H1-B Interview – A Cake Walk with Perfect Documentation

H1b visa interview

“Your visa is approved! You will receive it in 7 days”

This is what everyone who would attend the H1-B Interview like to hear. In India, we do have 5 consulates where we could appear for a Visa Interview. Research from our H1BWiki site proved that more visas are being approved for the first time without any issues from the Chennai Consulate. It’s generally that the Full timers do not have any issues if they go to the interview prepared with full documentation. Employees who go to the H1-B stamping through any consultancy need to provide more documentation in support to their current job with detailed information.

We, The H1BWiki Team aimed to consolidate and scrutinize the necessary documentation required to attend H1-B Visa Interview at an Indian Consulate.

Mandatory Documents for H1-B Interview:

  • Original Passport
  • DS-160 Confirmation Page (Includes CEAC Bar Code)
  • Original HDFC Receipt
  • Copy of VFS Interview Letter (Interview Appointment Letter)
  • I-797, H1-B Approval Notices from current and all previous employers
  • Photocopy of entire current passport and previous passports if any, of all pages including blank pages
  • Original Signed Offer Letter from the employer with address filled in
  • Recent Photographs

Additional Documents for H1-B interview (For Consulting Job / Client Side Project):

  • Letter from Client Company regarding the project details, project length and other technical details. This needs to contain all the required information, which would convince the VO
  • Copy of contract between Client Company and Employer
  • Letter from Employer with detailed description of your roles and responsibilities

Other Additional Documentation necessary for H1-B interview:

  • All previous H1 petitions filed by your previous employers stating job title and job description
  • I-129 Document from Employer to USCIS
  • Income Tax returns from at least two previous US employers showing taxes paid
  • W-2 forms from at least two previous US employers
  • At least last two Pay stubs from your present employer. Most recent pay stub should not be more than 30 days old
  • Letter to USCIS by Employer
  • Photocopy of Social Security Number
  • Photo copy of Labor Condition Application (LCA) prepared by the Employer during H1-B Petition
  • Last 6 months Bank statements, showing the proof of your pay checks
  • Latest Resume
  • Photocopy of resume filed with first H1-B petition
  • Photocopy of front AND back of I-94 of your original Arrival/ Departure Card
  • All I-20’s and EAD Card for F-1 (if applicable), both front AND back of both documents
  • All academic certificates from school, college, university, degree and post-graduate degree certificates, mark-sheets and transcripts. This includes each of your final degree certificates. Please carry a photocopy of all the certificates, just in case
  • Experience letters from previous employers detailing working duration as well as skills employed
  • Recommendation Letters from previous employers/ clients, if available
  • H1-B sponsor’s last two year tax returns
  • H1-B sponsor’s unemployment wage reports
  • Photographs of your work location inside and out

Some General Instructions:

  • Please DO NOT STAPLE papers/ documents together. Use Binder Clips if required
  • Please submit good, clear, legible photocopies of all documents requested. This is particularly important for passport and H1B notices, which may not photocopy very clearly
  • In each category place documents in reverse chronological order (oldest documents at the bottom, most recent documents in the front)
  • All documents must be on 8-1/2 x 11 (or A4) paper – no oversized documents

It is important to know that some privately owned companies do not provide documents like unemployment wage reports or their annual tax returns. In this case, the Employer’s Human Resources team can be requested to provide a letter which notifies the Consulate VO Officer that the company is privately owned and provide the contact person details whom they need to consult for more documentation.

H1BWiki Team worked its best to provide the above documents list necessary for H1-B Visa Interview. We sincerely like to hear from you, if we missed any so that we could add them to the list. We would also like to provide any additional help necessary. If you have any questions, please comment and we will reach you with the answers as soon as possible.

10 Comments on "H1-B Interview – A Cake Walk with Perfect Documentation"

  1. I am going to go for H1B stamping at Delhi consulate on Feb 23.I have been employed by TCS from starting and I work at client side. Except unemployment wage reports and annual tax reports, I have all other documents. This is my first extension and currently in USA .same location, same client, same company, same visa type completed only 3 years.petition approved for 1 more year Jan 2018. What are chances of me getting 221G or visa stamped. We are getting some news that USCIS is giving 221G without any reason.please suggest should I avoid travelling,y wife has already gone to India and need to get stamping done.

  2. Hi

     I got h1b approved from year 2015 lottery. .I didn't go for stamping and my employer filed amendment for change in job level from x to y and no other changes like client and client location..my amendment is not yet approved yet and showing ' case was received' in the uscis site..Now my question is can I proceed with stamping process with my amendment receipt notice.

  3. Hi,

    I have been working here in the US using H1B visa, but has never left the country since my status change. My company submited an amendment to my H1B visa from part time to full time, but it has not been approved. Do I need to wait until the amendment is approved to apply for my H1B interview? Ideally, I would like to travel in the summer and hope to obtain my H1B visa to come back before then. Any help is appreciated; thank you!

  4. somashekara shivarudraiah | December 12, 2014 at 3:15 pm | Reply

    i think most of the question were covered with answers here during my visa interview

    http://resultsocean.com/2014/12/07/important-h1b-visa-questions-prepare-attending-visa-interview/

  5. Monica Micahel | March 26, 2014 at 11:28 pm | Reply

    Insufficient for Consulting Jobs, I do not know why people are being mislead

  6. How important are the company’s unemployment wage documents and company’s annual income tax returns? Is it is a big problem if one does not carry with them to the interview? Any help is appreciated. Thank you

  7. once you complete DS-160 application form you will get CEAC Bar code with that code you need to create your unique profile. Once you create your profile with CEAC Bar code you will receive CGI Reference number. With that CGI Reference you need to pay the visa fees in Axis Bank / CitiBank. They will issue Bank reference number with all the reference numbers you need to book two appointments. 1. to submit the documents in OFC center and biometrics, 2. for interview at consulate office.

    Regards,
    Sravan

    • SRAVAN – I have a question. I’ve completed DS-160 Form and I’ve created profile. Where should I look for the CGI Reference number. And on the check what would be ‘Pay to the Order of’? I’m planing to get visa interview date in the december 1st or 2nd week. Thank you!

    • Check this site PDFfiller where you can find blank and fillable DS-160 Form. It allows you to save, print, fax, mail or send to sign the form directly from the site. Here is the link to the blank form http://goo.gl/f9Z1vW.

  8. If the visa stamping and payment process has changed in India, how to get the HDFC receipt?

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