H1B Stamping for Full-time Position in Vancouver

[manssy]

I was on F1, OPT, then changed status to H1B, and got it approved. I am Egyptian and considering going to Vancouver for stamping. I have been with my company for 13 months as full-time employee. I got my Masters in Architecture from the US and have about 2 years of experience in the US including teaching graduate course at a US university.

My original plan was stamping in Cairo, Egypt in October. However, I called the consulate over there and they asked for a lot of documentation. Required documents include financial ties to my home country, proof of property ownership in home country, green card or passports of friends (awkward) and relatives living in the US, and passports of wife and children, etc. They didn’t mention anything about if you’re single; they said you HAVE to provide passport of wife even she has not been to US before. I’m afraid they won’t give it to single people. Insane requirement irrelevant to the H1B. I am afraid they don’t issue this type of visa a lot so they might not be familiar with it.

Any advise? Canada or Cairo? Is Vancouver still a good place or people are getting 221g nowadays? any advise on cheap accommodation close to consulate in Vancouver? Advise on obtaining the Canadian Visitors Visa?!

Thanks,

Mo

[DontWorryBeHappy]

Any advise? Canada or Cairo? Is Vancouver still a good place or people are getting 221g nowadays? any advise on cheap accommodation close to consulate in Vancouver? Advise on obtaining the Canadian Visitors Visa?!

1) Canada as Cairo has very peculiar requirements.

2) Vancouver is a very nice place but getting a appointment there is a bit difficult these days. I think no appointments are available until Dec 2012. Since you are full time I think your interview will be a cake walk.

3) Cheap accommodation: Search in this forum itself. There are many old threads which has discussions on cheap accommodation there.

4) If you walk into the Canadian Consulate, you will get the visitor visa in 1-4 days. If you mail the documents to them, you will get it in 30-40 days. Browse through Canadian Consulate websites, you will have all the info there. This forum as well has lot of info about that.

[manssy]

Thanks. That was my decision also. I will go to Vancouver. Do you know cheap accommodation close to consulate?

[dele]

1) For accommodation, you can use Priceline to get deals on higher class hotels.

2) The consulate is in downtown vancouver and on Google Maps, you can see all the nearby streets (this will give you an idea of the distance of your hotel to the consulate). Downtown is very walkable and 15 mins - 20 mins of walk can usually get you to the consulate if you stay in any hotel in a nearby street

3) Normally, the advice would be to go to Canada for your visa interview but you should also be aware that if you are not granted the visa, you cannot return to the US. You would have to go back to your home country and apply from there. if you have all your documents, the probability of this happening is low but it is not zero. I have done my stamping twice without any incident.

4) The other thing that delays processing of visa is your home country. Guys of a certain age range from certain countries usually have more background checks run on them. Typically this does not affect the interview process but can affect how long it takes to get back your passport. The consulate will have a list of average processing times on its website

Pls, note that I'm not trying to scare you, just giving you the facts. As I said, I've done my stamping twice without any issues and in both instances I received my passport within 72 hours.

A tip - If you go Canada, remember the consulate will observe both US and Canadian holidays. Try not to choose an interview date that falls within a week where the embassy has a holiday.

[manssy]

Thanks for your advise. I had US B1/B2 visa before two times each for 5 years multiple, and I had my F1 visa for 5 years multiple. I have good records with US consulates and coming to US visiting and leaving on time for years. When I was on F1, I went back home to Cairo 5 times during school breaks and never had issues at POE. I hope this works out well and doesn't have to put me through security checks being Egyptian.

Have you come across anyone from Middle East who is applying for H1B stamping in Canada?

[manssy]

also, i've never had clearance check on any of my B1/B2 visas. But my F1 visa had a clearance check and then I got it 5 years multiple. Do they run clearance check on each visa I apply to, or they store the background check on their system? in other words, what is the possibility of getting clearance check when stamping H1 being Egyptians?