H1B Visa Stamping in Toronto - with arrest record.

[nkchimm]

All - I am looking for some help / suggestions / opinions ..

i booked appointment for h1b visa stamping in Toronto for next week but getting cold feet to cross the border given that i got arrest record from 3 years back.

My background - I did my masters in US and graduated 7 years back. I have been working as fulltime employee since then for mnc with over 250k employees. I finished my 6 yrs h1 recently and got extention as my GC is in the process.

Unfortunate event - I got arrested 3 years back for driving with expired license. I didnt know at that time.. how serious it is to drive with expired license. My h1 renewal was in the process during that time and i didnt had a copy of 797 to get my license renewed. I had no other option but to drive with expired license. Unfortunately, finger prints were also taken when i got arrested. I recently got court document upon request and it stated.. "the case was paid in full and disposed off as guilty".

I am looking for any one who was in the same boat and would appreciate if they share their experiences.

Please help.

Thanks.

[sattanash]

hi,

I am also in almost same situation. I attended interview on may 22 2012. Got 221g blue slip. Interview went well. Gave all my documents back and kept my PP and court documents. VO Told me that My case has to go through back ground verfication as There is an arrest record. It was a traffic voilation (Not DUI) misdaminer case happened 41/2 years ago. I guess they will send my case to the state department for further verification. I heard the state department are slow to respond and now I am struck in Ottawa.

Not to scare you but just wanted to give you an FYI on this so that you can plan accordingly.

But DUI cases are getting there visas stamped in like 2 to 3 weeks.

[lostpacket]

Don't worry. That shouldn't matter.

[nkchimm]

Thanks to both of you for responding to my query.

@ sattanash.. can you send me the details on what exactly the conversation was with VO. You can either post here or please send to my email ID: enkaesee@yahoo.com. How long the interview was and what questions did VO asked ?. Or give me your contact #. i will give you a call.

Thanks,

Nagesh.

[nkchimm]

hi nash.. would you please update us the status. did you get yr passport back or still waiting? i got 2 days to make the decision whether to go or cancel the appt. please let me know.

[sattanash]

Nagesh,

My very first question was what happed on XX day XXX year as I see a arrest record on you. I was really surprised with the way he questioned me. I some how managed to explain my situation sweet and short.Then he asked me where were you heading when this accedent occured. Then next Punch was he looked at my previous employer and asked me there is a very good collage there to your employer location. Damn how can we know that as we work onsite with client. But managed to say a college name. Then he looked at my employment letter rroles and responsibilities and asked me couple of technical questions. he asked me about Samba server and told he has prior Samba experience( He was lying). Then few more employment details and thats it. He was pretty much convinced with my answers but before calling me to the window he already wrote 221g on my name as soon as he saw my arrest record poped up on his screen. I then handovered my court documents to him but he said he has to do a background check and if everything goes smooth then you will get your visa approved or we might call you for an another interview.

[nkchimm]

Nash -

Thanks for sharing the conversation. It seems like if we have arrest record, we will get 221g, irrespective of what the reason was.. :-( ... I am under the impression that cases like this where just background check is required, it should be done pretty quick unlike in DUI where physical exam is required but it looks like it might take more than just few days. My assumption is that you havent got any update on PP yet.. right ?

hmm.. i can take at the max 2 wks off from my work.. cant risk more than that from job perspective. i am in total predicament... i regret for what happened..

Thanks again. GOOD LUCK.

[sattanash]

nkchimn,

DUI are all aprroved once you submit medical examination. But the cases like me needs more time I guess.

But hopefully ecerything should be alright as these are minor things which happens one day or the other.

If you have case like this, you should get a visa but it would take some time may be plan for atleast a month.

[nkchimm]

Just wanted to let those who are inteterested to know the staus of my case ... i had successful stamping and i am back in US. The visa interview went smooth with regular questions like where did i do masters, whats the highest education, whats the corporate title, what do i do etc., .. AND in my case., few extra questions like where and why did i got arrested.. etc.,. My interview was on Monday morning and picked up PP on Friday.

Special thanks to Nash (Sattanash) for his valuable suggestions and to murthy forum for making me well prepared for the interview before hand with so many topics to go through and gain good insights on the process.

[vishnu386]

NKCHIMM,

Can u pls elaborate on ur visa experience, like

1.type of employement

2.visa questions,

3. did u answer yes for getting arrested question in ds-160 and what did the VO ask abt this scenario.

4. Which embassy did u go to and how many days did it take for u to get the PP and any additional docs u submitted. and anything else.

I am exactly in the same situation as u and planning to got to Torornto and im on EVC,

[nkchimm]

hi Vishnu..sorry i didnt login to this forum since my last post. Anyways, regaring your questions..

1. I am working as FTE in one of top 3 banks.

2. Visa questions were very general, as mentioned earlier. . like how long you working for this employer, what do you do there, whats your title, where did you work previously, whats your highest level of education, where did you do etc.,

3. Yes, i did mention 'yes' in ds-160 form and was prepared with documentation.. like court letter mentioning what the final diposition of the case., police incident report etc.,

4. I went to Toronto and it took 4 days to get my PP. Interview was on Monday and Got PP on Firday.

Again.. sorry for not replying earlier. Good luck.

[vishnu386]

NKCHIMM,

Thanks for the reply, it would be helpful. Thanks once again.