H1B Stamping in Mexico

[Sachinl]

Guys I recently got my H1B visa restamped at matamoros consulate in Mexico. Its a very simple and hasslefree process. They dont ask any questions..well apart from a couple obvious ones. I saw many questions here needing info on restamping/changing jobs etc etc. I know it creates lot of anxiety at times, not being sure of the bits & pieces of info we get.

I did lot of digging myself last month. I thought I could share it with fellows, as much as I can. Pls note that I dont represent any legal firm, I can only answer questions based on my personal (& of course) limited experiences.

[aalokjain]

H1-B issues

Hi,

I have a H1-B from my previous employer on which i worled for almost 3 years in US. I had all my tax filings done. Since the visa was expiring on 12th Feb 2005, i applied for a extension which was approved and i got the approval notice. After a month of approval notice, i joined another company and the new company filed for my visa transfer for which i have got the receipt notice. Now, for urgent business related reasons, i am asked to go to netherlands and China for 4 weeks in june 1st week and come back to US in july first week. For this reason, my new company has filed my visa transfer in premium processing category by paying a fee of 1000 $.

Now, my query is that since my passport will not have the new visa stamped for the new company and also the expired date (I-94 also was till 12th feb 2005), will it cause a problem in entering in US. I checked with the Mumbai consulate site and the visa interview date is available after 80 days which will be too late. So my query is, if i have the approval notice from my new employer but not the visa stamped, will i still be required to go for personal interview in India US consulate.?? Since i have no plans to travel to india now, is there some other way, i can get my visa stamped.? I heard that i can have some option of travelling to canada or mexico and can get it stamped there? is this true or a risk taking affair? Also, if canada or mexico is a risk and its better to come to India and get it stamped, then is there any way i can expedite and get a early interview date? my company will pay for any extra fees as required.

Pls answer to the queries as this can cause issues with my job if i am not able to have my business travel.

Thanks in advance,
Aalok Jain
510-557-8565

[Sachinl]

Restamping

Alok,
You should get the approval for ur new visa in 7-10 days via premium processing. You technically can travel to Netherlands/China using ur expired stamp "and" new approval notice. Dont worry abt the expired i94 because u'll get a new i94 with approval notice. However, if u want to zero the risk, u can go to Canada/Mexico and get a new stamp on ur passport. From my experience, I would say there is no risk at all in going to Mexico (or Canada)..ofcourse I am assuming that all ur paperwork and records are straight. Consulates in both these countires work the same way...take appointment online, go there and get it stamped. When I did it last month, I got an appointment within a week and the process took a day...that is travelling to Mexico and back. My appmt was at 9am and I had my stamped visa in hand by 11am.
There is absolutely no way of expediting things in India though, atleast I am not aware of any. Pls let me know if u find something!
Best of luck.

[scotland]

Hi, I saw you mention that the premium processing should get the form back in 7-10 days, unfortunately it is another $1000. How long will one without that fee take, estimate, I'm trying to get one of the extra 20,000 just issued for people with masters degrees, but dont know if i should pay the extra cash. Is it a lost cause without the extra fee? Thanks Jon

[shiva4]

passport expiry

Guys I recently got my H1B visa restamped at matamoros consulate in Mexico. Its a very simple and hasslefree process. They dont ask any questions..well apart from a couple obvious ones. I saw many questions here needing info on restamping/changing jobs etc etc. I know it creates lot of anxiety at times, not being sure of the bits & pieces of info we get.

I did lot of digging myself last month. I thought I could share it with fellows, as much as I can. Pls note that I dont represent any legal firm, I can only answer questions based on my personal (& of course) limited experiences.

My passport is expiring on september 2006 and my I 797 is expiring onlyon March 2008. Is that a problem for stamping?
Please help me out

Thanks
Shiva

[toosunNeo]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this board. I am trying to acquire information on H-1B visa stamping process. My company sent me an email last week saying that my visa is approved starting October 1st 2005. I am currently on student visa (OPT) which expires on August 13th 2005. My student visa on my passport has already expired.

So I am trying to figure out what the process is to get the visa stamped, get Mexican permit, what documents I need to collect etc. Does anybody have any info on this?
Also, does anybody know of any service to make it easier if I decide to go Mexico for stamping? I live near Arizona so I think this will be good place to go however, if anyone has other suggestions i am open to that also.

hope someone can answer my questions. thanks in advance.

Nevil

[bharathkg]

Successful stamping in Matamoros

I had a successful stamping at Matamoros, Mexico. My overall interaction with the officer behind the counter was not more than 5 seconds. I had all the papers with me from pay stubs to W2 forms since i entered USA. But all i handed over to him was the 797, visa appointment date confirmation letter, passport. He saw my passport initially and asked for my opt card (F1 to H1). And then asked me what do i do for my employer. Thats it, he asked me to sit in a section where they handover passports.
I would recommend Matamoros if the same officer is your interviewer
Every Indian in the consulte that day got their visa stamped (dont which which visa though).
I was provided help for Mexican permit, recommended hotel to stay and flight information, dd to bank, directions to the customs, transportation from border to consulate and back through a consultant called Chris and he works (maybe owns) CTS consultants. He charged 300 bucks which includes 100 for bank dd and 50 for mexican permit. Good luck.