Hi Folks,
I got my H-1B visa stamped at Tijuana on Sept 24th without any problems. Mine is an F1-OPT-Gap-H1 case. Sorry for the rather long account below, but hopefully it will give readers some guidance for their own Tijuana trip preparations.
I had a total gap of 3.5 months between the expiry of my OPT and the start of my H1 visa. I enrolled in a community college in the Bay Area, where I am a resident and worked on OPT. For such admissions, be sure to have your SEVIS record transferred to the new school WELL BEFORE your 60-day post-OPT grace period expires. Notify the International Student Office (ISO) at your new college that you will undergo the grace period following your OPT's expiry, so that the ISO can issue you an I-20 with a proper starting date. This will allow you to maintain continuous legal immigration status. In my case, my SEVIS record was transferred after 13 days into my grace period, and the ISO issued the new I-20 with an issue date which was the 60th day of my OPT grace-period, and that's OK.
While heading to the US consulate in Tijuana, I parked my rental car at a parking lot beside the Jack-In-The-Box at 721 E San Ysidro Blvd, San Ysidro, CA 92173. The charge was $5 for every 8-hrs of parking. There are many such parking lots in the area with large signs and you can't really miss them. I, along with a friend who was also traveling to Tijuana, met a couple of police officers at the light rail station and asked them for the location of the bridge to cross over to Mexico. The bridge was right next to the station (the station itself is a stone's throw away from the JITB), but it has rather high walls and you may not see it. Even though we were still in US, the cops seemed to be the only people there who could speak English. We crossed over to Mexico and took a taxi to the BANAMEX bank on a main road named Paseo De Los Heroes. No one on the Mexico side will ask for your passport nor check if you have a Mexico visa. The taxi ride costed $5 total. The taxi drivers are polite, but be sure to fix the price before you drive off. Note that the line for entry into the bank starts at the BACK (parking lot) entrance of the bank, NOT the entrance on Paseo De Los Heroes!! The bank accepts US dollars but they may return the change to you in Pesos, which can come in handy later. The consulate itself is about 15 min. by walk from the bank, but I suggest that you take a taxi again for $5 especially if your appointment is early. Even though my appointment was at 9.30am and I reached the consulate at 9.25, I eventually had the interview at only around 10.45. All battery-powered devices must be left outside the consulate. Wristwatches are the only battery-powered devices allowed into the consulate. A backpack or portfolio/folder (where you will likely store all your documents) can be taken inside the consulate. You can leave your cellphones, etc at the FOTOS FORMAS shop beside the consulate building for $3. This shop reminded me of the Xerox/STD/ISD phone booths/shops in India. The staff there is polite and they can speak enough English to know what you want. If needed, the same shop will do photos for you for 100 pesos, which is around $10. However, I suggest that you keep a few photos with you anyway. You will only need ONE color photograph (50mm X 50mm) in all, only for your DS-156 form. The consulate security guards speak a little English and will give you all the instructions you need. On the day of my interview there seemed to be a common line for H1 applicants as well as for some local Mexicans. But the line was moving quite fast and I was inside the consulate by 10.10am.
The interview for H1s was being held at a single window manned by a lean goatee-bearded Caucasian consular officer who seemed to be in his 30s. When my turn came, I greeted him with "How you doing this morning?" Though he did not smile, he reciprocated my greeting with a polite, "Good". The rest of the conversation went something like this (I wore a gentle smile throughout the interview and looked directly at the officer):
He: "What visa are you applying for?"
Me: "H-1B"
He: "Since when have you been in the US?"
Me: "Since , when I enrolled in for my in Electrical Engg"
He: "What is your area of work?"
Me: "Design of wireless communication systems and digital signal processing"
He: "Can I see your H1 approval notice, please"
Me: Gave my form I797B
He: "Have you worked for this company before?"
Me: "Yes, I worked for this company until, the expiry of my OPT"
He: "What have you been doing since that date?"
Me: "I'm currently enrolled in in "
He: "What program are you enrolled in?"
Me: "Computer Information Systems, and the specific courses I have enrolled in are Advanced C, C++ and UNIX. In my line of work, we simulate communication systems in C and C++, so the courses which I have enrolled in are of direct relevance to this type of work." (As a rule of thumb, do not volunteer more information than asked for. But when I mentioned the CIS program enrollment, the officer looked surprised. This is why I explained the relevance of the enrolled courses to my area of work.)
He: "How will you manage working and studying at the same time?" (In my DS-156 form I had answered "Yes" to question #33 "Do You Intend To Study in The U.S.?")
Me: "The counselors at the college advised me to reduce my course-load to one, or at most two courses in order to balance work and school."
He: "When do you plan to start working for this company?"
Me: "From October 1st" (which was the starting date for my H1 from my form I797B)
He: "How long do you plan to work for this company?"
Me: "For three years, until 2010." (This answer was based on the fact that my approved H1 would expire in 2010.)
He: "Can I see the employment letter?"
Me: Gave. This was an original letter on the company's letterhead from my HR manager confirming that the offer of employment (based on which the original H1 petition was made 6 months earlier) was still available, the letter was addressed "To whom it may concern", it gave my position with the company, starting date, salary, and who I will report to. Attached with the letter was a copy of the original H1 petition.
He: "Do you intend to immigrate to the US?"
Me: "No"
He: "Your visa is approved, come back at 3pm to collect your passport but we cannot guarantee that you will get your passport back today"
Me: "Thank you very much"
Me: (As I was about to leave the window) "Have a nice day!"
He: "You too"
While my whole interview lasted around 6-7 min, some others' interviews were even shorter at around 3 min. Even though I had taken with me bank statements, original degree certificates, copies of I-129 and LCA, OPT authorization card, all original I-20s, social security card, tax returns, copies of my research publications, the kitchen sink and my college mascot I was never asked to produce any of them. But keep all of these with you for safety sake; the kitchen sink and college mascot may not be needed, however. There were about 12-15 people applying for H1 visas on the same day. While a few interviews even lasted around 10 min, I did not see or hear of anyone getting rejected. Also, despite my I797B stating MUMBAI as the notified consulate, I was able to get my visa approved at Tijuana.
To kill time we had lunch at the McDonalds near the Banamex, where a value meal costs around 50 pesos, give or take 10 pesos. If you're vegetarian then you may need to settle for fries/onion rings/yogurt parfait/apple pie. The Burger King is inside Plaza Rio, opposite to the bank and may possibly have a vegetarian sandwich on the menu. We saw the movie "Resident Evil: La Extincion" at the Cinepolis in Plaza Rio where a ticket costs 41 pesos. The movie was in English with Spanish subtitles, but who was reading? Lunch and movie theater is where the change in Pesos from the bank came in handy. However, US dollars are accepted everywhere at the average exchange rate. Also, at the theater we had to hand in our backpacks at the cloakroom, so we did that after keeping the most important documents like passport, social security card and cash on our person. I think it is quite safe to leave your other documents with your backpack (after we retrieved our backpacks we did not find our belongings disturbed) but do what you're most comfortable with.
The consulate began returning passports around 2.45pm. By 3.15 we were at the Border post to get our new I94s. Despite the line being short on that day, it was taking a long time for us to get inside the office. By 4.30pm we were done. Inside the office, be prepared to answer similar questions to those asked at the visa interview but there shouldn't be a problem here, in my opinion. Once you receive your I94, you will cross the border and you will be met by another US border patrol officer who could ask you the same questions. That will be the final time you will be asked anything and then you can walk out of the building back onto US soil.
Bottomline for the interviews – smile politely, speak with confidence and be well-prepared with supporting documentation and your answers to potential questions. If like me you had a potential immigration status gap then be prepared to explain what you were doing during that gap time. Hope this account has helped your preparations for your upcoming interview at the Tijuana consulate or elsewhere. Good luck, all!
I got my H-1B visa stamped at Tijuana on Sept 24th without any problems. Mine is an F1-OPT-Gap-H1 case. Sorry for the rather long account below, but hopefully it will give readers some guidance for their own Tijuana trip preparations.
I had a total gap of 3.5 months between the expiry of my OPT and the start of my H1 visa. I enrolled in a community college in the Bay Area, where I am a resident and worked on OPT. For such admissions, be sure to have your SEVIS record transferred to the new school WELL BEFORE your 60-day post-OPT grace period expires. Notify the International Student Office (ISO) at your new college that you will undergo the grace period following your OPT's expiry, so that the ISO can issue you an I-20 with a proper starting date. This will allow you to maintain continuous legal immigration status. In my case, my SEVIS record was transferred after 13 days into my grace period, and the ISO issued the new I-20 with an issue date which was the 60th day of my OPT grace-period, and that's OK.
While heading to the US consulate in Tijuana, I parked my rental car at a parking lot beside the Jack-In-The-Box at 721 E San Ysidro Blvd, San Ysidro, CA 92173. The charge was $5 for every 8-hrs of parking. There are many such parking lots in the area with large signs and you can't really miss them. I, along with a friend who was also traveling to Tijuana, met a couple of police officers at the light rail station and asked them for the location of the bridge to cross over to Mexico. The bridge was right next to the station (the station itself is a stone's throw away from the JITB), but it has rather high walls and you may not see it. Even though we were still in US, the cops seemed to be the only people there who could speak English. We crossed over to Mexico and took a taxi to the BANAMEX bank on a main road named Paseo De Los Heroes. No one on the Mexico side will ask for your passport nor check if you have a Mexico visa. The taxi ride costed $5 total. The taxi drivers are polite, but be sure to fix the price before you drive off. Note that the line for entry into the bank starts at the BACK (parking lot) entrance of the bank, NOT the entrance on Paseo De Los Heroes!! The bank accepts US dollars but they may return the change to you in Pesos, which can come in handy later. The consulate itself is about 15 min. by walk from the bank, but I suggest that you take a taxi again for $5 especially if your appointment is early. Even though my appointment was at 9.30am and I reached the consulate at 9.25, I eventually had the interview at only around 10.45. All battery-powered devices must be left outside the consulate. Wristwatches are the only battery-powered devices allowed into the consulate. A backpack or portfolio/folder (where you will likely store all your documents) can be taken inside the consulate. You can leave your cellphones, etc at the FOTOS FORMAS shop beside the consulate building for $3. This shop reminded me of the Xerox/STD/ISD phone booths/shops in India. The staff there is polite and they can speak enough English to know what you want. If needed, the same shop will do photos for you for 100 pesos, which is around $10. However, I suggest that you keep a few photos with you anyway. You will only need ONE color photograph (50mm X 50mm) in all, only for your DS-156 form. The consulate security guards speak a little English and will give you all the instructions you need. On the day of my interview there seemed to be a common line for H1 applicants as well as for some local Mexicans. But the line was moving quite fast and I was inside the consulate by 10.10am.
The interview for H1s was being held at a single window manned by a lean goatee-bearded Caucasian consular officer who seemed to be in his 30s. When my turn came, I greeted him with "How you doing this morning?" Though he did not smile, he reciprocated my greeting with a polite, "Good". The rest of the conversation went something like this (I wore a gentle smile throughout the interview and looked directly at the officer):
He: "What visa are you applying for?"
Me: "H-1B"
He: "Since when have you been in the US?"
Me: "Since
He: "What is your area of work?"
Me: "Design of wireless communication systems and digital signal processing"
He: "Can I see your H1 approval notice, please"
Me: Gave my form I797B
He: "Have you worked for this company before?"
Me: "Yes, I worked for this company until
He: "What have you been doing since that date?"
Me: "I'm currently enrolled in
He: "What program are you enrolled in?"
Me: "Computer Information Systems, and the specific courses I have enrolled in are Advanced C, C++ and UNIX. In my line of work, we simulate communication systems in C and C++, so the courses which I have enrolled in are of direct relevance to this type of work." (As a rule of thumb, do not volunteer more information than asked for. But when I mentioned the CIS program enrollment, the officer looked surprised. This is why I explained the relevance of the enrolled courses to my area of work.)
He: "How will you manage working and studying at the same time?" (In my DS-156 form I had answered "Yes" to question #33 "Do You Intend To Study in The U.S.?")
Me: "The counselors at the college advised me to reduce my course-load to one, or at most two courses in order to balance work and school."
He: "When do you plan to start working for this company?"
Me: "From October 1st" (which was the starting date for my H1 from my form I797B)
He: "How long do you plan to work for this company?"
Me: "For three years, until 2010." (This answer was based on the fact that my approved H1 would expire in 2010.)
He: "Can I see the employment letter?"
Me: Gave. This was an original letter on the company's letterhead from my HR manager confirming that the offer of employment (based on which the original H1 petition was made 6 months earlier) was still available, the letter was addressed "To whom it may concern", it gave my position with the company, starting date, salary, and who I will report to. Attached with the letter was a copy of the original H1 petition.
He: "Do you intend to immigrate to the US?"
Me: "No"
He: "Your visa is approved, come back at 3pm to collect your passport but we cannot guarantee that you will get your passport back today"
Me: "Thank you very much"
Me: (As I was about to leave the window) "Have a nice day!"
He: "You too"
While my whole interview lasted around 6-7 min, some others' interviews were even shorter at around 3 min. Even though I had taken with me bank statements, original degree certificates, copies of I-129 and LCA, OPT authorization card, all original I-20s, social security card, tax returns, copies of my research publications, the kitchen sink and my college mascot I was never asked to produce any of them. But keep all of these with you for safety sake; the kitchen sink and college mascot may not be needed, however. There were about 12-15 people applying for H1 visas on the same day. While a few interviews even lasted around 10 min, I did not see or hear of anyone getting rejected. Also, despite my I797B stating MUMBAI as the notified consulate, I was able to get my visa approved at Tijuana.
To kill time we had lunch at the McDonalds near the Banamex, where a value meal costs around 50 pesos, give or take 10 pesos. If you're vegetarian then you may need to settle for fries/onion rings/yogurt parfait/apple pie. The Burger King is inside Plaza Rio, opposite to the bank and may possibly have a vegetarian sandwich on the menu. We saw the movie "Resident Evil: La Extincion" at the Cinepolis in Plaza Rio where a ticket costs 41 pesos. The movie was in English with Spanish subtitles, but who was reading? Lunch and movie theater is where the change in Pesos from the bank came in handy. However, US dollars are accepted everywhere at the average exchange rate. Also, at the theater we had to hand in our backpacks at the cloakroom, so we did that after keeping the most important documents like passport, social security card and cash on our person. I think it is quite safe to leave your other documents with your backpack (after we retrieved our backpacks we did not find our belongings disturbed) but do what you're most comfortable with.
The consulate began returning passports around 2.45pm. By 3.15 we were at the Border post to get our new I94s. Despite the line being short on that day, it was taking a long time for us to get inside the office. By 4.30pm we were done. Inside the office, be prepared to answer similar questions to those asked at the visa interview but there shouldn't be a problem here, in my opinion. Once you receive your I94, you will cross the border and you will be met by another US border patrol officer who could ask you the same questions. That will be the final time you will be asked anything and then you can walk out of the building back onto US soil.
Bottomline for the interviews – smile politely, speak with confidence and be well-prepared with supporting documentation and your answers to potential questions. If like me you had a potential immigration status gap then be prepared to explain what you were doing during that gap time. Hope this account has helped your preparations for your upcoming interview at the Tijuana consulate or elsewhere. Good luck, all!
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