221g(blue slip) issued at Mumbai Consulate for H1b restamping.

Hi Folks,

I recently got issued 221g (blue slip) for h1b stamping, this would be my 6 th visit to US. I am in my 6th year of h1b. with petition valid upto 2nd May 2013. I had no plans to visit india this year before may, But my father passed away in jan last week. So had to make this trip. My visa had already expired on 12th July 2012.



I was given 221g mainly for reason as I was not carrying client letter. My client is a big investment bank in NYC, who does not issue client letters. So instead i took a email response from my client manager saying company does not allow to issue client letters. the VO was not satisfied with that email and said he needs to see some letter from client saying I am required in that project. so bring client letter.



I work for a pretty big stafffing company who provides



I am told to bring these following docs at document dropbox :



 



1. A letter(on letterhead) from the personnel department at the US job site stating that there is vacancy for you 

2. A letter(on letterhead) from the personnel department detailing job description and duties including a organizational chart

3. A letter from the client sponsoring the project and a copy of the contract between the US based petitioner and the client company,

stating the terms, timings and agreement for your project.

 

My questions: I do not understand which company is being referred to in point 1 (client or my company).

 

for 3rd point, my company is going to arrange for client letter. however there is no direct contract between my company and client. there is one payroll management company which does contract management for all contractors for that client. so my company has contract with this middle company. my question is do i need to also get the contract between client and this company? or just the contract between my company and middle company would do?

 

I have most of the other documents covered. Also i am worried will I be able to get a visa before my petition expires in may. I have approved PERM labor and my I140 is already filed. i will get approval within couple of weeks. So i think i should be eligible for 3 year extension.

 

Please share if anyone has been into similar situation and any timelines. Does consulate expedite process if they see petition is going to expire soon?

 

Thanks in advance

~shailesh
  1. I think they are referring to your employer and not the client

  2. Yes, you will have to get all the contracts b/w the parties involved. You are in EVC model, and need to show contract b/w EV and VC.

Unfortunately, there is no set processing time for 221g and it can take several months as well. I suggest keeping your employer and client in loop and look for alternate work arrangements like working remotely etc. Not to scare you, but I have read expereinces where the client ended the contract as the person was stuck during the visa stamping.

There is no way to expedite the process. Let the client and middle vendor know that they may be contacted by USCIS or DHS for confirmation about the submitted documents.

Thanks Saurabh for your response. I have another question for you.

I have intimated my client and he understands the situation and is ready to wait. The client being an investment bank has a separate legal dept who issues client letters. They are ready to issue the client letter but Unfortunately what they say is my 221(g) has no reference to my NAME. it just has a CEAC barcode. This is actually the same number on my DS-160 confirmation page. So If I produce the DS-160 appt confirmation page they should be able to link these 2 documents. But this client insists to see some email from Consulate mentioning my name and asking for those same set of documents. Or my name be mentioned in 221(g) slip. I dont know how to satisfy these request. Have you heard of anything like this before? I have already forwarded this query to USTravelDocs Customer Support email.

Please advise if you know anything about this situation.
Thanks.

I can’t think of how you can relate your name/passport to the case number. Maybe talk to support cell and ask them if they can provide any help.