Before you read on and learn about how to apply H1B visa from India, here is the thing about getting it: it is not going to be easy. I don’t know of a single person who has had it easy.
And every year the whole thing seems to get only more complicated and slower. Probably that’s the reason why “H1B Visa News” or “Trump H1B ban” are some of the most searched terms in Google about H1B visa.
The rules and the process for H1B are always changing. I will keep on updating this article as and when they change.
I got the H1B visa through my employer, a large Indian I.T. company. I had been working with them for a few years by the time they decided to file for this US visa.
I traveled to the United States on this visa and worked for my employer for a few years along with many of my colleagues who went through the same process.
And later, I also got an H1B transfer for change of employer.
This article has been written based on my own experience as well as inputs from my many of my co-workers and friends who went through the same.
The whole process starting from the time it was filed to when I got the stamp took eight months for me. The process to get H1B visa in India is almost similar to getting it from any other country.
However, if you are planning on getting some other visa, here is an article on US visa types and requirements. And here is how to apply for a B1B2 US tourist visa in India.
Here is how everything went, and all that you need to know.
Table of Contents
Can You Apply H1B Visa from India by Yourself?
A lot of first-time applicants have this question. See H1B is not a PR. It’s a visa that makes you eligible to be employed in the United States.
So, short answer: No, you can not.
H1B visa can only be applied through your employer. From the moment you get it, its duration, extension and everything else will be tied to your employer only. If you change your employer, it would affect your visa status. And no, your family living in US cannot sponsor you H1B visa.
Here is the step by step process to get H1B visa through your employer. No matter who your employer is or which country you live in, these steps will always be the same.
Step 1: Submit the Documents for H1B Filing to Your Employer
The majority of the employers start the process of collecting documents to file your application with USCIS around January of the year. Since the H1B lottery happens in April of every year, your application must be filed by your employer by then.
In my case, my employer started collecting the documents from me and other eligible colleagues in January only, and it continued until April. Most big companies have dedicated immigration teams to communicate to you about the documents and make any changes if required.
In truth, not all of these are required until your name is picked up in the lottery. Employers need basic information about you in order to file the H1B registration which would later be used by the USCIS for the lottery.
Document Checklist for H1B Visa Application
Here are the standard documents required to file for H1B visa application from India or any other country.
You will be needed to upload these to your company portal or email them to the immigration team. This process and the format for these documents will vary from company to company.
Resume
This would contain your work experience, the technologies/skills you have, the projects you have worked in and other details. You should strictly follow the format for the resume for your employer for this.
Passport
Indian passport holders would need to scan the bio page and the address page and merge them to one PDF document. If you are from some other country, and only have the bio page, you would submit that only.
US Visa Questionnaire
Each employer sends you a U.S. visa questionnaire to fill in before filing your application. This would contain questions on the client name and address, the consulate that would process your application, and your personal details.
Academic Transcripts
You will need to provide copies of graduate/PG certificates and the mark sheets for all the semesters in a single PDF document.
Even if you don’t have a bachelors, but you have a lot of experience, each year of education can be equated with 3 years of experience. Here are the official H1B Requirements at USCIS website.
Offer Letter/Pay Slips
Usually your employer would ask you to submit payslips for the last one year or the offer letter or joining letter for the H1B visa application.
I submitted my offer letter.
Manager Letter / PRD Letter
This is a document containing the details of the project you would be working in once in the U.S., your role there, your duties, and the occupation that describes your role in the project. It will also contain some questions on
Details of Previous H1B Petitions/Visas
In my case it was my first H1B filing. For some people, this might not be the case. So if your H1B petition was filed and/or if you had a H1B visa in the past, you would need to provide the following.
- Copies of all prior petition approval notice(s)
- Copies of prior denials
- Copies of the US visa sticker with entry stamp when you went to the United States and the I-94
Experience Letter from Other Employers
If you have worked with other employers in the past, you would need to provide the experience certificates/letters from all your previous employers.
In my case, the resume and questionnaire were MS Word Docs and the other documents were PDFs.
What Documents you Should NOT give to H1B sponsoring company?
If you apply H1B visa from India through your employer which is a big/mid-size legit company, you are safe. However, many people also apply through consultancies or IT Body Shop companies and they often ask for originals such as passport, certificates etc. This is their way to keep a lid on you.
Never, ever give any original documents to anyone. The only time you might need the originals is when go for H1B visa stamping, but not for applying H1B Visa with USCIS. And it’s also rare to be asked to show original certificates during visa stamping.
Step 2: Wait for the H1B Lottery Results
USCIS will run lottery on the H1B registrations filed by the employers all over the world. Usually all the applications for H1B are submitted to the USCIS right before April of every year. Most employers would probably send you an email informing you the same.
The quota for H1B lottery is set at 65000 every year for work visas, barring the 20000 meant for students.
Since the application is submitted by the employer, USCIS informs your employer on whether or not you lucked out in the lottery. You wouldn’t be getting any info from the USCIS on this directly.
In my case, I got to know in the last week of May that I was chosen in the H1B lottery. However, many of my colleagues were not informed until October about the same.
The thing is although USCIS informs of the lottery results to your employer much earlier, employers often withhold this information for various reasons. You would need to talk to the immigration team or follow the official channel on this to know whether you got in or not.
If you are selected, you will get a H1B Case Number from your employer that was sent by USCIS, It is a 13 character number. You can track your case status online on USCIS website by providing this number any time during the whole application process.
There are various case statuses like “Case Was Received”, “Case Was Approved”, etc. depending on the stage of your application.
Step 3: Wait for H1B Petition Approval
Once you are chosen through lottery, your employer has to send in various documents to the USCIS to file for the I-129 petition. These would include all the documents collected from you before as well as some more from the employer’s side such as client letter.
During this stage, the USCIS can ask for an RFE or “Request for Evidence”and your employer has to submit details. It can range anything from documents of your education, client letters, etc.
For me the petition approval took three months while I know of many people for whom it took upto one year. I also know of people who got it in one month.
Step 4: Fill out DS160 Form for H1B
Once your petition is approved and you have an idea of when you would be traveling to the United States, it’s time to fill in the Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application form called DS-160. It’s quite a long form where you need to fill in a lot of information, that would include both personal and professional information.
Make sure that you consult with your employer about the employer-specific information like your salary, contact person in the U.S.
You can fill in the DS-160 for H1B visa at Consular Electronic Application Center website.
At the time of filling the form, you will be asked to choose the consulate location where you will be applying for the visa. That location will be your interview location. Once done with the whole thing, you will receive an email with DS-160 confirmation.
Step 5: Go for H1B Stamping to US consulate (Or Not)
The moment you receive the H1B petition approval, you would definitely be curious, Or if you are like me, you would be restless with questions like :
“When can I apply for H1B visa stamping ? What do I need to know for entering US on H1B ?When Can I enter US and start working ?”.
Technically speaking, you can apply for the H1B visa stamping at embassy within 90 days before the start date on your H1B approval notice. For many people, the knee-jerk approach would be to do it right away. But it’s better that you hang on and think about your options.
Your petition decides how long you will get the visa for, which could be maximum 3 years. And even if your petition says you will be working for 1 year, you might get a visa for 6 months. You never know.
The point is the moment your H1B visa is stamped, your clock starts ticking. And if you have a visa but you can’t travel to the U.S., it will expire after a certain time. That would result in all kinds of scenarios involving heartache and sleepless nights, if you know what I mean.
The best approach is to consult with your employer to know when there will be an opening for you in the United States, and then plan on H1B stamping.
Step 6: H1B Visa Biometrics at Visa Application Center (VAC)
Once you are sure that you can travel and want to to go for H1B visa stamping, you need to book an appointment for the VAC for biometrics. If you are applying for H1B in India, you can book the biometrics appointment here.
You cannot have the appointments with the VAC and the consulate on the same day. A minimum one-day gap is required between the two appointments. Before your interview, you need to have the biometrics done at the Visa Application Center.
It’s always better to take a taxi or public transportation as the embassies usually don’t have parking facility. The U.S. consulate in Delhi where I went certainly didn’t. Or you can ask someone to drop you there.
Documents Checklist for Biometrics at VAC
- Passport (bring all old passports if you have any)
- DS-160 confirmation (Color or B/W printout)
- Appointment confirmation
Once there, the security would check your appointment letter and passport to let you in. In the building, the VAC staff would verify it again. Then a token will be issued for biometrics & photos.
For me the whole biometrics process took like 15 minutes.
For your U.S. visa, you are required to give the Biometrics information that includes fingerprints and photograph at a Visa Application Center (VAC). If you are applying for H1B visa in India, you can choose any of these five: Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad.
Tips
- You can keep your mobile phones and other items in your car. Just take the required documentation.
- Wear dark colored clothes for the photograph, as the background is white.
- Make sure to reach at least 15 minutes before the time.
Step 7: Schedule US Visa Appointment
If you are applying for H1B visa from India, You will need to create a profile on US Travel Docs and schedule an appointment. For each country, this site is different. So if you are in some other country, go to the US consulate’s website to find out on how to get the appointment.
Tips while Scheduling US Visa Appointment:
- At the time of scheduling the appointment, you can either choose to pick up your passport at the consulate or pay extra to get it delivered to you.
- You can add your dependants who are applying the visa with you.
- Ensure that the passport bio data and DS-160 information matches the ustraveldocs profile for all applicants scheduled during this session
Since H1B visa is sponsored by your employer, make sure that your employer is paying for the appointment fees and not you.
Step 8: H1B Visa Stamping Experience in India
If it is your first time applying for an H1B, get ready for an interview. I wrote another article on the kind of questions you can expect during an H1B visa interview. Definitely give it a read before going for stamping.
Again, the preferred option is to take a cab or auto or public transport. If someone can accompany you, it is best to handover mobile and other electronic devices to them. For the record, a friend went with me and I gave my phone.
Mobile phones, smartwatches, car keys with remote locking, and other electronic devices are not allowed inside the consulate. So either leave these at home or give it to the person who accompanied you.
I arrived 30 minutes early, and would ask you to do the same. My interview was in Delhi US consulate. My friend and I took an auto from the nearest metro station.
US consulate staff ask people to form queues based on appointment time, around 10-15 minutes before the time. This can vary. I went through a security check and fingerprint verification before standing in the actual queue for the interview.
My interviewer was a guy in his forties with a friendly demeanour. The first thing he asked me was my passport and appointment letter. Even though I carried a bunch of documents, I was never asked for them. They already had that information on the system, but you should carry them just in case.
My interview lasted for 5-7 minutes. He asked me about how long I had been working for my employer, what my salary and work location would be in the United States, technologies I have worked in, if I will be travelling alone etc. None of the questions were tricky or difficult. I had no issues in answering any of them.
At the end, he just kept the passport and gave me a slip with the details regarding passport collection. My passport with the visa, was delivered to my employer’s office after five days and I picked it there after a week.
Documents for H1B Visa Interview
- Original Passport (bring all old passports if you have any)
- Appointment confirmation
- DS-160 confirmation (colored or black printout)
- Latest resume
- Copy of degree certificates. Take the originals just in case.
- Experience letter from your existing company
- Copy of H1B Approval notice
- Copy of LCA
- Offer letter from your employer
- Client letter (if you are going to work at a client location)
- Payslips for the last 6 months payslip from your existing company
- Bank account statements for the last 6 months
General Tips for H1B Visa Stamping
- For an H1B visa, it’s better if you are in formal attire.
- Greet the consular official as soon as you reach the counter.
- Keep all the documents in order and make sure that you can pull out a document easily when requested.
- Try your best not to overhear the interviews of other people. They don’t do any good. They only make you nervous. (A lady who was in the queue before me snapped and shouted as her tourist visa was rejected. Don’t worry about the rejections of others.)
- The preferred time slot is to schedule your appointment between 9 AM and 11 AM. I have heard that the Delhi consulate gets crowded during early morning.
- If your visa is being applied through a sponsoring company or consultancy, do a lot of homework and know as much as you can about them.
- Don’t lie to the consular officer. Just say you don’t know if you don’t know.
How Much Does Filing H1B Cost Really?
The H1B fees vary depending on the size of the company. As of FY 2021 season, it can range anywhere from $1,710 USD to $7,910 USD + Attorney Fee. In the last few years the fees have changed. You can check for the updates on USCIS website.
H1B Processing time: Regular vs Premium processing for H1B
H1B visa petition can be filed either in regular or premium mode. The majority of the applications are filed in a regular mode only since your employer has to shell out more money for a premium filing.
Regular Mode for H1B
If your application is filed in regular processing, there is no SLA from USCIS. They can process it anywhere from few weeks to 6 months or more.
Premium Mode for H1B
USCIS is mandated to give a response within 15 calendar days if your H1B is filed through premium processing.
An application that has been filed in regular mode can always be upgraded to premium mode by paying the extra fees.
My application was filed in regular mode only.
Can You Transfer H1B in the United States to a New Employer?
Yes you can.
I myself changed employer after working in the United States for a year or so. And when I changed employer, I went for H1B transfer premium processing.
Aakash says
Hi Deb, thanks for sharing information. I have recently got my H1B visa accepted and while planning to get it stamped from India, I have already paid the appointment fees of $190 and have received dates as well.
Is it mandatory to get appointment fee paid from my employer ? if yes then what should be my next step.
Deb Pati says
Hi Aakash,
Yes, your employer should either pay for it beforehand or reimburse it later. For this, you will need to talk to your employer.
shibani says
Hi Aakash
Did you get an appointment for stamping your H1b VISA ? Is the embassy giving appointments? I am in Mumbai , do you think I should ask for an appointment . Can you please enlighten . I need my H1B to be stamped .
Chaitanya Phadke says
Thanks Deb for sharing this useful information in a systematic manner. I felt as if I was having a conversation with you.
Deb Pati says
Happy to hear that Chaitanya.
Sandeep says
Thanks Deb for such useful insights especially for those who are thinking to start this journey. You’ve made entire workflow easy to understand.
Deb Pati says
Thanks, Sandeep for your kind words.
gigi says
I would like to clarify about client letter, Is it mandatory to go with client letter while applying for H1B?
Deb Pati says
Hi,
No, you don’t need the client letter when you apply for the visa. It might be asked at a later stage when reviewing your petition.
Alavi kutty says
Please send me visa H1B
Dhanya says
Hi Deb Pati,
Thanks for this detailed information, very much helpful. My visa got approved for 3 years 2020 June it started and i am still in india. Looks like consulates are closed and i am not allowed to go for Visa stamping.
What happens if i switch the company without having visa stamped [ not even once ]..Will this be waste ? i can not carry this forward is it ? Please suggest 1) is it good to wait for visa stamping 2) switch company ?
Deb Pati says
Hi Dhanya,
You can switch employers. The other employer can file a cap-exempt petition on your approved petition, even if you haven’t gone for stamping. So it won’t be a waste but it will take a few months if not done through premium processing. Now coming to stamping, no one really knows when the dates would be available. Maybe a couple of months or this year. I guess you could wait and see.
prateek says
Hello, thanks for sharing. I am currently in India due and I still have 1.5 years left in H1B cap. I want to apply for H1B amendment and extension. can I apply in premium processing from India? or is it only possible to do so in US?
Kindly advise.
Thank you
Deb Pati says
Hi Prateek,
Yes, you can apply for the H1B amendment with premium processing while being in India.
Mathi says
Hello i had USA H1B visa and it lapsed 7 years back, should I go through lottery again or should I directly go for petetion filing
Deb Pati says
Hi Mathi,
If you still have any unused quota left from the 6 years that you got with the H1B, you can file with non-cap processing. But if you have consumed it all, then you would go through the lottery process.
DARSH THAKKAR says
Hi Deb,
i got my I-797 approval in July 2020 but i have not filled and applied for DS-160 until now because of situation worldwide until now. now i am planning to go to USA and work, so can apply for DS-160 and schedule my appointment? what is the validity of my approval exactly? And if i am eligible to apply then how many years stamping i will get?
please guide
Deb Pati says
Hi Darsh,
Usually you would need to go for the interview in 6 months. If not, you would need to redo the petition and all that.
However, since you couldn’t do it because of the pandemic, it is possible that you could schedule an appointment. Do check with your employer’s immigration team and/or attorney on this.
sathish says
Hi Deb,
Can you please share answers for below querys
Questions about your intent:
What is the purpose of your trip to the United States?
Do you have any family in the United States?
Why are you changing your Job?
Why do you want to work in the US?
Have you applied for visa for any other country?
Do you know what is the living cost in the U.S. specific to the place where you are going?
When are you planning to travel?
How will you survive for the first month?
Have you been to any other country before?
If yes, how long was your stay there?
Will you come back to India?
When will you return to India?
Why would you want to return to India?
Is it your first H1B or visa revalidation?
After the conclusion of your visa, what do you plan to do?
Questions about your education and experience:
Are you a student?
Which university is your degree from?
What was your thesis about?
What is the difference between PL/SQL and SQL?
What software you know? Do you have work experience with these?
What courses did you complete in India?
Show me your certificates.
Show me your educational certificates and experience letters?
Tell me about the jobs you have done, and your work experience.
What is your highest educational qualification?
Questions about your current job and company:
How long have you been working?
Where are you working currently?
What is your current salary?
What is your current role in the current company?
Is it an Indian company you currently work for?
Questions about your sponsoring company:
What is the company you are going to work for in USA?
Where are you going to work in US?
Why are you joining [New Company]?
How do you know this is a real company?
When did you receive your offer letter?
What will you be working on there? Is it an internal project?
I need a client letter describing your work project.
Tell me what do you know about [New Company]?
When was the US company founded?
Tell me about the project and the company (client) you will be working for?
How did you find out about this company?
How did you contact the [New Company]?
What is the current project you will be working on?
What are your responsibilities and for which client are you going to work for?
Do you have any proof from your new employer regarding your responsibilities?
Do you have any company photographs?
How long has the company been in the current location?
How many rounds of interviews has the US company conducted?
What is the name of your interviewer?
Can you give me the dates of your interview?
Who are the clients for your U.S. company?
What are the technologies you are working on?
Who is the President/CEO of the U.S. company?
What kind of projects is the U.S. company working on?
What is the annual turn over of the company?
How many employees does the U.S. Company have?
What’s your designation in [Previous Company] and what’s your designation in the [New Company]?
Will you be working from [New Company] office or client’s place?
Can I see the Employee petition to USCIS and the Tax Returns of the Company?
What is the salary you will get in USA?
How many rounds of interviews did the U.S. company conduct?
What are they? 4 rounds (2 technical, 1 HR, 1 manager interview)
Can I see your client end letter and itinerary of services
Deb Pati says
Hi Sathish,
Those are a lot of questions. Did they actually ask you all those?
khanna says
Hi, When i had my first H1B visa stamped (before lottery system) i stayed in US for few months and returned back. now if i have to apply through consultancy for my h1b do i qualify for a transfer with the old H1 or i need to go through the new h1b process of lottery again?
Deb Pati says
Hi,
The new consultancy can file the H1B under non-cap processing using the old H1B. No need to go through the lottery again.
Harjinder singh says
Skil