J. J. Farrell

Has anyone applied for an H-1B visa at the Consulate in London, UK,
based on a 7th year (or subsequent) extension approval? Do you know of
anyone who applied for a visa in London for the 7th or later years, or
at other Consulates come to that? I'd like to know if there are any
issues or problems associated with this special case.

The background to this question is that a while ago I came across a
notice issued by Colin Powell as Secretary of State shortly after the
7th year extensions came in. This said that although it was now
possible to extend status year by year after the end of the 6th year,
visas were not to be issued based on these extensions. I'm sure I heard
of 7th year visas being granted well after this instruction was issued,
so I guess it was later either changed or forgotten about. I never
managed to find anything which changed this instruction though (and
just at the moment I can't find the instruction itself either).

If anyone knows about visas having been granted for 7th year or later
extensions in the last year or so, please let me know. Any up-to-date
tips about H-1B visa applications in London would also be welcome (I
know the Consulate website story, but anything additional from people
who've recently done it would be helpful).

Many Thanks,
jjf