H-1B stamp denied :(

[g1ordano]

Hello this is my first time to post in this group.

I have a H-1B petition approval by the INS last month. I received all the documents needed to file for a visa at the London US embassy. I had my interview the other day and unfortunately the consul denied my visa eventhough I had all the documents the interviewer asked for. The reason was: Re-apply in Manila where academic qualifications can be evaluated. I am a german national (because my dad is german) but I finished my degree in the Philippines. All my documents were genuine but unfortunately, my lawyer in the US said, they might have doubted the authenticity of my diploma and transcript of records. I think they might have doubted my diploma because it was a photocopy BUT it had the Unversity emboss stamp on it with a colored stamp and signature of the university registrar saying that this is an official copy. I never had any problems with it applying for a job here in the UK. My lawyer said that the 'authenticated' copy of my diploma should have sufficed. That's even the copy he sent to the body who evaluated my school records for US compliance. And I have a letter signed by an International Education Consultant saying that my degree is equivalent to the same US degree. I am reluctant to go apply in Manila considering I am already based here in London, UK and been working here for 4yrs now.

My question would be, wouldn't it be even more of an uphill battle to prove to the Manila Consul about my case, considering that I am not a resident of the Philippines anymore but live here in the UK? I wouldn't mind flying back but the thought of the possibility of being denied again and me just spending more time and money on it and going to waste is just dreadful. Could I actually re-apply here in London again and just hoping I won't get interviewed by this old lady who just kept denying applicants before my turn?

Is there any time span I would have to wait till I can re-apply here in London or in Manila. Would anyone know how long my papers are still valid till I forfeit my H-1B slot? The company asked for a starting date of 1 March for my visa and it's already passed the starting date. Does anyone know what my options would be? Everything is just so frustrating! Any help to shed some light into this would be very much appreciated.

[Kayalami]

I am sorry to hear that your H-1B visa was refused. Regretably the H-1B cap for this fiscal year has been reached and I suspect any repeal of the refusal/ acceptance of a new application may have to be for the next fiscal year starting in October 2004. Various exemptions appy to the cap but more info would be required from you in regards to the role although I presume its your 1st H-1B application. Caps do not apply for amendments, extensions or transfers. Also caps do not apply for applications to work in institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organisations, and government research organisations.

Consular officers are not obliged to consider education credentials that are not from the US or the country in which the applicant is applying for a H-1B visa at a US consualte i.e in your case US or U.K. qualifications. In all cases the certificates and transcripts must be original or certified copies as before a notary or the issuing body. Whilst it appears your docs covered this it may be that the consular officer was not sure whether the registrar had actually signed them - were you refuse outright or did they take the docs round the back then come back with the decision? Perhaps there may be authenticity issues with qualifications from this particular institution. Also who is the International Education Consultant i.e. is it a US based body/ affilate? These qualifications issue tends to be more of a problem where there is no clear relation between your qualifications and the profession in question although approval of the petition and issuance of form I-797A/B indicates DHS was satisfied. Can I ask why you did not take the originals to interview?

Also what was the refusal code i.e. was it 214 (g) - this would be indicated by the stamp "application received (214 g)" on a page in your passport usually the last blank page. This means that the consular officer was not satisfied with the documentation provided to be able to make a decision in respect of your application. Get an original certificate/ transcripts of your credentials from the Phillipines - I am sure the registrar at your institution will advise on charges etc. You should then schedule another interview at the US consulate in London. There is no need to apply in the Phillipines as the UK is your place of long term legal residence - was this clear to the consular officer - he/she may have thought you were just a visitor. Good thing is that re-applying after a 214(g) refusal does not require a second application fee.

Before doing anything you should verify with your lawyer in the states whether the current cap applies to you or not. By the way what is his/her advice - I would have thought you would have consulted with them immediatley?

[kishorebhosale]

Just for information.

Few of my friends working for Fortune 500 co in IT went to stamp thier L1 visa for US. Some of them with little interview and few of them were either rejected or ask for more documentation.

Previouls never a Electronics engineer were refused visa based on education ground. But visa for 1 of them(Electronics engineer) was rejected on the ground that he does not find any specialised computer education/Subjects for which he has been hired for in his education career. And for others he simply ask them for further documentation.

Is was noticable that all of them were from the same Company and followed the same documentation list etc. but still few of them were rejected, making it feel if the US people like your face they will issue the visa or else reject it.

[Cosmopol]

Dealing with the US authorities is often a gambling of sorts, but not without any reason -- one just has to find a way to deal with it.

Do you know whether the embassy in London allows representaion by a solicitor? That could be a more streamlined approach. Maybe you could check with your U.S. lawyer.

[g1ordano]

I am sorry to hear that your H-1B visa was refused. Regretably the H-1B cap for this fiscal year has been reached and I suspect any repeal of the refusal/ acceptance of a new application may have to be for the next fiscal year starting in October 2004.

I have spoken to my lawyer and he said that my papers are still good for another 6 months. I still have all the documents that was sent to me including the 'Notice of Action' and the supporting documents. So hopefully within that time I can prove to the London US embassy my case.

Consular officers are not obliged to consider education credentials that are not from the US or the country in which the applicant is applying for a H-1B visa at a US consualte i.e in your case US or U.K. qualifications. In all cases the certificates and transcripts must be original or certified copies as before a notary or the issuing body. Whilst it appears your docs covered this it may be that the consular officer was not sure whether the registrar had actually signed them...

The only certified copy was my diploma. The transcript was original. It never crossed my mind that they might scrutinize my certified copy. It had 3 things on it - the dry seal (the emboss stamp), the colored stamp having the words 'certified true copy, name of the registrar's officer and my school name' on it, and the signature the officer ontop of the stamp. My transcript was a true & original document but unfortunately the subjects and grades and the rest of the details were typewritten into this form. (My school's registrar was still in the process of upgrading their system when I asked for my transcript, so I had to settle for a typewritten one before I left the Philippines.) But again, it had the dry seal, colored stamp saying 'This transcript of records validated by impression seal and actual ink is an original document done on xerox paper' aswell as the name of the registar's officer, school name and ontop of that the officer's signature.

... were you refuse outright or did they take the docs round the back then come back with the decision? Perhaps there may be authenticity issues with qualifications from this particular institution.

It was not an outright refusal. The old f#*&$@! lady (sorry for that outburst), who did the interview asked me to go back and have a seat. She took on 5 more applicants and then I saw her talk to the interviewer sitting next to her. I guess she was consulting her or something. Then she called me back and gave me the dreadful news. I don't think there are any issues of qualifications from my university, being among the constant top 5 schools in that country. And to think, it is run by American Jesuits.

Also who is the International Education Consultant i.e. is it a US based body/ affilate? These qualifications issue tends to be more of a problem where there is no clear relation between your qualifications and the profession in question although approval of the petition and issuance of form I-797A/B indicates DHS was satisfied.

The International Education Consultant who signed it is Josef Silny. The report was done by Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. I have the original letter with their colored letterhead. They have a Florida P.O. Box. Attached to the letter is another letter explaining who JS&A is and it lists all its various evaluators and associates. They have a website - http://www.jsilny.com/

Can I ask why you did not take the originals to interview?

I didn't bring them with me when I moved over here. They are still back in the Philippines. I just brought the certified copies. I never thought to have any problems having a certified copy of a diploma. Never had till now.

Also what was the refusal code i.e. was it 214 (g) - this would be indicated by the stamp "application received (214 g)" on a page in your passport usually the last blank page. This means that the consular officer was not satisfied with the documentation provided to be able to make a decision in respect of your application.

The stamp at the last blank page of my passport only says 'Application Received, date, US Embassy London' and it looks like she she wrote a small letter 'g' next to the date. The letter stating why I have been refused says that I have been refused under section 221(g).

I think you have the denial-codes mixed up. 221(g) means additional information before making a final decision. Refusals under Section 214(b), mean they understoond your situation but have decided against issuing you a visa because you have not overcome a legal presumption that you are using the visitor visa to immigrate or work illegally in the United States.

Get an original certificate/ transcripts of your credentials from the Phillipines - I am sure the registrar at your institution will advise on charges etc.

Already done with it. My mom will pick it up on monday and fedex it to me. She asked for a new computerized transcript (YEY!), a certificate of completion from the registrar and 2 more letters apparently. (I hope one of the letters is from my Dean certifying that I have completed the course to gain my diploma) and get this, my original diploma that's still nicely scrolled up in my room.

You should then schedule another interview at the US consulate in London. There is no need to apply in the Phillipines as the UK is your place of long term legal residence - was this clear to the consular officer - he/she may have thought you were just a visitor. Good thing is that re-applying after a 214(g) refusal does not require a second application fee.

Do you think I should just go back to the London US Embassy with all original documents? I think I should. My defense to the denial letter saying 'Re-apply in Manila where academic qualifications can be evaluated' would be the letter of evaluation signed by JS&A. I only saw the backpart of the JS&A letter the other day. It lists various organizations in the US who accept evaluations done by JS&A. I don't think they can tell me AGAIN (the old lady told me that on my first interview) that it's only a piece of paper if the US Federal Government accepts it. The INS, Dep't of Defense, US Labor Dep't., USAF, various licensing boards, various state departments of education, etc. And yes, the grumpy old lady did know that I was resident of the UK. I told her how long I have been here. I shown her my current original Letter of Employment which shows I have been with the company for 3yrs now.

Before doing anything you should verify with your lawyer in the states whether the current cap applies to you or not. By the way what is his/her advice - I would have thought you would have consulted with them immediatley?

Yes I did verify with my lawyer in the US. He said my papers are still good for 6 months before I forfeit my slot. He told me I had 3 choices. Go back to the London US Embassy with all original documents, might be a fight with my back against the wall but would be the most reasonable thing to do. At the same time, hope that the old grumpy lady is not there on the day for my interview or at least that she would have a better day than on the interview day she did with me. 2nd, would be to go to Germany, that I am a citizen of. I'll be the highest form of applicant at the US Embassy in Frankfurt (with my German nationality). 3rd, take a leave from work and spend a fortune to fly back to Manila and re-apply there. I do not want to take option 2 because I haven't been to Germany for years now and I do not have any ties whatsoever in that country. No address, no job there, no nothing. I wouldn't mind taking option 3 aslong as it will give me a sure shot of getting the visa, which is never in these kind of cases.
So that leaves me with option 1.

Ok, I'm so sorry for ranting on and on but just wanted to give out all details bout my case, so that anyone who has experience or at least know of any case similar to mine could possibly help me. Thanks for reading and any help will be appreciated.

[g1ordano]

Is was noticable that all of them were from the same Company and followed the same documentation list etc. but still few of them were rejected, making it feel if the US people like your face they will issue the visa or else reject it.

I have a friend who is from Romania and he applied for a visa there. Everybody in Romania thinks that way. If the Consul officer can't come up with a valid reason to deny you, apparently they will just deny you because they might not like your hair, your face or the clothes u wore for the interview.

[g1ordano]

Dealing with the US authorities is often a gambling of sorts, but not without any reason -- one just has to find a way to deal with it.

That's true but they should at least make the gambling table a little bit bigger. Maybe keep 'questionable' cases' passports and/or documents and try to verify it rather having to give an outright YES OR NO in 6mins speed interview.

Do you know whether the embassy in London allows representaion by a solicitor? That could be a more streamlined approach. Maybe you could check with your U.S. lawyer.

No, I haven't heard about it but I'll try and see if my lawyer knows anything about it.