After the H-1B petition gets approved by US Immigration, we can apply H-1B stamp outside the United States. For those who got approved by profit organizations, you must feel a big relief after the long waiting. However, if you get sponsored through a non-profit organization, the biggest advantage is the petition is unlimited in number and can be applied all year round.
Following are the steps that I did for H-1B visa stamping at US Embassy, Jakarta.
- Get the original i-797 form (H-1B Visa Approval Notice)
You can check your visa petition status on here. It took me about a couple days to get the all the paperwork and i-797 form in my hand using UPS overnight mail after the petition is approved.I actually had an issue during my documents preparation. Do I have to bring the original i-797 form? My company’s legal team informed that currently Form i-797 is no longer required for the interview. U.S. visa in Indonesia website also mentioned the same thing. However, I contacted the US traveldoc support team and they advised that I should bring the original petition, therefore I went with premium processing ($1225) to expedite the process so I can get the original i-797 form :-(. It’s a lot of money but actually the U.S. embassy officer did check my original i-797 form during the interview. Therefore, I would still recommend to bring the original petition with you. - Fill DS-160 Form online
We need to fill this form before scheduling the visa interview (since we would need to put DS-160 confirmation number before moving forward to the scheduling page). Just remember this form will take plenty of time to finish so don’t delay. - Pay the application fee ($190 for temporary worker visa) and schedule the interview here
There are a few payment methods but I chose to pay cash through a bank transfer. I got a virtual account number and this number will be used as a reference for our appointment. I was actually a bit confused as we need to enter receipt number to schedule the interview. The bank teller told me (my brother actually) there is no receipt number. But the receipt number is actually filled with virtual account number ~_~
Following are the documents that I brought for the H-1B visa stamping.
- Original i-797 form
- DS-160 confirmation page
- Old and new passport
- Payment receipt
- One passport photograph (5cm x 5cm)
- Appointment confirmation page
Those documents were taken by the embassy staff before the interview.
And supporting documents (however the US embassy officers did not ask for my supporting documents during the interview).
- Employment verification letter stating what company I am working for, how long I’ve been working for that company and my annual salary.
- College transcripts
- Bank statements
- Paycheck
- Resume
- Tax documents (W2 forms and IRS form 1040)
- Offer letter from my previous employer (as a replacement for employment verification letter)
- H-1B paperwork (such as Labor Condition Application, Form I-129 Petition for Non-immigrant worker)
I came at around 8 a.m. for a second shift interview at around 9 a.m.
Quite surprisingly, many people were already lined up in front of the building at that time. The police first checked my appointment confirmation letter and asked to put our electronic devices on a tray.
Then, I came into the building and got my bag checked, then received a badge id. No food or water from outside is permitted in the building, so I ended up throwing away my chocolate bread :-(.
After that, I was sent to a waiting area. There was a staff asking for the original i-797 form, passport, etc. I waited for about an hour. Since I was super thirsty I bought a drink but seriously, this is the most expensive Pocari sweat I ever bought in my life.
After my group number was called, I went to another waiting room and was fingerprinted (thank God this is an indoor room with AC). When lining up for the interview, I got pretty nervous after hearing a tourist visa rejection of a chubby guy in front of me. The African-American officer called up my name, then asked these questions.
Her: Hi, what company are you working for?
Me: [mention my company’s name]
Her: Oh really? I actually went to [university_name] (while looking at my i-797 form then to her computer)
Me: Oh really? For what program?
Her: International affairs
Me: That’s nice.
Her: How long have you been working for this company?
Me: a year and a half.
Her: Alright. Your visa is approved (she gave me a white paper saying that my visa is approved)
Me: Thank you very much.
Wow.. it was a pretty short interview. Then I went out, collected my stuff, and then returned the badge id.
After about three days, I received my old and new passport with the new H-1B visa stamp for a year, and the original i-797 form.
That’s it. I hope it is helpful and if you are in the process of getting yours, good luck!
Vi, a software engineer with a keen interest in personal finance, had planned to retire once she reached her lean FI/RE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) goal. However, after achieving the goal, she took few months of a mini-retirement filled with travel and adventure and decided to continue her career.
For the past five years, Vi has been using Personal Capital (Empower), a free financial tool. Her favorite features include the dashboard for net worth, allocation, and planning, which help track her FI/RE goal and keep those investment fees in check.