Stamped H1b visa revoked at London heathrow airport without any reason

[mjfico]

Hi Friends,
I have been working in the US on my H1b visa, since 2007, after completing my education from 2005 to 2007. There hasn’t been any gap on my payroll or tax filing ever
I had a successful stamping of my H1b visa on Sept 12 2012 at US consulate Chennai, after which I travelled back to the US (Newark NJ) on Sept 17 2012, during this period I was working for Client A, in Philadelphia. I’ve been working for new Client B, in Portland, since Feb 2013, for which I had filed an LCA as well
I had to travel back home to India for some family issue on March 03, 2013. While I was travelling back to the US on March 29, 2013, I was stopped at London Heathrow airport (LHR), while boarding on my connection flight to the US, by a US Homeland security agent who revoked my visa right at the boarding gate without giving me any reason. I was put on the next flight back to India
I contacted my employer from London and they were shocked to hear this, since they hadn’t received any kind of Notice of Intent to Revoke (NOIR) regarding this.
Now I am in India, unaware of the reason behind the revocation of my Stamped H1b visa. I contacted my attorney and they haven’t heard of any such case till now.
I need some help/advice from an attorney who has handled such a case before and/or if any h1b candidate who has had a similar experience. Could anyone please advice?

Summary: Key facts with dates
US F1 Visa 2005 to 2007 – M.Sc
Working for Company XYZ since 2007 (6+ years) as IT Consultant for multiple clients.
H1b renewal STAMPED for 3 Yrs (Sep 2012 to Sep 2015) at US Consulate Chennai : Employer XYZ and Client A.
Travelled back to US after stamping on Sep. 17 2012
Moved to client B in Feb 2013. Filed LCA in Feb 2013 for client B.
Travelled to India on 3rd March 2013. While Returning on 29 March, VISA REVOKED at LONDON Heathrow without any prior intent notice / explanation / reason.
Looking for an Attorney with great deal of expertise in handling VISA REVOKE (221G) Cases.
Please share your experiences and offer your BEST advices.
PLEASE HELP ME FIND A LAYWER SPECIALING IN VISA REVOKE CASES.
Thank in advance.

[kabkaba]

This is highly unusual and unheard of. Why should a DHS agent be working in UK? I cannot name any lawfirms here because of forum restrictions, but there is a very famous lawfirm working in the US that also has offices in India. You can Google for them.

[immihelp]

This can not be true.

There are no US Dept of Homeland Security agents at London airport.

Please do not spread rumors.

[mjfico]

Not a rumour !

This can not be true.

There are no US Dept of Homeland Security agents at London airport.

Please do not spread rumors.

This is not a rumour Sir !
You can contact me directly on my cell phone if you have any doubts or even come meet me in Delhi, INDIA.

I contacted Chennai consulate in India, where I got my stamping from, to find out more details since USCIS had no information on my case, I was told that my visa was revoked by Department of State and they did not have any further information regarding this

I will have to contact DOS now to find out if they can give me a reason behind the revocation

I have also contacted U.S. Sen. John Cornyn(R), Texas, requesting help in this matter

Hasn't anyone gone through something like this? I need some help/advice, if anyone is familiar with such a case

[ihelp07]

Stamped H1b visa revoked at London heathrow airport without any reason

This is true. There are US security agents at London Heathrow. Before boarding flight to US they do complete passport & visa check. Also they ask some questions regarding ur job , work etc. after that only u can board flight to US.

[kabkaba]

Like already suggested, seek help from the Immigration attorney in India. The famous one that I mentioned has offices in Chennai.

[mjfico]

Another update

Like already suggested, seek help from the Immigration attorney in India. The famous one that I mentioned has offices in Chennai.

After this incident, I consulted with an immigration attorney and he suggested that I should write to a Senator regarding my case so that I could find out more about the reason behind my visa revocation. I got the following response from him:

"After reviewing your concerns, the US Customs and Border Protection has informed me by telephone that Mr. YYYY XX's visa has been revoked by the US Dept. of State. You will need to reapply for a new visa and any waivers that may be applicable to his case. I hope you find the information useful. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist in this matter."

A couple of months passed by and I was finally able to get a company from US to place an offer while I was still stuck here in India, it wasn't very easy to convince them to interview me again and again via phone and video conferences etc. since there was no way I could've made it back for a face to face interview before they would hire/sponsor my visa.

Anyway, finally after about 8 rounds of phone/video interviews, I was able to close the deal and they agreed to file my H1b visa petition, which got approved sometime around Sept'13 and soon after receiving the approval form I-797, I scheduled for an appointment at US Consulate in New Delhi, INDIA.

On the Sept. 20th 2013, I went in for my interview and once again I had a hard luck. I got a 221g white form with no additional documents required. They kept my passport and my 797s. It has been 90 days now and there hasn't been any change in the status till date. Every time I call them up I get the same generic reply "ITS STILL UNDER ADMIN PROCESSING... "

This new company sponsoring my visa is one of the Big 4 firms, so it’s not even an EVC model

[nafii]

Same situation

I am in the exact same situation. I had H1b Visa for three years and i came back home in dec 2012 and wasn't able to get back to US. I have been traveling to US for the last 15 years, first as a student and then as H1B worker. When i tried go back in Jan 2013, I was told that my visa was revoked and i need to go back to my home country by the airport staff in Abu Dhabi, which was my transit point and they told me the same thing that they got information from the CBP not let me board the flight to Chicago from Abu Dhabi. Anyways they didn't give any other information and told me to go visit the embassy at my home country to find out more. So surprisingly when i got back i get a call from the embassy at my local home number to come see them with my passport next day morning. The next day morning i go to the embassy and they take my passport and stamp " Canceled without prejudice" over the visa and hands me back the passport. They didn't say anything about why my visa was revoked, but they told me that i could apply again.

After 3 months, with a new H1B approved with new client i applied for new H1B visa. The interview went well, the officer who interviewed gave me 221g saying that he needs time to find out why my earlier visa got rejected. Its been 9 months, no news from the embassy and when i try to reach them, they keep telling that the DOS is still doing the administrative processing and they can't do anything till that process is done. I am not sure what happened to my old visa or will i get a new visa.

After this incident, I consulted with an immigration attorney and he suggested that I should write to a Senator regarding my case so that I could find out more about the reason behind my visa revocation. I got the following response from him:

"After reviewing your concerns, the US Customs and Border Protection has informed me by telephone that Mr. YYYY XX's visa has been revoked by the US Dept. of State. You will need to reapply for a new visa and any waivers that may be applicable to his case. I hope you find the information useful. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist in this matter."

A couple of months passed by and I was finally able to get a company from US to place an offer while I was still stuck here in India, it wasn't very easy to convince them to interview me again and again via phone and video conferences etc. since there was no way I could've made it back for a face to face interview before they would hire/sponsor my visa.

Anyway, finally after about 8 rounds of phone/video interviews, I was able to close the deal and they agreed to file my H1b visa petition, which got approved sometime around Sept'13 and soon after receiving the approval form I-797, I scheduled for an appointment at US Consulate in New Delhi, INDIA.

On the Sept. 20th 2013, I went in for my interview and once again I had a hard luck. I got a 221g white form with no additional documents required. They kept my passport and my 797s. It has been 90 days now and there hasn't been any change in the status till date. Every time I call them up I get the same generic reply "ITS STILL UNDER ADMIN PROCESSING... "

This new company sponsoring my visa is one of the Big 4 firms, so it’s not even an EVC model

[sowmya_raghavan]

Hi,

Are you guys muslims?. Maybe your names were flagged due to having similar last/first names as those having ties to terrorist organizations? Have you investigated that route?

[mjfico]

Still don't know the reason..

No. I am not muslim, neither is my name. Till date I don't know why was my visa revoked. It's a very opaque and unfair system

Anyway, finally I was able to get back after one revocation, one rejection on a new petition filed by my old employer, one 221(g) on an approved petition filed by one of the big4 consulting firm for which I waited for 5 months with no change of status on the 221g case number, and then finally getting my stamping on a whole different application filed by an oil and energy company(direct client)

It was definitely the toughest phase and lasted more than a year, it costed me a lot both emotionally and financially.

Hi,

Are you guys muslims?. Maybe your names were flagged due to having similar last/first names as those having ties to terrorist organizations? Have you investigated that route?

[raghvi]

No. I am not muslim, neither is my name. Till date I don't know why was my visa revoked. It's a very opaque and unfair system

Anyway, finally I was able to get back after one revocation, one rejection on a new petition filed by my old employer, one 221(g) on an approved petition filed by one of the big4 consulting firm for which I waited for 5 months with no change of status on the 221g case number, and then finally getting my stamping on a whole different application filed by an oil and energy company(direct client)

It was definitely the toughest phase and lasted more than a year, it costed me a lot both emotionally and financially.

You mentioned that you were on H1 from 2007 onwards, what is your current GC status?

[mjfico]

I-140 approved with PD 2012

You mentioned that you were on H1 from 2007 onwards, what is your current GC status?

My I-140 got approved in 2012, so I don't have the 6 year limit anymore

[Amit Mahajan]

Hi

Can I have your phone number...