221(g) issued @ Ottawa on 25th march 2012... Have travel plans to India..

forbestletshope

By forbestletshope,
in H1B : Visa Stamp

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forbestletshope Member

forbestletshope

Posted
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Hello friends,

I was issued got 221g - White @ Ottawa on 25th March 2013. Any idea how long will it take to get approved ?

Its been 2 weeks since my interview & I haven't received any update from them.

MY CASE :

F1 to H1, first time, on EVC model, did my masters from US and have all the documents with me including client/vendor letters.

My appointment was @ 10AM. I reached the counslate around 9:45AM.

After entering the building, there would be security check. After security check is finished, I was directed to go inside the counslate. An old lady checked my passport, DS-160 confirmation page, I-797 & instructed me to go to counter1.

At counter1,the guy asked me my passport,& I797 again. He even asked me if I have any letter from employer addressing to the counslate.He took them & gave me a token. Later on , I was called by my token# for fingerprints & then waited for the actual interview.

After around half an hour, VO called out my token# at counter3.

Me: Gud morning

VO: GUd morning, Can I have your client letter, vendor letter & all documents related to your employment.

I handed over my client letter, vendor letter, employer letter to VO.

He looked @ all the docs & asked me few questions

VO: What do you work as

Me: told him my role

VO: So xxx is your client

Me: yes

VO: yyy is your employer & zzz is vendor

Me: yes

VO took my passport, client/employer/vendor letters & told that my application needs further review & it wouldnot take much time.

As soosn as the interview was finished, my client received few questions regarding emplyer-client-employee relationship & he answered then in a day.

Its been 2 weeks since then & I haven't received any update from them yet. I even went to counslate but they informed me that I just have to wait for further communication from counslate.

My wedding is fixed in May 2013 & I have booked my flight tickets on 4th of may & I'm not sure how much time its gonna take for this processing to be finished.

Could anyone let me know if I can email the counslate to take my passport back so that I can travel back to my home country? How long would it take to get my passport back?

Also if I travel to my home country, in the mean time would my case be still in processing state or they would close it?

Do any one has similiar experience/situation ? How long will it take ?

Currently I'm statying in Toronto & if no updates are received this end of this month, I'm planning to travel back to India.

Any suggestions are most welcome.

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Foreigner2012 Member

Foreigner2012

Posted
Posted

I hope you have a multiple entry visa for Canada. If yes, you can request for your passports back and travel to India. That doesnt not close your case as it will still be under administrative processing. Once your visa is issued you will get an email to submit your passports to the consulate for stamping in which case you'll need to fly back to canada and get that taken care of. After that you should be able to travel back to US without issues.

221g can take any no. of days, weeks or months. Depends on each individual case and circumstances. However, a lot of them are processed in the first 60 days. Good luck!!

I however have been waiting for approx 8 months now :-)

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forbestletshope Member

forbestletshope

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Thank you Foreigner2012 for your quick reply.

Yes I do have mutiple entry for Canada.

One more question, do you have any idea how much time would it take to get my passport back if I request the counslate for my travel plans to India. Can I go to counslate & collect passport or I have to communicate with them through email.

Is there any process for picking up the passport?

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ramkashyap Advanced Member

ramkashyap

Posted
Posted

You can request for your PP to be given back since you wanted to leave. Usually they will return the PP the following day of request.

Do you know about the details of the questionnaire sent to your client about further clarification of your case?

What were the responses given by your client?

I feel that the responses provided make the vital impact in cases of this nature.

Hope things get sorted out real quick for you.

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imsoftechie Advanced Member

imsoftechie

Posted
Posted

Thank you Foreigner2012 for your quick reply.

Yes I do have mutiple entry for Canada.

One more question, do you have any idea how much time would it take to get my passport back if I request the counslate for my travel plans to India. Can I go to counslate & collect passport or I have to communicate with them through email.

Is there any process for picking up the passport?

Thanks Foreigner for sharing the info.

Can you pls let us know whats your last name and what questions did VO ask and did he say it went for name check processing. Please advise as your response will me to decide to go for stamping in canada or india.

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Foreigner2012 Member

Foreigner2012

Posted
Posted

To all,

My interview was in Hyd india. I have a common muslim name. Not sure if my name is on their list, because the last time I went for stamping a few years back for H1 and F1 before that, I never had this issue. its just bad luck I guess that they put in 221g this time and that its taking this much time. I work full time for a very big company and am working from Hyd while I am stuck here. Either way, waiting this long is v frustrating and overwhelming. The intvw was very short and positive. Not many questions asked just basic what you do etc....as I am full time they did not ask for any letters, company docs etc. As a matter of fact the VO in the end said that "everything looks good here and I will issue you the visa but before that your application needs to go through some additional processing". They kept my passport & original 797. Got an email to answer basic questions including my travel dates in last 5 years from/to US.

My lawyers etc all think that there is no reason for them to do that except the background and name check. The DOS has been contacted a couple of times by my employers, and once also from my local US Senator.

I also came across and spoke with another person from Hyd with a common muslim name and it took his case 1 year and 3 days. It finally came this Feb and he flew back....I just hope I am not in that category even though its been approx 8 months now.

Also I do not think changing the consular post will make any big difference. If it has to go to 221g it will, no matter where you apply from. You can see these forums for example...221g are ALL OVER THE PLACE!!

I do think that this is NOT right. I am not saying they shouldnt do background checks etc. Sure, follow the rules, but taking this long for a response that too for a person who has had a VERY clean record with everything ever since i've been in US, thats not fair. They dont have any process in place for expediting. When you ask for any thing or any updates or who currently has the file etc, the support folks just keep sending you the SAME info each time (its still pending...bla bla....you can check your status...bla bla) like we dont know the basics and the DOS say that under INA laws they cant disclose any info, even to the primary applicant. They should know that some big employers already perform checks before hirirng especially for full time employees etc. And if they still need to, sure, take my social Security # and run it through. That shouldnt days or months!!! I am paying taxes, insurance, mortgage etc for months and stuck out of the country spending money here as well....pathetic on their behalf!!!

Enough of my frustration :-) good luck to all you folks!!

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usah1b8 Member

usah1b8

Posted
Posted

@ forbestletshope:

I had the same situation when I had my interview in Feb, 2013, ottawa.

My Client got an email right after my Interview.

They responded the next working day and the Embassy folks did not reach out to us till two and half weeks.

My case had other complications, but from my experience What I'd tell you is,

There are chances that the email responses sent by your Client might not have reached the embassy (not received) and in turn they are waiting for the responses from your client.

I had that situation where the embassy reached out my Client via phone (as a follow up )on the 8th business day after they sent out the email with all questions initially.

Upon checking with my HR, the VO on phone realized that they have missed the email responses from my HR. (Not sure if they were filtered or under spam) cz my HR fwd'ed those emails, while he was on the phone too but even then he could not find it. Finally,he had to provide my HR with his personal email address and she fwd'ed it there.

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forbestletshope Member

forbestletshope

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Hi everyone,

No update on my case as of now... still waiting for a response from counslate....

@ushah1b8: thanks for the information.

I got a call from my employer yersterday. The same happened in my case as u have stated.

My client got a call from counslate on Tuesday i.e. 9th April 2013 & enquired them about the project related stuff.

The guy who called from counslate even informed my manager that they have not received any reply for the email sent by them. So my manager forwarded then the mail again & again ther has been no update yet..

Would keep you guys updated about the case...

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  • 2 months later...
imsoftechie Advanced Member

imsoftechie

Posted
Posted

@ forbestletshope:

I had the same situation when I had my interview in Feb, 2013, ottawa.

My Client got an email right after my Interview.

They responded the next working day and the Embassy folks did not reach out to us till two and half weeks.

My case had other complications, but from my experience What I'd tell you is,

There are chances that the email responses sent by your Client might not have reached the embassy (not received) and in turn they are waiting for the responses from your client.

I had that situation where the embassy reached out my Client via phone (as a follow up )on the 8th business day after they sent out the email with all questions initially.

Upon checking with my HR, the VO on phone realized that they have missed the email responses from my HR. (Not sure if they were filtered or under spam) cz my HR fwd'ed those emails, while he was on the phone too but even then he could not find it. Finally,he had to provide my HR with his personal email address and she fwd'ed it there.

 

Dear bro  forbestletshope,

 

I'm planning to go to Canda for stamping and need your advise.

 

Please help me by responding to emailin profile id.

 

JZK..

 

 

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