Anna

hi,
my case look like this:
My future employer applied for my H1B visa on my behalf in Boston.
It took almost 6 months to get the approval for my visa from INS.
Then the lawyer sent me all my documents to go to the consulat in my native
country to get the visa into my passport.
However the consul told me that they had some new rules and they had to send
it to Department of State and that they would give me the answer from 6 to 8
weeks.
It has just passed 8 weeks and I called the consulat and they said that they
didn't have any idea when they would get my papers back.

The question is if there is any possible to check at Department of State how
the things are going
or to speed up the process somehow ?
Can my employer or the lawyer help to the visa earlier ? I mean : could
phoning of any of them to Department of State help somehow ?
Does anybody know how long it takes in Department of State now ?
Do all consulats in every country have this new rules and they have to send
papers to Department of State before they give visa ?
I will appreciate any information about this problem.
thank you , Anna