Chennai : EVC -- 221G , Direct Employment - VISA Approved

[221gSurvivor]

Hello All,

Here is my story.

I came to India to attend a family function and had to get my VISA stamped as I had my 2nd 3 Year extension approved in October 2010. I had to attend the stamping with my wife who is on a dependent VISA.

We attended Visa interview in the third week of Mar 2011 on EVC model at the Chennai Consulate. It was a lady VO reluctant to even wish or make eye-2-eye contact with us. Mine was a second H1B stamping with a desi consultancy with 200 employees and an American client with a Vendor in between. Got 221g blue requested all the employer related documents , all documents were asked to be posted, VO retained both our passports. Docs were submitted within the next 10 days and within 15 days of document submission(around first week of April 2011) we got the passports back-both mine and my wife’s passports and with my earlier expired H1B visa "Cancelled without prejudice", along with another 221g stating additional admin processing needed.

Meanwhile I continued to work from home as my client was kind enough to let me work from home.

Sometime in June , I got a letter saying my visa cannot be approved and that the case is being sent back to USCIS.

The worst thing is that the denial letter was dated sometime in the first week of April and was sent to me 3 months later, in the middle of June.

In the meantime, the client(American company) made me an offer for fulltime employment which I accepted and they applied for my H1B in Premium processing. This got approved within 2 weeks.

We went for stamping again to Chennai 10 days back ( 2nd week of August ), again alongwith my wife.This time there were no layers in between, working full time with the same client.

Very nervous and not taking any risks this time, we extensively researched Murthy Forums trying to figure out all possible questions and appropriate answers to be given. By the time we attended the interview , we had compiled some 40 - 50 questions with answers to every one of them ..

The interview experience this time :

A lady VO again.

Questions asked:

VO: What will you be doing?

ME: This is a fresh employment, Will be joining so and so, full time should my visa get approved

Looked at the system for the next 2 mins .. and this was the longest 2 mins of my life as we we worried whether my there was anything entered into their system by the previous VO who had denied our stamping ..

And then

VO: looks like you have been with this client earlier?

ME: Yes

VO: So they are hiring you now?

VO: Yes

VO: What is your role?

ME: Explained.(as by hearted:))

VO: Your pay?

ME: Answered

VO: highest qualification?

ME: Answered

VO: Which location will you work at?

ME: Told the location.

Next following questions to my wife..

VO: how long have you been married?

Wife: x months

VO: How many times did you meet him before wedding?

Wife: answered

VO: Was it an arranged/love marriage?

Wife: answered

VO: how many people attended the wedding?

Wife: answered.

After flipping the passports twice, she put to rest our apprehensions and stated you will get your visas in a week’s time.

She never asked for any documents neither the offer letter stating the full time employment nor the photos of the wedding. It was a smooth one altogether. Got both the passports back this time with visa stamped:) in two days.

I have been following this forum ever since I got the 221g. So many people have gone through this same problem and got the visa approved with the direct vendor.

If you are not working in a layered model your chances of getting the visa approved are high, else if you are in EVC/EVVC/EC etc. avoid visits to/stamping in India unless absolutely necessary.

Some tips from my failed and successful experiences :

1) I was over-confident the first time around as I was never on the bench and with the same employer and client .. Never prepared for any questions but just ensured that the documentation was in order.

It's very very important that you have ready answers for most of the standard questions and you are able to reply back without pausing or stammering. This conveys that you are prepared and know what you are talking about. Even if the VO is not interested in your answer , the body language and confidence will carry you through.

2) Dressing is important but a decent formal shirt/ trousers was what worked for me. I did see some people in Blazers / Suits but casual wear is a total no-no

3) Do not look over anxious when standing in the queue waiting for the interview and trying to hear everything that is going on in the other counters. Have confidence in your abilities and preparation.

I would be more than glad to answer any questions that anyone might have as I benefitted a lot by reading these forums.

[appa.takkar]

@221gSurvivor

Great. Your story is exactly similar to mine except that my timelines are a week later than yours. I will be going for stamping again in a couple of weeks with direct employment and hopefully will yield the same result as yours.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[pujapal]

@221g survivor

I am also in kind of a similar situation. I was planning to attend some family function in oct and need to get my visa stamped. I have an approved I 140 and my visa extension has been filed. I work thru a desi consulting company and currently working for a client thru layers. Do you advice not to make this trip and hold on till situation gets better?

thanks in advance for your inputs

[hellpme]

@221gSurvivor

Good to hear that you got your visa.

Did your client made a H1-B Transfer or a fresh H1-B (from the yearly quota) ? Any idea why they sent the denial letter so late ? Did it got stuck somewhere in VFS/courier office ?

[221gSurvivor]

@pujapal

I too had an approved I-140 but that has no bearing on the VISA stamping if you have not completed your 6 years on H1B.I would suggest that you avoid the trip if possible .. Have seen some EVC / EVVC cases get through but based on my

experience , it's better to wait it out till there's some clarification on how the Employee-Employer relationship is being interpreted by the Consulates worldwide. Being a direct employee is your safest best at this juncture if that's an option.

@hellpme

My client applied for a new H1B ( there's no concept of a H1B transfer ) which was cap-exempt.

This H1B applied by the client is valid only for 3 years as I had already used my earlier 3 years.

I read somewhere on Google wherein Murthy attorneys advised someone that the Consulates take a while to communicate the decision back as they want to avoid immediate follow-up's by the petitioner's attorneys.

If they stick by some 90 day rule ( as was in my case ), it's highly unlikely that the client will still support you for that long. In my case , the decision was made 2 weeks after submission of the requested documents. I do not think it was stuck in VFS coz I used to have email follow up's and each time I used to get the same answer

that it's stil under admin processing during the 90 day wait period. I did not contact DOS that often but the couple of times I called them , the answer was the same.

[pujapal]

@221g survivor - thanks for ur inputs..i am reading the forum for last 2 days and am not seeing any positive inputs from people. You mentioned that even with I140 approval it has no bearing if i have not completed 6 yrs on my H1. In my case by the time i would go i would have completed 6 yrs on my H1B. Does that make any difference?

[visamania]

Hi @221gSurvivor

I am also in the same situation, except I had received direct employment from different client and going for stamping next week.

Below is chronology of events

1. Attended visa on June 22nd on old employers (vendor) h1b and got 221g.

2. Started working remotely

3. Received denial letter in August 4rd week but denial letter was dated July 22nd

4. I had filed for new h1b from new client(Top Financial Firm) and got it approved in a week

5.Booked visa for Sept 8th with new employer (Top Financial Firm)

Unfortunately, I am in my 7th year of h1b and got h1b extended with approved I-140 of old employer(vendor)

It's really scaring me now. I lost visa in spite of having all documents and now I am attending visa using direct client's H1b

please share your experiences and possible visa interview questions

[kcricket]

GoodLuck @Visamania with your stamping. Did you apply your new one in premium processing? Can you please share your exact dates of applying, receipt, and approval for your new H1.

Also, Please share your interview experience once it is done.

GoodLuck

[h6b]

@221gSurvivor

thanks for your visa approval...so just want to know did your wife have 1st time stamping or did she doing 2nd time ? Because i was under impression in 2nd H4 interview VO do not ask any question...

let me know..thanks

[Siya]

Thanks for posting your experience. It really helps. I was also little over confident I guess because all my paper work was in place and I too was with the same Client and employer for 2 years. But still I got a 221g and have been waiting for 3 months.

Could anyone advice filing a new H-1 petition through which of the below options are better:

1) Find a new employer and link them to my Current Client (I'm still working remotely, Client cannot hire me directly per company policy)That would be EC model.

2) Find a new employer with an inhouse project.

I'm not considering my current employer bcoz my 221g was raised on E-E relationship. I believe my chances of finding a full time employment from India are very skim and not many consultants are non desi. I'm looking for option where I can find a well reputed consultant firm (desi or non desi) whose name does not raise a flag through KCC.

Could you all help me choose a better option. Thanks.

[tusharvk]

how does one find out that the 221g is raised due to e-e relationship?