H1B Visa Re-stamping, current visa expired more than 12 months

[jigneshrulz]

Hello All,

Some background:

I have my H1 B visa extension approved untill Sept 2011. My H1 B visa got expired last year Sept 2008.

I am planning to travel to India sometime in December this year. So when I will go for my visa interview in dec 2009, my prev h1 visa will be expired more then 12 months. (Mumbai Consulate)

While scheduling visa appointment, there is a question which says:

"Are you applying for the same class of visa which is currently valid or has expired within the past 12 months?*"

1. Is it better to re-stamp H1 visa within one year of its expiry?

2. Are there any consequences, if I stamp my visa in dec, which is like after 15 months of prev visa expiry?

3. Are there any differences in processing visas for stamping within 12 months and if it is greater than 12 months of expiration of prev same class visa?

4. Is it recommended to go to canada and get the visa stamping done? Please share your experiences if you have done the same recently.

Thank you all for your help.

[OMM]

Hello All,

Some background:

I have my H1 B visa extension approved untill Sept 2011. My H1 B visa got expired last year Sept 2008.

I am planning to travel to India sometime in December this year. So when I will go for my visa interview in dec 2009, my prev h1 visa will be expired more then 12 months. (Mumbai Consulate)

While scheduling visa appointment, there is a question which says:

"Are you applying for the same class of visa which is currently valid or has expired within the past 12 months?*"

1. Is it better to re-stamp H1 visa within one year of its expiry?

2. Are there any consequences, if I stamp my visa in dec, which is like after 15 months of prev visa expiry?

3. Are there any differences in processing visas for stamping within 12 months and if it is greater than 12 months of expiration of prev same class visa?

4. Is it recommended to go to canada and get the visa stamping done? Please share your experiences if you have done the same recently.

Thank you all for your help.

-- first understand about the visa.
you can stamp after expiry of your H1B whatever the duration gap, you can apply in H1B stamp the same category visa you have to select.
you can apply for re-stamping of H1B any time during your I797 valid duration of 6years total. Example: my first visa expired in year 2003, I got new I797 from USCIS, I decided to travel india in 2005, I went to stamping in year2005, I get stamped it and visit india. so, the gap was 2years after expiry of my first visa..
--Omm.

[jigneshrulz]

Thanks for the response Omm.

So what would be my selection for following question? Yes or No?

"Are you applying for the same class of visa which is currently valid or has expired within the past 12 months?*"

Thanks,

[OMM]

Thanks for the response Omm.

So what would be my selection for following question? Yes or No?

"Are you applying for the same class of visa which is currently valid or has expired within the past 12 months?*"

Thanks,

-- if you have H1B and it's expiered and you are going to apply the same stamping , then ofcourse YES.
---- OMM

[abhayg4]

Hi Jignesh,

As per my opinion - Answer should be "NO" as the question clearly states that "Is the same class of Visa expired within the last 12 months" and in ur case in DEC-2009 , it will be more than 12 months.

If u select YES and take the appointment , there is no 100% gurantee that there will be no issues.
Generally difference in YES or NO is the availability of appointment dates.
But answer should be NO as per the question asked (if going after SEP-2009)

Thanks ,
Abhay

[jigneshrulz]

Thanks for your responses guys.

[kalyanramy]

Similar doubt.

Hi Jignesh,
I have the similar issue. Can you please share your experience?
Did you select 'YES' or 'NO' for the visa expired more than 12 months back.

Thanks
Kalyan

[jigneshrulz]

You have to answer "NO" if its more then 12 months.

[johannpmathew]

Restamping

Hi all,

I have a Valid H1B Visa till the end of Sept 2010, I need to go to India for a short visit in July, will be back by July end or Aug begining, do I need to go for restamping?

Thanks,
JM

[ndp]

any idea on appointment dates if we choose "NO"

Hi Jignesh,

As per my opinion - Answer should be "NO" as the question clearly states that "Is the same class of Visa expired within the last 12 months" and in ur case in DEC-2009 , it will be more than 12 months.

If u select YES and take the appointment , there is no 100% gurantee that there will be no issues.
Generally difference in YES or NO is the availability of appointment dates.
But answer should be NO as per the question asked (if going after SEP-2009)

Thanks ,
Abhay

Hello,

I have a similar case where my H1B visa stamp has expired on Feb 4th 2010 and they did not accept my visa application at Mumbai VFS because i selected "Yes" saying it is the same class of visa and applied on Feb 8th 2010. So i had to cancel the appointment.

Now do you know when can i get the date at again at Mumbai embassy as i cant find any date on vfs-usa.co.in for Mumbai. I would greatly appreciate your reply.

Thank
NDP

[someshshaha]

Hi ndp,
did you mean Feb 8th 2011 and not Feb 8th 2010... because otherwise it is just 4 days after expiry which is clearly less than 12 months...