Hi, I have an H1B which is expiring on November 30th, I have got that H1B renewed and got a new H1B which is valid from November 31st. I have stamping scheduled for August 1st in India. So, could you please tell me which H1B petition I should use for stamping?
The one valid from Nov 31st.
But, I have seen the posts somewhere in the immigration website that we can’t use the new petition for Visa stamping if the approval start date for the new petition is more than 90 days from the Visa interview date.
Hi, were you able to figure this out? I am in the same situation
My Latest I-797 is approved from March 2023 to March 2026. The H-1B dropbox appointment I have got is for December 2022 and I have booked it using my older I-797 which is valid till March 2023.
I wanted to know the following
- if I am going for visa stamping, which I-797 should I be using in my DS-160? The older only is only valid till March 2023. so, If i use it i will only get visa till march 2023?
- if I use the I-797 that is valid from March 2023 to March 2026, Will I be issued a H-1B visa that will allow me to enter back in USA before the March 2023 date?
Answers: 1. yes
2. Yes, please follow the below steps
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Create a new DS160 with new petition and new salary if anything changed with new lca and submit it
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Update the new ds 160 number in the cgi visa apointment profile page.
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Call customer care and update the visa profile with new h1b petition.
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Your visa appointment confirmation will get updated automatically with new ds160 number.
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Take printout of new appointment confirmation page with updated ds160 number, then new ds160 confirmation and all i797 for dropbox. They will take both current and new one for processing.
Make sure you give both the petitions to consulate. -
Stamped visa on passport will have 2 petition numbers with PED (effective dates) explicitly printed.
When you enter your i94 will reflect the new one.
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Create a new DS160 application with your latest petition number and update the annual salary if it is changed and submit it
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Update the new ds 160 number in the cgi visa apointment profile page. When you update your profile with new DS160 number it will automatically update the current Appointment confirmation page as well with new DS160. The barcode will have updated ds160 number.
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The profile will still reflect older h1b petition number. We cant update it through CGi portal profile. You need to Call customer care that works during IST and ask them to update the visa profile with newer h1b petition number. They can update it.
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If you have any doubt in this process, call rhe customer care and ask whether it is possible to change the petition number or not. They will verify your passport number, date of birth and existing H1b number before updating it to the new number
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Take printout of visa appointment confirmation page again and it will now show the updated ds160 number, then also get the latest ds160 confirmation page and all i797 for dropbox. They will take both current and new ones for processing. Give them both.
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When you get the Stamped visa on passport, it will have 2 petition numbers along with the corresponding PED (effective dates) explicitly printed.
Hi Abhishek,
Thank you for the detailed reply. So to summarize, I will update my current DS-160 to reflect the future I-797 date and While going for dropbox, I will have to provide both current and future date I-797 so that I will get a visa that will be beyond 3 years ( Starting from the date I applied to March 2026) correct?
Is there any chance that I will only get visa starting from March 2023 till march 2026?
You cant update the current DS160 with new Petition. You need to fill a new DS160 with new Petition details. You will not get until March 2026. You will get almost 3 years from the date of stamping. Say for example, If consulate is stamping the visa on December 27, 2022 then the validity will be until December 16th 2025.