torontodarling

Hi, My H1b visa interview was on Monday (30th July 2012) at 2:00pm. The interview went well and the Visa officer said that my visa is approved but the petition is not in the PIMS. He kept my passport and the I-797 and said that they will email me once its ready to pick up. As of today (1st August, 5pm) I havent received any email. I checked the spam emails too. Anybody in Toronto on the same day interview and did not had PIMS? Did you receive any email from Loomis yet?

Congrats!

Hey Sravs, Did you get the email from loomis? I hope you get it cleared.

Yes, I did flew back on Tuesday itself. Direct flight to DC

I am already back in the US since Tuesday!

Did you hear back from them?

So, after the interview did the officer tell you that they have to do PIMS? Also, on a side note, as per the rules, usually when a consulate requests PIMS verification to KCC they have to reply it within 48 hours. Thats the rule but they dont always follow the rules as no one is on the top of KCC. Also, sometimes the Visa officer may not request the PIMS on the same day as your interview which can delay as well.

I don't know why yours us delayed. Can you share your interview experience? Did you had a prior 221(g) or other issues? Btw, make sure to track on loomis website using the tracking option of tracking using reference number.

I was interviewed at 3:30pm on Monday and mine was delayed due to PIMS issues. If you do not see you way bill number or did not get an email then you can try to see if your passport is at Loomis or not by visiting Loomis website and track using reference number. The reference number to put in loomis site would be same as Reference Id that you will find in your usvisa-info[dot]com website. ceac.state.gov website has been down for a while, otherwise you could check the status using that as well. Let me know if you have any questions.

Accommodation: Right now in July the colleges are off and hence the University of Toronto gives away its dorm rooms for $30 or so per night. So, I stayed there which was 1.5km away from the consulate and hence I walked. After 3 days I moved to another motel near the airport [Days Inn, 4635 Tomken Rd, Mississauga] where I am paying $75-ish per night. Travel: I live in DC and my company paid for my travel and hence I took a flight from DC to Toronto and then a cab to the University of Toronto dorm. Documents in Interview: I took all the documents that I could think of [Passport, I-797, previous I-20s, I-129, LCA, Employment letter on letter head, resume, college transcript, company tax returns, pay stubs, didnt had W-2s it was only for 6 months since I have been working, my bank statements for last 6 months]. Inspite of taking all these the Visa officer did not ask for a single document.

Just got an email from loomis at 6:58pm today. But, they close at 7:00pm and Monday is a holiday. So, I will be picking it up on Tuesday.

Yup, same here. Havent received any email. Also, Monday is a holiday in Canada and so Loomis is going to be closed. So, would probably get the passport on Tuesday.

Nope! as of 3:56pm EST of 3rd August, 2012

On the ceac.state.gov the following were the statuses: 30th July 2012 [just after the interview on the same day]: Refused. 31st July 2012: Administrative processing [i think this is PIMS check in progress] 1st August 2012 [around 3 pm]: Issued 2nd August 2012: [around 9 am]: Issued. Undergoing final processing

Yes, The Visa officer kept my passport and I-797 and yes, I am still in Toronto. The ceac.state.gov website has the status as "Visa Issued" yesterday and hence I might be receiving the email from Loomis to get the passport today.

Hi, Here is my experience about my recent H1b stamping interview at Toronto Consulate (30th July 2012, Monday at 2:00pm EST). My background: Bachelor of Science degree in the US from a reputed university F1 to H1b Change of Status Full-time direct employee (no middleman involved) Interview: Me: Good Afternoon VO (Looking into my eyes surprisingly as I think I greeted him before he did as no one might have greeted before him): Good Afternoon. How are you? Me: Doing Good. VO (Looking into my passport for F1 visa): So, [my university's name] grad, huh? Me: Yup VO: So, you all [my university] are doing great in basketball. Me: Yup VO: So, what do you do? Me: I am a [my role] at [my H1b petitioner] VO: And whats that? Me: You mean what [my filing company] does? VO: Yes Me: I explained him. VO: Do you work at client's location? Me: No, I work at [my filing company's] office location. VO: Ok, I am approving your visa. But, your petition is not showing in our database [PIMS]. So, it may take a day extra than normally to get your passport back. He kept my passport and the I-797. Me: Ok, thanks fine. Thanks! VO: Sure, No problem. And boom, I was out of the consulate. Moral of the Story: Talk confidently. If you are a full time employee you should not have problems unless something happened before you became FTE. If you are on EC model then make sure to have needed documents (letter verifying your employment, contract between employer and client etc.) If on EVC model then Good luck because not many are approved these days. [1st August], I saw the status on ceac.state.gov website that my visa was issued. Hopefully, I will get an email from Loomis tomorrow to pick up my passport.

Just would like to share my experience about the recent interview in Toronto (30th July 2012, at 2:00pm). Background: Full Time Employee Change of Status from F-1 to H1b Bachelor's of Science Degree in the US from a reputed university. No MS. Interview: Me: Good Afternoon. VO (looking into my eyes and kind of surprised as I greeted him because not many people greeted hime earlier): Good Afternoon. How are you? Me: Very Good. VO (Looking into my passport): So [my university's name] grad, huh? Me: Yup VO: You guys are doing great in basketball. Me: Yup. VO: What did you study? Me: Answered with Bachelor's of Science degree in [my majors]. VO: Where do you work? Me: Answered with company's name. VO: What does the company do? Me: Answered with what the company is? VO: What do you do? Me: Answered with my position in the company. VO: Do you work directly with the company or at client's location? Me: I answered that I work at my company's office location and that our company doesnt have clients. Our clients are normal customers. VO: Ok, I am approving your visa. But, the problem is that your petition is not in the database. So, it may take an extra day than normal to get your passport back. He kep the passport and the I-797. Me: Ok, thank you. I appreciate it. VO: No, problem. No documents were asked form me during this whole interview which lasted for 3 minutes. Now, just waiting for the passport to arrive at Loomis. Moral of the story: Talk confidently with VO. If you are a full time employee it should not be very difficult. If on EVC or EC or whatever other things then make sure to have all the documents that they ask for in a proper format (letter head etc.)