience – Employer Part of Plantiffs

Looks like a lot of folks (in comparison) to 2020 are attending H1B Visa interviews who are who are exempt from Presidential Proclamation.

1. First Time H1B Stamping Experience

• Got Approval: 24th February 2020
• Booked appointments: 31st December around 3:00 pm.
• OFC Appointment: 25th January
• Interview appointment: 29th January

I traveled to India from the USA on 13th January with a Negative RT PCR Covid 19 test and approved exemption from Air Suvidha. I did RTPCR in Mumbai as well (just in case if they asked. Not required though).

H1B Visa OFC experience:

Biometrics appointment is a straight forward process for documents verification, and fingerprint. it took about 25 minutes.

FYI: Make sure you don’t take your digital watch with you.

H1B Visa Interview Questions

The waiting time was about 1 hr 20 mins. The following questions were asked during the interview:

• Which company do you work for?
• Since when you are with this company?
• Salary?
• What is your position?
• Where is the company’s headquarter located and where do you work?
• Are you in-house or client-side?

Then VO informed your visa is approved.

2. H1B Visa Interview in Delhi

F1 to H1B Visa Interview Experience:
Type: F1 to H1B (1st time, effective Oct 2020)
Interview location: Delhi
Date: 28 January, 2021

H1B Interview Questions Experience:

VO asked which visa am I applying for and asked for my passport and I-797.

Which company I work for?
What type of work I do?
Since when I am working with this company?
Am I direct employee or do I work for a client?
Salary?
Location?
When did I arrive in India?
Was I present in US for entire 2020?
Highest education?

VO: your visa has been approved. You should receive your passport within 5 working days. Please follow quarantine and COVID test requirement while traveling back to US.

This part will be useful for those who are in doubt if they are exempt from proclamation if they were present in US before the proclamation was signed.

The person who was interviewed in front of me asked VO after the interview if she is exempt from the ban. These were VO’s exact words: “you are exempt on multiple grounds. One is your employer is part of technet and second you were present in US when the proclamation was signed.

3. H1B Stamping in Delhi

F1 to H1B visa interview : Approved
OFC Date: 19 Jan, 2021
Interview Date: 25 Jan, 2021
Location: Delhi (for both)

Visa picked up in 2020 lottery, status changed in October, 2020.

Exempt from proclamation (was in the US in June, 2020)

March 2021 appointment got cancelled rebooked for Jan, 2021.

OFC:

Only took 15 mins for the entire process. Asked for passport, DS-160 confirmation and Appointment confirmation.

H1B Visa Interview

The Visa interview slot was for 10:30.
I got there at 10 AM. Not too many people, so got inside the interview room within 20 mins.

VO: Please provide your passport and i797.

Questions asked:

• Where do you work?
• When did you start working for this company?
• What is your current title and responsibilities?
• What is your work location?
• What is your salary?
• Did you go to school in the US?
• Which school, when did you graduate?

Showed me a general guidelines pamphlet for working in the US, asked me to give fingerprints and then told me “Your visa is approved”.