On bench/ Leading Consulting firm/ Going to India for H1B stamping

[worried]

I have recently completed my MBA from a well-known US B-school, and currently I am working for a top consulting firm. Right now, I am on H-1B (CoS on Oct 1), and I will need an visa stamping the next time I go to India.

Later this year, I am going to India for personal reasons, and at that time, I may be between projects. Business level projects in our company are relatively short term: 6-8 weeks, after that often the implementation team takes over, and Consultants move to a different project.

Since I will be gone for about three weeks, I think it may be difficult to get a client project during that period. As a result, I may be on bench, or may be working on an internal project at the time of my Visa interview.

The consulting firm that I am working for is a very well known US firm (top 5), and it is not uncommon for them to have consultants working on an internal project developing a future client offering.

Will this create any problems for me? I have read postings on multiple forums, and right now, I am very concerned about the situation. So any inputs will be appreciated.

[JoeF]

You need to have a client letter nowadays.

And forget "internal project". That's known to be a code-word for "on bench." Don't think the consular officers don't know these kinds of things.

If this is a "top 5" firm, they should a) know about these things, and b) have knowledgeable lawyers.