Successful Visa Stamping at Calgary.

[rollingstar35]

Hello All,

Thanks to Murthy Forum and its members and the different posts that helped me get my stamping done. Without this forum, I might not have made my ground work this properly.

According to me, Right Documentation, luck and a lot of patience are involved in getting it right i guess. Since I took a lot of information from here, its my time to give back. I hope this would help a lot of people in getting their documentation right. Fyi, I am in EVC model.

I shall try to explain here what are all required for getting the Canada visa and also the American Visa. I shall try to pitch in what all i remember.

Canada Visa:

In order to get Canada VIsa, you have to either submit your documentation in Mail(Post) or walkin. It would take around a month time to get Canada visa on your passport if you do it by mail. It would take around 4 working days if you do it in person.

I did it in person. Actually I used the option of "Using a Representative" by requesting my friend to drop my passport at the Canadian embassy and get the visa done. He dropped it on a monday morning and got it back on thursday morning.

Documents needed for Canadian Visa:

You can download all these forms from the Canadian Embassy website. (Google Canada Embassy New york or Canada Embassy LA)

FORM -- CHECKLIST

IMM5257E FORM -- PERSONAL INFORMATION (This is the form where you are asked ur personal information. The place where i got stuck on this form is in the Detail of Visit to Canada box.

1a) Other

1b) H1b Stamping, US Consulate

4) 1. Embassy of the United States of America

and its address.

It will be a 4 page pdf, after you fill the form in truth, and "Validate" it at the bottom, it becomes a 5 page document, print all the 5 pages, staple them and sign and date at the bottom.

IMM5645E FORM -- FAMILY INFORMATION -- Put N/A where not applicable. Like if you dont have kids, put N/A.

IMM5257E FORM -- USING A REPRESENTATIVE ( I used this form since i was using a rep to send my package to the embassy)

I-797 FORM -- H1B COPY -- Not original,, xerox copy,,

150 DOLLARS MONEY ORDER.. (u can get it in any USPS\. If NY or LA, in the name of Consulate General of Canada,, please check it again, else it goes waste...U can get it for 75 dollars for single entry or 150 dollars for a multiple entry, i prefer multiple entry)

2 PHOTOGRAPHS -- SIGN AND DATE ON THE BACK ( take it in walgreens,,they have the specs in a dropdown in their application)

VALID PASSPORT

3-6 MONTHS PAYSTUBS

BANK STATEMENTS STATEMENT ( I would say, have atleast 3 bank statements that shows more than 4000 dollars or one bank statement with around 6000-7000 dollars in it. I did the later one)

EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION LETTER

US Visa:

Now starts the next process.

There are two steps in scheduling the appointment in the first place.

a) Starting and finishing the DS-160 form.

https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/

b) Scheduling the appointment

http://usvisa-info.c...country_welcome

First start with the DS-160 form. Select the country where you would be going for the stamping. Click on start application. You dont have to really start and end the application here, but atleast try filling out the first page and saving it so that you would get an Alpha-Numeric coide, that is required in Scheduling the appointment in the next step. Finish the first page, save it and you can come back to this link any times u want and fill the information in truth and in completeness. Dont miss out any parts. They have your entire records in their databases, so fooling them around does not really help your case. Everytime you save the form online, you can come back within 30 days to make changes and save it in their database,

Then, Click on the Create account on the right top. The process is self explanatory. I really dont remember the navigation as i did almost a couple of months back. U create an account here, and pay 190 dollars fee and later you get to a page where you can see the available slots and times for the visa appointments. Then you have to also select the Loomis branch where you would be intending to pick up your passport after your interview Make sure the city of your interview and the city of loomis is the same. Or Canada is such a big country, you would be wasting time, money and energy for a petty mistake.

You might find a lot of questions in filling out the DS-160 form, but my case was simple. I did my masters from a pretty decent university, did it in 2 years, changed one employer in 4 years, have experience letters from all the places where i worked. When you leave an employer, leave on a good note with them, so that you would get the right experience letters. Otherwise, you would be not able to account for the years that go missing. Simple it is.

Ok , so the documents that i took were:

0) Two Passport size photographs (get them walgreens, they have the applciation there)

1) DS-160 Form (After you fill out your Ds-160 form, and on the last page you Sign electronically and "Submit" it, you will get an email that has a pdf, a one color page, that has your picture, the Alpha-numeric code and the address of the embassy that you are going to)

2) I-797 Original

3) LCA (this should have the same client address that you are currently working at)

4) I-129 petition (This should have the same client address that was mentioned in LCA).

5) Job Sumamry or Description neatly written with all your responsibilities.

6) Client Letter (The client letter should have the address where you are working at now, and it should match the LCA, I-129,,in most cases. The client letter should also mention the Contractual agreement between the client and the vendor)

7)Vendor Letter (The Vendor letter should mention the contractual agreement between the client and vendor, And the contractual agreement between the Vendor and your Employer)

8)The Employer letter mentioning the time from which you are working for them, your annual salary, and the latest client where you are working at)

9) Work order

10) Agreement between your vendor and employer. (you cannot get the agreement between the client and vendor, so let them know if they get a call from USCIS, request the client to answer them with the required docs)

11) W-2's for the last 2 years

12) Tax Returns for the last 2 years

13) Experience Letters

14) Paystubs for the last one year.

15) Bank statements for the last one year that shows the direct deposits

16) Employer Employee Relationship mentioning documents

17) Employer documents like their tax returns, etc,,,

18) Client badge, pictures at their location, stuff like that.

19)timesheets for as long as you have ,,(max 6 months to 8 months)

20)All your degree memos, certificates, masters certificates, diploma, transcripts, old 797's, old LCA's.

The questions that i got asked on teh day of the interview were

1) Who do you work for?

An)XXX (employer name)

2) How long have you been working for them

A) for the almost 2 years..

3) What do you do for them, or what are your duties?

A) XXX... make sure that this is the same in the DS-160 form, Client letter, and the supporting letter from your employer.

4) Did you study in the US?

A) Yes, Masters

5) Where?

A) XX university

6) in what?

A) Computer Science

Ok, your visa is approved. That was the golden moment for all the preparation that i have been doing for the last few months. Its a long ordeal that i have been through.

As i already mentioned, right documentation , luck by chance and being at the right place and the right time. Be confident. We are not doing any illegal activities. We are legally working and paying our due taxes. talk straight. Wear nice. Have a clean shave(for boys),,present yourself nicely. (you might think, now hes got the visa, he can say all this, but whats wrong in presenting nicely. Ive seen people coming in Jeans for a formal interveiw like this. Yes, its true the officer cant see the bottom half, but who knows..this is a professional visa. Just dress as if you r going to some google interview..:P)

My interview was on tuesday. I got the waybill confirmation on thursday evening. And i have picked it up today. My flight is tomorrow , saturday.

Regarding the travel to Canada - Initially i bought a one way ticket to Canada, coz who knows how long it might get delayed if a 221g is issued. Later, after talking to a few people and reading a few forums here in this site, i learnt that Airlines check for the return itinerary when you are boarding the flight to Canada. I also read a post where the user mentioned that he was made to buy a ticket at that moment for the return journey which costed him moolah. So, i bought the return flight too. But on the day of the onward journey, they just checked my Passport for the Canadian visa and even at the Canada immigration she just asked me a couple of questions. like Q) Why did you come to canda - I told her for h1b US Visa stamping (told the truth,, ) Q) Do you have a place to stay - Yes i have an address. She said Ok.

See, you might think that since i got my visa approved, i might tell many things. But what i think is, if i tell one lie, i have to tell another 10 lies in support of that. Instead, i would try to stick to the truth. We are not doing anything that is illegal.

Ive also saw the respected expert - Joef mentioning in some of the posts that EVC model is gone, people who work in that model are gone cases and stuff like that. But, if that was illegal in the first place, most of the Staffing companies or so called Primary vendors have to shut their shops. These primary vendor companies employ tens of thousands of people.

Also, if they were illegal, how would the USCIS or homeland approve the I797's or the LCA's. Contracting is legal.

But what i guess what happened in mid and late 2000's, the so called "Body shops" or the employers used to fake the client letters and fake the pay stubs. And since such a mess was already done, it looks like this is the time they are giving the Admin processing to clear out all the differences.

And what i learnt why people go to Canada is that, the embassies in India are flooded with applications and thus, they take a long time to process an application and during which the Client feels uncomfortable with teh resource working off-site for such a long time and paying him/her the US Salary. And when they end the contract for that contractor, then he/she ends in a problem with no contract in hand and still in India. And then all the Credit card bills, Car premiums, home rents, phone bills and the list increases and they are something that you cannot really close it in one day. Sitting in India and paying a car premium here is like sucking your blood out. Its a lot to take.

But since the number of applications are less in Canada(compared to India) the round about time is less when compared to there. (this is my understanding only.. .no references nothing)

I also found out that if a person gets admin processing, the following questions are sent to your employer ( I dont know how true these questions are, i found them in this forum)

1.) If the supervision is off-site and performed by the petitioner, how does the petitioner maintain such supervision i.e. weekly calls, reporting to the main office routinely, or site visits by the petitioner?

2.) Who has the right to control the work of the applicant on a day-to-day basis if such control is required?

3.) Who determines the direction of the project?

4.) Who determines the applicant’s daily activities?

5.) Who provides the tools or instrumentalities for the applicant to perform the duties of employment?

6.) Who hires, pays, and has the ability to fire the applicant?

7.) Who claims the beneficiary for tax purposes?

8.) Who provides the beneficiary with employee benefits?

Anyways, i know how important it is for different people for going to stamping is, i hope people would keep this post alive and i hope it helps a lot of people like it helped me.

Again, Thank you Murthy, Murthy Forum, Joef, its members and good luck to all the stamping aspirants.

Post your questions, i shall try to answer if the post still stays in the first page..:P

Helpful posts:

http://forum.murthy....stamping-in-la/

http://forum.murthy....__1#entry128061

[md7961]

It is nice of you to explain this detailed exp...You are great man and It will help a lot of ppl.

Congrates !

[srujan.p]

Hi, Congrax and thanks for sharing your experience.

I have a question about experience letters. I did my masters at XX Univ.I changed employers twice while I was in opt during 2009/2010 yrs,from then(2nd opt 2010 Mar) I am with my current Employer who filed my 2nd H1.I just have an offer letter with the start date from my previous employers .Is that ? What should I mention in the DS forms if I have to provide previous employer information ?Please suggest me if this gonna cause issue.

Thanks

[rollingstar35]

Hello Update,

My interview was on Tuesday, got an email from Loomis on Thursday evening, and went to the Calgary Loomis location on Friday evening to pick up the passport. I wanted to put this so that people who have interviews at calgary might know how long it would take for them to get the passport back so that they can book the return tickets.

Thank you

[aa5]

congrats

[ArunJAD]

Hi rollingstar,

Your experience is really helpful ,thanks .

I am looking for appointment but for that I need to fill DS-160 first .when we fill DS-160 form , in the begining it asks the ciy/country when we are applying visa. Now I am not which consulate I am going for visa in Canada .It depends on date availability . And I know we can always come back and update the DS-160 form but what about the city/county thing. I do not see this option when I try to update the form . So if I choose Montreal while filling ds160 and I take appointment for Vancouver . How will it affect the procedure . Any idea ?

[mkb465]

thanks of details explanation...Rolling Star!!

[kennedy]

rollingstar..iam going to calgary on oct 23...should i rent a car over there..to go from airport to hotel...where did u stay.......how did u collect ur pp...from loomis...i gave calgary loomis,...3000 15 Th St. N.E. Calgary , AB T2E8V6............its 10 km from US consulate..........should i take canada currency

[adari09]

Thanks so much for the detailed explanation...you sure are a very good man and this detailed information does help a lot of people and I am one among them.

Congrats btw.

[avinash986]

I want to Thank you very much Rollingstar for such a descriptive steps of information and murthy law firm for this wonderful information forum to shop at one stop.

I attended visa interview at vancouver & got approved. After 2 days got email from loomis to pick up the passport. Going today to get my passport. :)

[trirav]

Hello All,

Thanks to Murthy Forum and its members and the different posts that helped me get my stamping done. Without this forum, I might not have made my ground work this properly.

According to me, Right Documentation, luck and a lot of patience are involved in getting it right i guess. Since I took a lot of information from here, its my time to give back. I hope this would help a lot of people in getting their documentation right. Fyi, I am in EVC model.

I shall try to explain here what are all required for getting the Canada visa and also the American Visa. I shall try to pitch in what all i remember.

Canada Visa:

In order to get Canada VIsa, you have to either submit your documentation in Mail(Post) or walkin. It would take around a month time to get Canada visa on your passport if you do it by mail. It would take around 4 working days if you do it in person.

I did it in person. Actually I used the option of "Using a Representative" by requesting my friend to drop my passport at the Canadian embassy and get the visa done. He dropped it on a monday morning and got it back on thursday morning.

Documents needed for Canadian Visa:

You can download all these forms from the Canadian Embassy website. (Google Canada Embassy New york or Canada Embassy LA)

FORM -- CHECKLIST

IMM5257E FORM -- PERSONAL INFORMATION (This is the form where you are asked ur personal information. The place where i got stuck on this form is in the Detail of Visit to Canada box.

1a) Other

1b) H1b Stamping, US Consulate

4) 1. Embassy of the United States of America

and its address.

It will be a 4 page pdf, after you fill the form in truth, and "Validate" it at the bottom, it becomes a 5 page document, print all the 5 pages, staple them and sign and date at the bottom.

IMM5645E FORM -- FAMILY INFORMATION -- Put N/A where not applicable. Like if you dont have kids, put N/A.

IMM5257E FORM -- USING A REPRESENTATIVE ( I used this form since i was using a rep to send my package to the embassy)

I-797 FORM -- H1B COPY -- Not original,, xerox copy,,

150 DOLLARS MONEY ORDER.. (u can get it in any USPS\. If NY or LA, in the name of Consulate General of Canada,, please check it again, else it goes waste...U can get it for 75 dollars for single entry or 150 dollars for a multiple entry, i prefer multiple entry)

2 PHOTOGRAPHS -- SIGN AND DATE ON THE BACK ( take it in walgreens,,they have the specs in a dropdown in their application)

VALID PASSPORT

3-6 MONTHS PAYSTUBS

BANK STATEMENTS STATEMENT ( I would say, have atleast 3 bank statements that shows more than 4000 dollars or one bank statement with around 6000-7000 dollars in it. I did the later one)

EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION LETTER

US Visa:

Now starts the next process.

There are two steps in scheduling the appointment in the first place.

a) Starting and finishing the DS-160 form.

https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/

b) Scheduling the appointment

http://usvisa-info.c...country_welcome

First start with the DS-160 form. Select the country where you would be going for the stamping. Click on start application. You dont have to really start and end the application here, but atleast try filling out the first page and saving it so that you would get an Alpha-Numeric coide, that is required in Scheduling the appointment in the next step. Finish the first page, save it and you can come back to this link any times u want and fill the information in truth and in completeness. Dont miss out any parts. They have your entire records in their databases, so fooling them around does not really help your case. Everytime you save the form online, you can come back within 30 days to make changes and save it in their database,

Then, Click on the Create account on the right top. The process is self explanatory. I really dont remember the navigation as i did almost a couple of months back. U create an account here, and pay 190 dollars fee and later you get to a page where you can see the available slots and times for the visa appointments. Then you have to also select the Loomis branch where you would be intending to pick up your passport after your interview Make sure the city of your interview and the city of loomis is the same. Or Canada is such a big country, you would be wasting time, money and energy for a petty mistake.

You might find a lot of questions in filling out the DS-160 form, but my case was simple. I did my masters from a pretty decent university, did it in 2 years, changed one employer in 4 years, have experience letters from all the places where i worked. When you leave an employer, leave on a good note with them, so that you would get the right experience letters. Otherwise, you would be not able to account for the years that go missing. Simple it is.

Ok , so the documents that i took were:

0) Two Passport size photographs (get them walgreens, they have the applciation there)

1) DS-160 Form (After you fill out your Ds-160 form, and on the last page you Sign electronically and "Submit" it, you will get an email that has a pdf, a one color page, that has your picture, the Alpha-numeric code and the address of the embassy that you are going to)

2) I-797 Original

3) LCA (this should have the same client address that you are currently working at)

4) I-129 petition (This should have the same client address that was mentioned in LCA).

5) Job Sumamry or Description neatly written with all your responsibilities.

6) Client Letter (The client letter should have the address where you are working at now, and it should match the LCA, I-129,,in most cases. The client letter should also mention the Contractual agreement between the client and the vendor)

7)Vendor Letter (The Vendor letter should mention the contractual agreement between the client and vendor, And the contractual agreement between the Vendor and your Employer)

8)The Employer letter mentioning the time from which you are working for them, your annual salary, and the latest client where you are working at)

9) Work order

10) Agreement between your vendor and employer. (you cannot get the agreement between the client and vendor, so let them know if they get a call from USCIS, request the client to answer them with the required docs)

11) W-2's for the last 2 years

12) Tax Returns for the last 2 years

13) Experience Letters

14) Paystubs for the last one year.

15) Bank statements for the last one year that shows the direct deposits

16) Employer Employee Relationship mentioning documents

17) Employer documents like their tax returns, etc,,,

18) Client badge, pictures at their location, stuff like that.

19)timesheets for as long as you have ,,(max 6 months to 8 months)

20)All your degree memos, certificates, masters certificates, diploma, transcripts, old 797's, old LCA's.

The questions that i got asked on teh day of the interview were

1) Who do you work for?

An)XXX (employer name)

2) How long have you been working for them

A) for the almost 2 years..

3) What do you do for them, or what are your duties?

A) XXX... make sure that this is the same in the DS-160 form, Client letter, and the supporting letter from your employer.

4) Did you study in the US?

A) Yes, Masters

5) Where?

A) XX university

6) in what?

A) Computer Science

Ok, your visa is approved. That was the golden moment for all the preparation that i have been doing for the last few months. Its a long ordeal that i have been through.

As i already mentioned, right documentation , luck by chance and being at the right place and the right time. Be confident. We are not doing any illegal activities. We are legally working and paying our due taxes. talk straight. Wear nice. Have a clean shave(for boys),,present yourself nicely. (you might think, now hes got the visa, he can say all this, but whats wrong in presenting nicely. Ive seen people coming in Jeans for a formal interveiw like this. Yes, its true the officer cant see the bottom half, but who knows..this is a professional visa. Just dress as if you r going to some google interview..:P)

My interview was on tuesday. I got the waybill confirmation on thursday evening. And i have picked it up today. My flight is tomorrow , saturday.

Regarding the travel to Canada - Initially i bought a one way ticket to Canada, coz who knows how long it might get delayed if a 221g is issued. Later, after talking to a few people and reading a few forums here in this site, i learnt that Airlines check for the return itinerary when you are boarding the flight to Canada. I also read a post where the user mentioned that he was made to buy a ticket at that moment for the return journey which costed him moolah. So, i bought the return flight too. But on the day of the onward journey, they just checked my Passport for the Canadian visa and even at the Canada immigration she just asked me a couple of questions. like Q) Why did you come to canda - I told her for h1b US Visa stamping (told the truth,, ) Q) Do you have a place to stay - Yes i have an address. She said Ok.

See, you might think that since i got my visa approved, i might tell many things. But what i think is, if i tell one lie, i have to tell another 10 lies in support of that. Instead, i would try to stick to the truth. We are not doing anything that is illegal.

Ive also saw the respected expert - Joef mentioning in some of the posts that EVC model is gone, people who work in that model are gone cases and stuff like that. But, if that was illegal in the first place, most of the Staffing companies or so called Primary vendors have to shut their shops. These primary vendor companies employ tens of thousands of people.

Also, if they were illegal, how would the USCIS or homeland approve the I797's or the LCA's. Contracting is legal.

But what i guess what happened in mid and late 2000's, the so called "Body shops" or the employers used to fake the client letters and fake the pay stubs. And since such a mess was already done, it looks like this is the time they are giving the Admin processing to clear out all the differences.

And what i learnt why people go to Canada is that, the embassies in India are flooded with applications and thus, they take a long time to process an application and during which the Client feels uncomfortable with teh resource working off-site for such a long time and paying him/her the US Salary. And when they end the contract for that contractor, then he/she ends in a problem with no contract in hand and still in India. And then all the Credit card bills, Car premiums, home rents, phone bills and the list increases and they are something that you cannot really close it in one day. Sitting in India and paying a car premium here is like sucking your blood out. Its a lot to take.

But since the number of applications are less in Canada(compared to India) the round about time is less when compared to there. (this is my understanding only.. .no references nothing)

I also found out that if a person gets admin processing, the following questions are sent to your employer ( I dont know how true these questions are, i found them in this forum)

1.) If the supervision is off-site and performed by the petitioner, how does the petitioner maintain such supervision i.e. weekly calls, reporting to the main office routinely, or site visits by the petitioner?

2.) Who has the right to control the work of the applicant on a day-to-day basis if such control is required?

3.) Who determines the direction of the project?

4.) Who determines the applicant’s daily activities?

5.) Who provides the tools or instrumentalities for the applicant to perform the duties of employment?

6.) Who hires, pays, and has the ability to fire the applicant?

7.) Who claims the beneficiary for tax purposes?

8.) Who provides the beneficiary with employee benefits?

Anyways, i know how important it is for different people for going to stamping is, i hope people would keep this post alive and i hope it helps a lot of people like it helped me.

Again, Thank you Murthy, Murthy Forum, Joef, its members and good luck to all the stamping aspirants.

Post your questions, i shall try to answer if the post still stays in the first page..:P

Helpful posts:

http://forum.murthy....stamping-in-la/

http://forum.murthy....__1#entry128061

Hello there,

Can you also provide some information regarding the stay and travel there in Calgary. Also suggestion as to where to stay

would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance

[seema3982]

Hi, Can you please elaborate what documents should we take for point 16. i.e Employer employee relationship mentioning documents? My employer is a staffing firm. what documents can i take to support the relationship?

[rollingstar35]

Hello Seema3982,

For the employer employee relationship documents, take the last 6 months weekly or bi-weekly status reports that you submit to your employer regarding what work was assigned to you for that week, what work you did and were you able to finish your deadlines, and what work is being assigned to you for the next week.

Also the call logs or meeting minutes about your meeting with your employer detailing your work for that week.

The employer employee relationship document specifies that your Employer is incharge of your work rather than your client maanger or vendor. It is very important to show that "YOUR EMPLOYER" is in-charge or in-control of the work you do.

[Sonuabhi2000]

Hi,

I have my visa interview next week at the US Consulate in Calgary. FYI Nuvo Hotel Suites is located about 2km from the Consulate and they also offer free internet. Their rates are reasonable if you can get a room. Below are their details:

http://www.*************.com/

Address: 827 12th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2R0J1.

Good luck to all.

[rollingstar35]

If anyone needs to get information for visa interview, they can go through this post. 

Thank you

[Viral.eng]

Hi Rolling Star,

Your post is very descriptive, I am planning to get my stamping for the first time in Canda, Haven't decided which consulate yet.

I am on H1B Visa with EVC Model, I have all the required documents you have mentioned, Also I wanted to know if my friend (who lives in CA) can apply in person on my behalf and drop the package for the Canadian Visa.

Do you think you can spare sometime to speak with me? That'd be rally helpful, Please let me know.

My phone# **********

[rammyk]

Thanks Rollingstar and others for the details.

I went to calgary on 1st week of April and got the L1B visa extension. I took all the documents mentioned by the members here. 

Let me share my experience here. So then it helps someone who is seeking any information similar to my case.

Interview Date: 04/Apr/2018 8:30 AM

Received Passport : 06/Apr/2018 10:45 AM

Return Back to States: 07/Apr/2018

I have paid the Fraud and Preventive fees $500 paid by cash in the consulate. 

I noticed that there is a provision for lockers to keep your phone and keys. But it is highly recommended not to take any electronics with you.

Questions:

1) How long you are working in this company?

2) Does your wife working?

3) Why don't she come with you for visa stamping?

4) What is your roles and responsibilities? 

5) Are you working at client site ?

Stay:

I have stayed in Hilton Garden Inn which is just two blocks away. It is a decent hotel with decent price compare to other hotels. If you have facility to drive or willing to walk more distance then you get a great deals away from downtown. 

Places to visit: 

1) Calgary tower

2) Banff - awesome place. don't miss this.

Wish you all the best !!!