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 Nandini
Nair informs that a new form is now required for non-immigrant
male visa applicants
I
am an H1-B holder, but have not been able to go to the US as yet
due to the market slowdown. My US employer e-mailed me last week
asking to get my visa stamped. I have heard from friends that there
is a new form that I need to complete before going for stamping.
Can you tell me something about it?
Ramesh
Shekhar
Yes,
there is a new form that needs to be completed when you go for stamping.
The State Department of the US now requires that all male non-immigrant
visa applicants between the ages of 16 and 45, regardless of nationality
and regardless of where they apply, must fill out and submit to
the consulate a new form called DS-157 Supplemental Non-immigrant
Visa Application, in addition to the usual DS-156 Non-immigrant
Visa Application. This measure is being taken in the aftermath of
the September 11 terrorist attacks. It will allow consulates to
elicit information from applicants regarding security measures.
The consulate can use their discretion to require any other non-immigrant
visa applicant to submit the additional DS-157 form. All other current
procedures will continue to be used to determine visa classification
and eligibility.
I
am a software professional working for a consultancy firm in India.
A US organisation had applied for my H1-B visa, but due to my MCom
degree the application was rejected by the consulate. Now the same
company has sponsored my wife and she has got through the stamping
at the Chennai consulate. Now, can I go with her on H-4 visa, the
same way she was planning to come with me if I had got my stamping
done? Will my prior rejection affect this?
Nitin
Deshmukh
Your
prior H1-B rejection should not cause a problem in getting H-4 dependent
visa, bearing no other circumstance. An H-4 visa is given solely
based on being the dependent of a valid H1-B holder. In other words,
your status is dependent on your wife’s status. All you need
to do is go to the consulate with your passport, copy of her H1-B
approval, your marriage certificate and copies of her current pay-slips,
if she is already in the US. You should not have any problems.
I
came to the US on F-1 student visa to do my Masters in Computer
Science in Alabama. A software development company has sponsored
me for an H1-B and it has been approved. Now, my question is whether
I need to go to India, to get my H1-B stamping and how can I notify
the appropriate consulate in India?
Rashmi
Sawant
If
you are currently in the US on a valid F-1 student visa and changing
status to H1-B visa, there is no need for you to go to India to
get your H1-B visa stamped. You only have to get your visa stamped
if you plan to travel; otherwise you can remain in the country and
start working on H1-B. If you want your visa stamped, then I suggest
you to go to Canada, rather than India. US and Canada have a treaty
which says, if you are denied your visa stamping, you still have
30 days to re-enter the US without question. You do not have this
privilege with India. This is only applicable to people who are
in the US on a valid non-immigrant status, thus it is not for first-time
visa holders of any kind.
(Nandini
P. Nair is a US Immigration Attorney based in Stamford, USA. Email:
dininair@aol.com)
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