abcd

I work with a US company. I have visa extension approval of H1B petition for self.

I need to undertake a business travel to Trinidad, with proper letter of invitation, and Trinidad is not my home country.

Is it possible/necessary for me to get Visa stamped in my passport at Port of Spain city US consulate before I start my return journey.

I feel that I need that Visa stamp for sure ..in that case...how much is wait time to get interview and stamping done please .

Thanks for your time folks

crg

You're right. If your current visa stamp is expired then you will require a new visa stamp before returning from Trinidad.

It's impossible to tell how long it will take. Some people get it the same day, others can take weeks, and some are denied. It's risky, and you should have an appointment before attempting this.

Ingo Pakleppa

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In addition to crg's suggestion, it may be a good idea for you plan on
traveling from Trinidad to your home country (or to travel to your home
country first) and apply for a visa there. It will greatly increase your
chances of getting the visa. Do you have an H-1B visa, or did you change
from F-1 or some other status? If you already have an H-1B visa, the
odds of you getting the visa in Port of Spain are much better than if
this will be your first H-1B visa.

Of course, as crg already hinted at, you should check your old H-1B visa
if you already have one. It may still be good.

http://trinidad.usembassy.gov/ has more information about how to apply.
They say that non-immigrant visas are issued the same day, except for
visitor's visas taking 85 days. Very strange... They also seem to have a
very generous policy; you can just walk in and apply for a visa without
an appointment.

abcd wrote:
    | I work with a US company. I have visa extension approval of H1B
    | petition for self.
    |
    | I need to undertake a business travel to Trinidad, with proper letter of
    | invitation, and Trinidad is not my home country.
    |
    | Is it possible/necessary for me to get Visa stamped in my passport at
    | Port of Spain city US consulate before I start my return journey.
    |
    | I feel that I need that Visa stamp for sure ..in that case...how much is
    | wait time to get interview and stamping done please .
    |
    | Thanks for your time folks
    |


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abcd

Thanks to Craig and Thanks to Ingo...As always, I appreciate you good folks' help.



To attend the topics Ingo raised..

Yes I have H1B visa on my passport, its present validity period goes till end of the June 2005...and to take care later coming period I (rather my company) have visa extension approval for one more year (yearly incremental is applicable in my case)

In past I had made changes in H1B, extended/changed employer name etc may be 3 times, or may be more, I am in 8th year of H1B... all earlier stamping from my home country only without any nasty experience...except long waiting for interview lines sometimes.

...and every thing is legal. this coming trip is a genuine business trip too.

S P Arif Sahari Wibowo

abcd wrote:
    > Yes I have H1B visa on my passport, its present validity period goes
    > till end of the June 2005...and to take care later coming period I
    > (rather my company) have visa extension approval for one more year
    > (yearly incremental is applicable in my case)

You are confused between "visa" and "status". Your company certainly
cannot have you H-1B visa extended, visa CANNOT be extended while you
are in US. Instead your company get your H-1B STATUS extended. To be
legally stay in US you need legal status, visa have no significance.
However, once you exit US, your status is gone, and therefore cannot be
used to reenter US. To enter US you will need visa, that can only can
acquired in US consular service outside US.

In short: your H-1B extension cannot be used to reenter US.

--
Stephan Paul Arif Sahari Wibowo
_____ _____ _____ _____
/____ /____/ /____/ /____
_____/ / / / _____/ http://www.arifsaha.com/

Disclaimer: I am an amateur observer in this matter, not
professional nor legal counsel in the matter,
my advices - if any - should be treated as such.