H1B Approval Notice States that go to New Delhi Consulate can i change?

[djking]

Hello..

I recently got my petetion approved..

however it is stated in the approval notice that i had to go to new delhi consulate for visa stamp.

can i change it to mumbai consulate??

i have seen its hard to get visa stamped in the new delhi consulate..

any advice on this??

[kuku82]

you or your lawyer must have put the "Delhi consulate" in the section while filling up the h1B forms that asks " which foreign Consulate do you want to notify if the applicant at the time of petition approval is out side the country or if applied for extension or change of status is denied"

So USCIS notifies the respected consulate mentioned in that section. You can go to Mumbai consulate, but in that case, be prepared to delay the stamping ("PIMS" issue), as they might not have your petition information and they have to ask for it after you interview there which takes 4-5 days on an average. But that is not a big deal as long as they do not put you on so called " administrative processing"

[forumman]

@djkng: You are in the misconception that New Delhi Consulate is strict in issuing visas. Visa approval depends on case by case basis. Any Consulate is the same. They look for proper documentation and your eligibility and of course, you need some luck too.

[meenpra]

I am in a similar situation but with more complications. I had a violation on my H1B visa w.r.t job location. Had taken an internal transfer in my company and didnt go through any amendment for job location change. Now that I got to know about the violation, my company attorney filed for new LCA and H1B amendment along with extension. I got the approval notice with I797B. I need to go to India asap for the stamping. On the notice, Mumbai consulate is mentioned and I want to go to Chennai for my stamping as I live in Bangalore back in India. Will this add to the risk factor for my H1B visa stamping? Is it safer for me to go to Mumbai instead of Chennai with a local Mumbai address? Please note that it is my first time for H1B visa stamping. Last time I entered US, I was on F1-B as a student.