Which category to book the VISA appointment under?

[peppermint82]

All,

I am going to India in the next week and want to get my H1B visa stamped.

The only US visa I have stamped on my passport is F1, as that was the visa I had when I came to US as a student.

After graduation, I am now working and have H1B approval (I ma in my 5th year and transfer to my new job 6 months ago).

This is the FIRST time I am going to India and getting the H1b visa stamped on my passport.

The thing is when I book an appointment, the question the system asks is:

"Are you applying for the same class of visa which is currently valid or has expired within the past 12 months?*"

Select "yes/ no"

What should my answer for the above question be?

My confusion is that I thought that H1-B approval is the "visa". But it does not sound that is the case.

Thanks!

[scorpion78]

Since this will be the first time you are going for H1B Visa stamping, you have to select NO. You can send an email to VFS with your questions and they usually reply within a day or two.

If you think it is very urgent, try calling the VFS directly.

I have expired (2007) H1B visa stamping in my passport and had exactly the same question. VFS asked me to select NO, since the visa was not expired within past 12 months. In your case, Visa type is different and defnitely it is a NO.

[tusharvk]

no is the answer. in any case, there is no difference in the available dates for both the categories to my knowledge.