H-1B Visa Approval

Name
XXX
Country
United States

I have contacted you in the month of June, 05 regarding my F1-H1 Issue. My H1-B visa was approved by the American Consulate in Mumbai with out any problems and I am in the US right now. I would like to genuinely thank you for all your help and advise and I am glad that I took your services as I tried a number of lawyers before you and everyone gave me conflicting advises. I am writing to you my whole experience in detail so that you can put this in forum as other people may get help from this.

In brief, my H1 was approved in May 2004 with COS denied due to gap between my OPT end date and H1 Start Date (Oct 1st, 2004). There was a Cap Gap Memo published in Federal Register on July 23rd, 2004 saying people from F1 to H1 can stay legally till October 1st and on that day their H1 will become effective. This memo was not very clear and ambiguous so there was another clarifying memo asking people to file for MTR in order to get the desired COS within 2 weeks of its issuance. In my case, I missed the memo completely and I was under the impression that the July 23rd Fed Register will be good enough to take care of my status. I came to know about the whole issue in the month of March 2005 and that’s when I started digging into the whole problem.

After consulting with a number of lawyers (who really gave me unclear, conflicting, scary sort of opinions, suggestions, and their personal views), I contacted Mr. Rajiv Khanna. After studying my case, he came to know that I was a student in the US and I have D/S (Duration of Status) written on my I-94. He advised me that I don’t have to worry about the 3/10 Year Bar problem as people with D/S written on their I-94 are exempted from the Bar and this will protect from the same (Though my I-20 and OTP card had expired for more than six months!). Apart from this, Mr. Khanna said there is nothing in your case that can hold the American Consulate to issue you H1-B Visa.

My appointment was on August 22nd, 2005 at 8:30 AM at American Consulate- Mumbai. Here is the conversation that I had with the Visa Officer:

ME : Good Morning.
VO : No Answer !

(She already had my original I-797B, copy of I129 and the questionnaire).

VO While going through the questionnaire...) So you have been working with this company for last One and a Half Years ha ?
ME : Yes Maam.

VO: Where exactly the company is based at?
ME : XXX, MI.

VO: Where were you working before that?
ME : XYZ company.

VO : So who filed for your H1 ?
ME : ABC Company ( My current employer ).

VO : Ohh, then we have a problem here !
How could you work with the XYZ and on what status??
ME : I was working on OPT that time.

VO: OK, so I can see your OPT card?
ME: Sure maam. (I gave her my OPT card)

She looked at the dates carefully and returned it back to me.

VO: So, you graduated from Florida?
(I came to US with F1 from one of the universities from Florida. After a semester, I changed the university to XYZ State)
Me: No maam, I graduated from ABC University from XYZ State.

VO: But you have visa on your passport from Florida?
ME : Yess Maam but I changed my University to ABC University. I contacted the International Student Office and they said I need a different I20 and not a different visa on my passport.

VO: I see. For your future reference, don’t listen to your school’s International Student Office, just follow the rules.
ME: Yess Maam.

VO: Ok, I am issuing you the Visa. You will get your passport through mail in 3-4 days.
ME: Thank you maam. You have a nice day.

And I left the consulate with almost tears in my eyes. The pain and anxiety was over in that 5 minutes interview with that American lady.
Mr. Khanna, the only reason I could talk to the visa officer was because of your proper advice and other supporting documents that you sent me. I felt lot confidant about my situation and that led me to a successful visa interview. I would like to point out a couple of things here : First, its very important to take legal advise from a good lawyer like Mr. Khanna as my experience tells, many of the Immigration lawyers I tried didn’t even have any idea about Student Visa, I-94 D/S etc. Secondly, if you fall in my situation and have D/S on your I-94, you are in a lot better condition than what you think you are. Leave everything else to Almighty!

I would like to thank you again you for all your help.
 

Nonimmigrant Visas

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