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H1B Visa Extension Interview Questions and Port of Entry (POE) Questions by CBP. Complete Visa experience of 2010.

H1B extension questions interview 2010 One of my close friends recently visited India for his H1B visa extension Stamping. I am sharing this with our readers because, with the new memorandum and H1B rules of 2011 quota, there are many rumors about visa stampings and also with the recent incidents in January 2010 where H1B holders were sent back at Port of Entry in Newark , people are very confused. The reality is, many bloggers and everyone share only BAD experiences, no one writes about GOOD experiences and how many people are coming through immigration at US port of entry. My goal here is to share some positive experiences and clear some myths and help you all prepare well. My friend is kind enough to share with me his complete experience.  Thanks to him !

Background about my friend:  He attended Visa interview in Mumbai. In fact, it was his H1B visa extension stamping. He works as a consultant and has lived in US for almost 4 years on H1B visa.

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H1B visa extension interview Questions 2010 :

The visa interview questions were very basic and see below for the responses he gave to the visa officer. Also, some tips along with them. ( VO means Visa officer ). I am writing on behalf of him as he explained me everything.  ‘He’ refers to my friend

  • VO : What company do you work for?
    • He told the client name absentmindedly and the visa officer was confused and looked twice at him at the computer and then looked at him again. My friend realized that he messed it up and then told sorry and said that is the client name and I work for so and so company. Be careful here, say the company name you work for, do not get confused and tell the client name. It can create a little confusion for visa officer and you do not want to screw up here.
  • VO : Briefly explain what work do you do ?
    • He explained all the regular stuff that he works in IT and all the technical jargon about what the client does, etc blah blah blah… Just tell what you actually do at client site. Do not try to create anything from nothing, ideally use proper technical jargon as would use at work.
  • VO : How long have you been working with this company ?
    • He said, for the past 4 years.
  • VO: Surprisedly asked “ You haven’t changed your employer in 3 years”
    • He said, “ yes, we have a long implementation and the client is good etc etc. and he liked the company, etc..”
  • VO: Can I have a look at your recent Paystubs ?
    • He gave all the latest paystubs 4 of them, W2 of previous years, then pay stubs of previous years. In fact, he created a stack of Paystubs followed by the W2 of that year. The VO looked at the latest 3 pay stubs or so and then W2 of last year, did not look everything and handed it back.

VO congratulated and told him that he would get visa in a week or so. That’s it. NO drama. In fact, my friend said, all the people around him got visa too. At least the people who were in line with him before and in next lines.

H1B Port of entry (POE) questions :

Port of entry is the immigration check point before you enter USA. For my friend  Chicago was the port of entry and as usual he filled in the I94 form and he was in the line looking around. My friend was looking at the instruction screens that say how to fill out forms, what to keep handy, etc. The Immigration officer called my friend once and my friend was so deeply involved reading the instructions on screen, the immigration officer had to call second time loudly and he said, “ I have a copy of the instructions on a CD, do you like one of those ?” My friend approached the immigration officer and just replied jokingly, “Well, that’s the only entertainment you provide for us when we are standing in line”. Some light humor, but not super funny… CBP (Customs and Border protection) officer or Immigration officer asked these questions. Just one question :

  • What do you work as?
    • Software developer. That’s it he did not say anything else. The immigration officer took the finger prints, as usual  and took picture and stamped the I94 and gave passport too.  , he says :
  • Towards the end, immigration officer says, “Do you want that  CD on how to answer questions ?”
    • My friend replied. “NOPE. Thanks” smiled and left.

That’s it. NO Drama nothing. You may also read the recent post on Critical H1B extension Questions of 2010 and how to answer them.

If you have any positive H1B visa stamping or port of entry experiences to share, please send me your experience, I will share with our readers.  Let’s share some positive experiences and create positive attitude among people attending H1B visa interviews or coming through port of entry !

Image Credits : http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwonderwall/3340589299/

   

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20 Comments

  1. We have received appointment for H1B visa stamping consular appointment in Canda. In visa appointment email, it is mentioned that kids are not allowed for visa interview and parents can carry theri passports for stamping. My kids (minors) have Canada vistor visa expired and cannot enter Canda. Is is fine if kids saty back in US and parents get visa stamping in Canada? Please share your experiences.

    Reply
    • Ravi,
      Well, write to the consulate if you are not sure. Think of the worst-case scenario and plan for it. I have not seen anyone with your situation share experiences in the past, so hard to say. Do share your inputs here for community benefit.

      Reply
  2. Hi, i got my h1 in the year 2012 November with 1 year validity and i traveled to usa in the year 2013 and stayed there till 2014 april , i started my extension but due to due to some reason my visa dint get extended so i ahd to come back in the same year april without other choice.Now i am planning to extend my H1 VISa through the company a, working for now .. is it possible to extend my VISA with the same old petition or i have to get the new fresh visa again with lottery.

    Thank you
    sameera

    Reply
  3. H1B Visa Stamping – 5th Aug 2011 , Chennai Consulate

    I had recently got my H1B visa stamped along with my wife and kid at chennai consulate on 5th Aug 2011, so I just thought of sharing the experience with redbus2us since redbus is doing a great job and great forum..

    H1 questions
    What kind of work you will be doing there in the US?
    Whats your highest educational qualification?
    Whats your total IT experience?
    H4 dependents questions – to my spouse
    How long you are married?
    How do u know him?
    they verified original marriage certificate + kid’s birth certificate.

    thanks..

    Reply
    • Hi Palani,

      I am also planning to apply H1B this year but not find any good company for applying H1B, could you please share if you have any good company for applying H1B ? I heard that it witll take around near to 3 L for H1B process , I am happy to spend this money but I want good H1B company for processing the application & geting the job as well. I have 5.5 years IT experience in SQL DBA. could you please help me out in this .. [email removed to avoid spam] I am from TamilNadu & working in Bangalore..if you dont mind could you pls share you contact details.. thanks ..

      Reagrds
      Raju R
      [phone number removed to avoid spam]

      Reply
  4. Thanks for this wonderful website. keep going. great stuff. As u said, answer only what is asked for. and by posting good and bad experiences u have shown the reality.

    Thanks
    Ajay

    Reply
  5. Hi there,
    Any comments on how the H1 visa extensions are being processed this year (2011)? Are there a lot of rejections or is it better than last year?
    Thanks,
    Kimi

    Reply
    • I think their evaluation criteria is still same as last year. For consulting projects, they are still asking for client/project information and taking a dig into employer’s profile to see how strong their credentials are.

      Reply
      • So we can say that if we got an H1 B extension last year (was just for a year), we will get it this year too because all the information remains the same (client/project/employer etc).

        Reply
      • Suarabh, I have read one of user reply regarding below Visa officer question’s anwer

        VO: Can I have a look at your recent Paystubs ?
        He gave all the latest paystubs 4 of them, W2 of previous years, then pay stubs of previous years. In fact, he created a stack of Paystubs followed by the W2 of that year. The VO looked at the latest 3 pay stubs or so and then W2 of last year, did not look everything and handed it back.

        May I know here what does W2 means….?

        Thanks
        Ravi

        Reply
        • W-2 is equivalent of form 16 we have in India. It shows how much employer paid you over the year and also notes how much federal and state taxes were withheld.

          Reply
  6. I had my initial H1B stamped in my passport back in 2008 and so I have a renew in 2011. Do I need to renew and stamp in at the same consulate out of the country or can I get the new 3 year extension while I’m in the U.S. without the need to travel? I need to avoid that as I was delayed for about 3 months for a security check so I’m not sure if the same could occur during the renewal and therefore I could lose my job.
    Thanks for all the information on your website.

    Reply
    • You can file for H1 797 extension from within US. If approved, it will come w/ new I-94 (same number, but different expiry date), and you can use that to continue to stay in US and work.

      However, when you travel outside of US (after the expiry of visa in passport), you need to get H1 stamped in order to re-enter US. You can even go to Canada or Mexico for your second stamping.

      Reply
  7. Good to know. But do u get the thought that stamping VISA is just one area one gets scrutinized. Yes, there are folks with success & failures too.

    Also there is H1B renewal process, where folks get rejected. but some survive as well. So it sheer luck as it has always been in H1B VISA & other immigration services in US.

    Reply

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