successful stamping after 221g blue Ottawa

[saif]

Hello Everyone,

This post is intended to provide optimism to all the 221(g) victims. I know how it feels and I know that the wait is sheer torture. I am here to share my story with you all and hopefully provide some sort of optimism and help you get through this difficult period.

I work for one of the leading financial firms in the world and last year I went to Ottawa for my H-1b visa stamp. The VO issued me 221(g) blue and it felt like I saw everything collapsing in front of my eyes because of all the horror 221 g stories that I had heard. I decided to take the next flight back to my home country and wasn’t sure if I was going to hear back from the consulate anytime soon.

Believe me, every single day of this whole waiting period took a toll on me mentally and physically. I left the U.S. in killer shape and came back looking like a skinny dude. You have to understand, everything was at stake here because I had worked very hard to land the job I have.

My interview was in late October 2011. I called the DOS every week and used to hear the same answer “It’s Pending.” It got to a point where I felt like I should just give up. My employer was patient throughout this process and I cannot thank my employer enough for that.

I got my approval email in early January of 2012 and guess what my Canadian visit visa expired 1 day before I got the approval email. I decided to apply for the Canadian visa renewal the same week only to find out that the renewal form my home country can take anywhere between 2-6 months. That made me go nuts because the U.S. consulate wanted to me to submit my pp as soon as possible otherwise there is a possibility they might put me through administrative processing again.

The wait for the Canadian visa continued and luckily after 5 weeks of torture I heard back from the Canadian consulate and got my visit visa approved. I took the next flight to Canada and appeared at the consulate. Luckily they did not put me through another administrative processing and I was able to come back into the U.S. and move on with my life.

I will describe this entire process as very stressful and I know what fellow 221 g victims feel. My suggestion to you would be to hang in there and try to be productive during this time. If there is something that you have been putting off (either personal or professional) now is a good time to do it.

Some facts about me are below

Common muslim first name

Work for one of the leading financial firms in the world

Home country Pakistan

Full time employee

Interview late October 2011

Approval early January 2012

[Aravind35]

Congratulations Saif. Your story will definitely inspire others who are waiting on the their visa's.

[sattanash]

Congrats man. You are lucky that even after you came back to Canada after 5 weeks your Visa was approved.

I came to Canada with the same approval letter to submit my PP only to find out that the email was an error and the case is still pending.

What the FXXXXX !!!