Visa denied (extension application) after 221G - Need strong advice

[Diorsdune]

Would really really appreciate an expert advice on this.. Murthy forum experts please help.

Here's my case..

Interview Date : 27th Jan '11

221G (Green Slip) Docs submitted : 20th Apr '11

Passport with embassy retained by VO after interview.

Visa denied in July'11.

Visa Denial letter states..

"Based on the documents you have submitted to us, and the information elicated in your interview with an American Consular Officer, we are not able to issue you an H1B temporary work visa, because :

Your petitioner does not appear to be either able or willing to provide qualifying employment in the United states in accordance with appropriate laws and regulations............. "

This I guess is because.. when we had filed for extension I was working with Client 'A', When I went for the interview I went with Client 'B' (Had to come to India for some personal work and Client 'A' was not willing to wait) & then submitted documents with Client 'C' ('Cos Client 'B' did not want to wait after 221G).

I don't understand why would USCIS have a problem with this.. obviously clients/projects can't wait for Administrative processing like this.

Filed for H1B with new employer about a week ago.. and awaiting response on the new application.

Today while going through Murthy forum.. happened to read a post Started by saxenahemant, Sep 30 2011 02:46 AM Topic : "Delhi: Visa Refusal under 221(g) Need valuable and prompt guidance"

Pontevecchio provided guidance on this post... and having been a member with Murthy for awhile myself.. I know he is one of the strong experts around on Murthy forum.... Based on Pontevecchio's response.. it seemed that the Amendment can be done even after denial & is a solution to cases similar to mine.. but I'm still not sure if it applies to my case.

I need to know if filing an H1B amendment is the answer to my original H1B (Extension, with

old employer)?

How can I be sure that (H1B Amendment) is the answer?

Can this be done after having received the denial letter?

Given that I received the denial letter in Jul'11 will the lapsed time be an issue?

What are my chances?

What are the next steps after getting the Amendment done.. (schedule another interview appointment)?

Given a choice I would like to revive the old H1B application.

Also I wanted to check a few other things.........

Due to some personal reasons I've not been able to take up work/job in my home country for the last 10 months..

When I go for the stamping this time round..... will lack of work experience over the last 10 months make a negative impact on my case?

Would sincerely appreciate some strong and confident advice.

Thanks in advance.

[Diorsdune]

Can someone help.. please.

[pontevecchio]

You do need to talk to a Lawyer and your employer about the whole issue. Any fault if at all rests solely with your Employer. The main issue about the visa is consistency in the LCA,H1 petition and your work location. I was hoping a Murthy Lawyer could chime in. In any case if you have a LCA and a H1 petition filed and approved you should be able to apply for the H1 visa.

In addition since amending the LCA is enough in many cases where the client changes though the H1 sponsor remains the same without the need for a new H1 petition in all such cases I suspect you are reading more into the visa denial letter than warranted. The boilerplate reply you got was similar to most cases of H1 visa denial. One would have to go through the facts of your matter and come to a resolution. Hence you need to discuss the matter with a Lawyer.

[Diorsdune]

Thank you for your response - Pontevecchio.

My employer had approached a lawyer, who did not suggest I129 amendment as a solution.. instead suggested that my employer appeal.. once he gets details of the rejection from USCIS, which apparently he still hasn't received. And I have no clue what that is all about. The other option he had suggested was I file a new petition.. but when I saw your response.. on the other thread.. I was wondering if that could apply to my case as well.

I know I came across as reading too much into the denial letter, which comes out of a cookie-cutter baked alike for a lot of people. But I can't figure out what else could have gone wrong.

What's good is my H1B petition with the new employer was approved yesterday.

Would appreciate your insight on a couple of other things..... Due to some personal reasons I've not been able to take up work/job in my home country for the last 10 months..

When I go for the stamping this time round..... will lack of work experience over the last 10 months make a negative impact on my case? Without getting into the personal aspect how can I explain.. lack of experience when I am asked for current employer and pay-stub details..?

[Diorsdune]

Can someone help.. please.

[tejalks]

Can someone help.. please.

Well dont worry about the 10 mnths without work. Count it as 3-4 months without work. Coz till July u were ideally waiting to hear from the Embassy about your visa status & you had to return back to US to ur job there. If asked about ur lack of work experience here in India during this time frame, I think u can state this as the reason & 3-4 months here u were still looking at further options & / or waiting to hear back from the USCIS. Its pretty normal, u will wait back till u hear about the end result of ur case, since u came to India on a vacation & have all ur belongings in the US & were hopeful to return back.

I dont think work experience question would arise...

Good luck to you.

[forumman]

@disordune: Did u apply for the new H1b based on the same client that you worked before ? Also, is the employer same ?

[Diorsdune]

@ Tejalks - Thank you!

[Diorsdune]

@ forrumman : The new H1B is with the same client.. though with a different employer. Would be interested to know... How you think this can make an impact.