Riddle Me This, Riddle Me That

We recently wrote of a situation at the Hyderabad consulate, wherein IT consultants applying for H-1B visas are being threatened with a lifetime ban of the United States.  In making these applicants sign an affidavit regarding their future employment conditions, officers are trying to ‘catch’ potential non-immigrant workers committing fraud through ignorance.

We wanted to follow up with a list of questions that have been asked of some of these applicants.   Knowing this well in advance of the visa appointment – and making sure to have correct information from the employer – will reduce the risk of inadvertently giving incorrect information.

These are some of the questions being asked by U.S. Consular Officers:

• What does your employer do?
• Who is the client?
• Who assigns your day-to-day activity?
• Which division do you work for?
• What is the name of your supervisor? Spell it for me?
• Do you have any documents mentioning your employment?
• Is your manager on site?
• How often does he/she visit?
• How long does he/she stay at client site?
• Who is the manager for the client?
• When do you interact with him/her?
• Did your employer provide any tools or devices to perform your duties?
• Do you use that laptop at client site?
• If any situation arises at the client site then who do you inform?
• Who has the right to hire, fire, and pay you?
• To whom will the client report your evaluation?
• Do you have any benefits?
• Who is the health insurance carrier?
• How many employees work on this project from your company?
• Do you have a copy of the agreement between client and employer?

Add a “riddle me this, riddle me that” in front of most of these and what you have are the questions of a villain in a Batman movie!

If you’re going to be applying for an H-1B visa at a U.S. Consulate, you should definitely consult an Immigration attorney first.

Forewarned is forearmed!

Tags: H-1B, H-1B Visa Stamping