H1B AT LONDON EMBASSY 2012 EXPERIENCES CLEARLY MENTIONED


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Hi guys , please share your experiences of h1b 2012 batch , as i have seen 97 percent is not sucessful here in london (applies who never went to usa before), only 2-3 percent got the visas taking lot of time, here we can see simply giving 221G thats it, which is very easy for a visa officer to give it and ask to wait, massively vague term is 221g which is issued and they never give reply, so my best suggestion is dont make yourselves risk by attending interview at london, better to attend in india at the moment

London : h1b fresh visa chances are 2 percent

London (221g):95 percent

London (rejection rate): 3 percent

HOPE THIS IS VERY USEFUL FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IN UK , DONT ATTEND INTERVIEW AT LONDON SIMPLY THEY GIVE 221G AND ASK YOU TO WAIT (DONT KNOW MAY TAKE YEARS OR AGES (PETITION WILL EXPIRE IF THEY TAKE AGES) HOPE EVERY BODY UNDERSTAND THIS COME AND SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES HERE WE CAN SEE HOW MUCH PERCENTAGE ARE GETTING VISAS IN 2012

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The same story is everywhere. Once upon a time Canada was supposed to be good place for stamping. People are getting 221g there too.

The best way to enhance the chances of approval is stay away from consulting work and find out fulltime job. Most of the consulting jobs have multiple layers and USCIS memorandum shows that they don't like this. I have rarely seen that an FTE got 221g. Thanks for the share though.

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The same story is everywhere. Once upon a time Canada was supposed to be good place for stamping. People are getting 221g there too.

The best way to enhance the chances of approval is stay away from consulting work and find out fulltime job. Most of the consulting jobs have multiple layers and USCIS memorandum shows that they don't like this. I have rarely seen that an FTE got 221g. Thanks for the share though.

hi mate , i have seen 98 percent of people attending fresh h1b visas are being given 221g without any proper time, people are waiting for months years and atlast lose their hopes and returning back , infact to be frank my opinion is work for a good company in india for longtime and try their company sponsor ship h1b from the same company u will sure win the visa, the problem with consultant companies are they wont properly pay the tax (they pay but limited only just to protect their rights) they show loss or more expenditure and make money, and even layers are acting mostly for a job there are 3 layers and also more than that, that is why uscis has decided keeping any eye on consultant companies . my advice is finding full time job and sponsorship from direct companies not consultant companies( we know its hard to find, but work hard u gain sucess told by our ancestors)
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The same story is everywhere. Once upon a time Canada was supposed to be good place for stamping. People are getting 221g there too.

The best way to enhance the chances of approval is stay away from consulting work and find out fulltime job. Most of the consulting jobs have multiple layers and USCIS memorandum shows that they don't like this. I have rarely seen that an FTE got 221g. Thanks for the share though.

Hello dear members, this is to give you small information in uk consulates , dont attend interview at belfast embassy , they might take a long time to process. why? the answer is only one visa officer will be there. old lady they will be changing every 4 to 6 months time, if you have really a good genuine job from the company attend any where in the world, but i advise consultant company people dont go to places like belfast where there wont be many case workers to deal with particular case,
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Hello dear members, this is to give you small information in uk consulates , dont attend interview at belfast embassy , they might take a long time to process. why? the answer is only one visa officer will be there. old lady they will be changing every 4 to 6 months time, if you have really a good genuine job from the company attend any where in the world, but i advise consultant company people dont go to places like belfast where there wont be many case workers to deal with particular case,

HELLO DEAR E_RAO AND L1_H1 WE ARE EAGERLY WAITING TO LISTEN ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES , PLS SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES AS SOON AS YOU VISIT THE FORUM, I HAVE YOU 2MEMBERS HAVE FINISHED YOUR VISA INTERVIEW , TELL THE FACTS HERE, SO THAT IT WILL BE USEFUL FOR OTHERS
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Hi guys , please share your experiences of h1b 2012 batch , as i have seen 97 percent is not sucessful here in london (applies who never went to usa before), only 2-3 percent got the visas taking lot of time, here we can see simply giving 221G thats it, which is very easy for a visa officer to give it and ask to wait, massively vague term is 221g which is issued and they never give reply, so my best suggestion is dont make yourselves risk by attending interview at london, better to attend in india at the moment

London : h1b fresh visa chances are 2 percent

London (221g):95 percent

London (rejection rate): 3 percent

HOPE THIS IS VERY USEFUL FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IN UK , DONT ATTEND INTERVIEW AT LONDON SIMPLY THEY GIVE 221G AND ASK YOU TO WAIT (DONT KNOW MAY TAKE YEARS OR AGES (PETITION WILL EXPIRE IF THEY TAKE AGES) HOPE EVERY BODY UNDERSTAND THIS COME AND SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES HERE WE CAN SEE HOW MUCH PERCENTAGE ARE GETTING VISAS IN 2012

I wonder where you got the statistics ?

It is frustrating how even FTE people are also harassed with RFE's and even rejected by US embassy. And I dont blame them completely, since some of us - Indians, have exploited rules and laws beyond the limits...

On the other note, I do agree with WIWEQ about getting a FTE etc. ....

Good luck with your case !

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hi mate , i have seen 98 percent of people attending fresh h1b visas are being given 221g without any proper time, people are waiting for months years and atlast lose their hopes and returning back , infact to be frank my opinion is work for a good company in india for longtime and try their company sponsor ship h1b from the same company u will sure win the visa, the problem with consultant companies are they wont properly pay the tax (they pay but limited only just to protect their rights) they show loss or more expenditure and make money, and even layers are acting mostly for a job there are 3 layers and also more than that, that is why uscis has decided keeping any eye on consultant companies . my advice is finding full time job and sponsorship from direct companies not consultant companies( we know its hard to find, but work hard u gain sucess told by our ancestors)

True, FT gives you 3 years visa approval and ease in stamping. Get the stamping on FT, after coming to US you are all set to join consulting firm until it come to your visa renewal. Do the same if needed again.

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  • 6 months later...

Hi guys ,

I attended in London embassy on 8th nov 2012 and i was given a white 221 g

I am an indian and working in Uk in work permit . So i thought i could get the stamping in london to avoid the round trip flight ticket to Chennai !

My decision has backfired. i could have spent 1000 pounds instead of waiting at something which never has a defined deadline. TOO BAD from us embassy in london

Initially she asked a lot of qns for 15 mins and said "Congrats , your visa is approved " . When i was about to leave , she said " wait a min"

then she went inside and talked with someone. Then i was interviewed agian with a second officer for naother 20 mins .

My h1b sponsor has asked for security deposit for sponsoring . its legally in some documents that we both share expenses

( except the filing fees , which is around 725 USD , is paid by the sponsor.)

When i said this information , they readily gave me the white 221 g , and said they have to do administrative processing with No estimated end time.

The officer said " You can track this online and the status will be available in 2 days . but i really dont know how long it will take

it may take a long longggg time "

If i google now, i see that many indian have been given 221g in london embassy. Damn !! I should have checked it before ..

If you share a common muslim name or if you worked in security / defence areas , then its reasonalbe b'cause they might check for security

But why for this ? Or is it that for every indian who attends they give this 221g and delay things indefinitly with no ETA ?

i understand that everything ,must be according to law. of course they can verify anything , as it is at thier will that they give visa!

but why to operate without an Estiamted end date to close the case ? if each category takes differnt times , find the max time taken for category , fix it as end time and tell the category you are given and the waiting time for it. Instead of a mundane slip with a number alone !

poor way of working from london us embassy

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Hello Guys!!!

I am planning to attend VISA interview in US embassy London.

I am on Tier-1 VISA in UK from last 2 yrs.

My employer who filed my petition said I can attend interview in India too.

When I call to VFS Mumbai call center ,they suggest me to attend interview in UK since I am staying in UK more than 6 month.

Can anyone tell me what is the exact procedure to book VISA appointment in US embassy London?

your quick response will help me a lot.

Thanks

Abby

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@AbbyD : you can call to their phone number and book appoitment .. its a cake walk ... but i see that for indians ( mainly if u r in consulting ) they are drilling down in london .. its your wish ... enuire ith more people before stepping in .. good for you

@t75 : logically thats a view point . But in the LC its mentioned that me nad the sponsor share expenses ( except the AIWCA fess ,which they must only pay by law ) .. as its in the document , i dont want to lie anything to officer , as that might put me in risk .. But Truth never helps though :(

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Hi tigerlava,

I have 11+ years of experience with a world's renown employer and working for them since an year in the UK (previously i was in india, working for the same company). Now, I got an offer for a full time position by another well known, very big multinational. They are taking care of my H1B filing etc. I will most probably need to visit the London consulate in 2nd week of December. Any suggestions/inputs?

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My Client sponsor letter is from the one of the 3 largest software house in USA. Still i got a 221g.The officer doesnt care about small or big company , all they care is ' Are you trying to immigrate or not ' through the H visa.

Hi 221g_blue_np:

I will not scare anyone away from London embassy .. But what i see online is , for most indians 221 g is issued. may be ther are sucessfull cases adn the yare not posting here or any other forums . they might give u encouragement .you need to search and connect with them !!

i am not a lawyer or a consulate representative to give suggestions for you . I have given my experience , for benifit of all other Indians in UK. Its up to you to take your own decision !!

Personally : I wish you all the best :)

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My Client sponsor letter is from the one of the 3 largest software house in USA. Still i got a 221g.The officer doesnt care about small or big company , all they care is ' Are you trying to immigrate or not ' through the H visa.

Hi 221g_blue_np:

I will not scare anyone away from London embassy .. But what i see online is , for most indians 221 g is issued. may be ther are sucessfull cases adn the yare not posting here or any other forums . they might give u encouragement .you need to search and connect with them !!

i am not a lawyer or a consulate representative to give suggestions for you . I have given my experience , for benifit of all other Indians in UK. Its up to you to take your own decision !!

Personally : I wish you all the best :)

dear Tigerlava,

I am in a very similar situation as yours. I am a financial analyst Full time for a bank in New York and i am originally from Pakistan. Ive been working on an H1 for sometime but had to travel outside of the US and so had to get the visa stamped.

I had my interview at London consulate on Nov 2 and recieved the white 221g letter. They didnt ask me to submit anymore documents, gave me everything back including my passport and asked me to check on teh pdf file.

As of today, my number is not showing up on the pdf file that they update. its not even showing up under 'pending'

My attorney in America sent the london counulate an email asking them teh status but teh email bounced back. they have sent them a fax last week but have not heard anything back yet.

Is your number showing up now?

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am originally from Pakistan.

This is why you might have been given 221 g . it might not be your mistake but your name's , which might have matched with a terrorised who has the same name. They might do a name check to see if you are not a terrorist or rather you are not the same person in their list . Many muslims across the world face this from what i have seen in many forums . Look at iraq embassy here , it says

We initially refuse most immigrant visa applicants under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Source :http://iraq.usembassy.gov/221g.html

Kabul :

Most visa applications in Kabul require an average of 60 to 90 days after the interview for required administrative processing.

http://kabul.usembassy.gov/processing_time_visa_applications.html

Dont worry , if u havent done any fault anywhere , you must get it ... Answer to when you get it ? only USCIS know :(

Wait for 3 months on average then call them back !

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello Guys :

i saw in one website the way out of a sucesfull case for 221 g

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

So my suggestion for all 221g with admin processing without document submission. I suggest you all to apply for Amendment petition but with new LCA

My employer has withdrawn the OLD LCA . Hope a new LCA will be filed ... SO my current case is closed . Dont know if new LCA will be filed blah blah .. those are next steps

One thing i learnt , Not only you must check that if you can get stamping in a embassy , its prudent to check what happened to people , atleast similar to your case , in an embassy !

I will never go to London Embassy again . Let me waste £1000 pounds for flight round trip , I will head to India the Homeland...

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Friends,

First of all thank you so much for the amount of information exchange that takes place in this forum. It's extremely useful. My turn to give back to the community now.

Before writing my experience, if required, may I request the moderator to move this thread to "H1B AT LONDON EMBASSY 2013 EXPERIENCES CLEARLY MENTIONED" instead of 2012.

Date Of interview - 14th Jan 2013, 9:00 AM

Consulate - London

Type of Visa - H1B for me and H4B for my spouse and kid (2.5 year old) together. I had taken appointment for all of us together.

Type of Employment - Full Time Employment

Petition Processing - Mine was premium processing

Previous VISA history - Never traveled to the US. H1B denied once in India under section 221g (blue form), New Delhi long back.

We reached the consulate by 8:45 AM. After security clearance, we went for fingerprinting and document collection window.

The officer was extremely polite. He took mine and my wife's fingerprints and collected passport and I-797 and asked us to wait to be called for the actual interview.

In the next 15 minutes, our token number was announced and we went together to the actual interview window

Visa Officer - Good morning sir

Me - Very good morning

Visa Officer - Can I verify your fingerprints

Me - Sure. Mine and my wife's fingerprints were verified

Visa Officer to me - Which company you are going to work for sir?

Me - XYZ

Visa Officer to me - Where will you be working from sir?

Me - ABC city and XYZ state

Visa Officer to me - How long you have been in the UK sir?

Me - XYZ duration.

Visa Officer - Do you know your rights as a temporary worker in the United States sir?

Me - I had a glance at them online

Visa Officer - Handed over a pamphlet to me and set "I am approving your VISA sir, please handover the blue slip to courier desk and pay the fees"

We - Thank you so much, you have a nice day!

The officer didn't ask even a single question to my wife.

Status in CEAC website

14th Jan 2013

Administrative Processing.

Application ID or Case number : XXXXXXXXXX

Case Creation Date: 14-Jan-2013

Status Updated Date: 14-Jan-2013

Your visa is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. This processing can take several weeks. Please follow any instructions provided by the Consular Officer at the time of your interview. If further information is needed, you will be contacted. If your visa application is approved, it will be processed and mailed/available within two business days.

The status remained like that until 17th Jan 2013 sometime around 14:00 hours GMT and after that it was showing it as:

17-Jan-2013

Issued.

Application ID or Case number : XXXXXXXXXX

Case Creation Date: 14-Jan-2013

Status Updated Date: 17-Jan-2013

Your visa is in final processing. If you have not received it in more than 10 working days, please see the webpage for contact information of the embassy or consulate where you submitted your application.

And around 16:00 GMT on the same day, i.e. 17-Jan-2013 (Yesterday) I received a text from DX Secure, the courier company that they are dispatching my package from the embassy.

I opted for the standard service for courier. I received the courier around 17:00 GMT today, 18-Jan-2013.

All of our passports are stamped (mine with H1b and spouse and child with H4 visa).

One question - They have also sent the original I-797 that they had retained during the interview. Is that expected?

Thank you so much again for all your support.

Please let me know if I am missing any information that's relevant to any of you and need to mention, I will update the thread.

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Friends,

First of all thank you so much for the amount of information exchange that takes place in this forum. It's extremely useful. My turn to give back to the community now.

Before writing my experience, if required, may I request the moderator to move this thread to "H1B AT LONDON EMBASSY 2013 EXPERIENCES CLEARLY MENTIONED" instead of 2012.

Date Of interview - 14th Jan 2013, 9:00 AM

Consulate - London

Type of Visa - H1B for me and H4B for my spouse and kid (2.5 year old) together. I had taken appointment for all of us together.

Type of Employment - Full Time Employment

Petition Processing - Mine was premium processing

Previous VISA history - Never traveled to the US. H1B denied once in India under section 221g (blue form), New Delhi long back.

We reached the consulate by 8:45 AM. After security clearance, we went for fingerprinting and document collection window.

The officer was extremely polite. He took mine and my wife's fingerprints and collected passport and I-797 and asked us to be called for the actual interview.

In the next 15 minutes, our token number was announced and we went together to the actual interview

Visa Officer - Good morning sir

Me - Very good morning

Visa Officer - Can I verify your fingerprints

Me - Sure. Mine and my wife's fingerprints were verified

Visa Officer to me - Which company you are going to work for sir?

Me - XYZ

Visa Officer to me - Where will you be working from sir?

Me - ABC city and XYZ state

Visa Officer to me - How long you have been in the UK sir?

Me - XYZ duration.

Visa Officer - Do you know your rights as a temporary worker in the United States sir?

Me - I had a glance at them online

Visa Officer - Handed over a pamphlet to me and set "I am approving your VISA sir, please handover the blue slip to courier desk and pay the fees"

We - Thank you so much, you have a nice day!

The officer didn't ask even a single question to my wife.

Status in CEAC website

14th Jan 2013

Administrative Processing.

Application ID or Case number : XXXXXXXXXX

Case Creation Date: 14-Jan-2013

Status Updated Date: 14-Jan-2013

Your visa is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing. This processing can take several weeks. Please follow any instructions provided by the Consular Officer at the time of your interview. If further information is needed, you will be contacted. If your visa application is approved, it will be processed and mailed/available within two business days.

The status remained like that until 17th Jan 2013 sometime around 14:00 hours GMT and after that it was showing it as:

17-Jan-2013

Issued.

Application ID or Case number : XXXXXXXXXX

Case Creation Date: 14-Jan-2013

Status Updated Date: 17-Jan-2013

Your visa is in final processing. If you have not received it in more than 10 working days, please see the webpage for contact information of the embassy or consulate where you submitted your application.

And around 16:00 GMT on the same day, i.e. 17-Jan-2013 (Yesterday) I received a text from DX Secure, the courier company that they are dispatching my package from the embassy.

I opted for the standard service for courier. I received the courier around 17:00 GMT today, 18-Jan-2013.

All of our passports are stamped (mine with H1b and spouse and child with H4 visa).

One question - They have also sent the original I-797 that they had retained during the interview. Is that expected?

Thank you so much again for all your support.

Please let me know if I am missing any information that's relevant to any of you and need to mention, I will update the thread.

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