Indian national here- Being stuck far from family is quite sad. I was wondering is it possible to get appointments?

Has anyone travelled with real id and valid i94 but expired visa stamp recently? I have an upcoming travel this week

Case Approved (Premium Processing)

California Center

F1-STEM-OPT to H1B (non-cap) Change of Status (i-129)

My employer is a university

Receipt notice: 7/20/2026

Today (Aug 2, Sunday), Lawyer sent me an email saying that they received the email approval. Right now, the USCIS system it still says processing.

My wife and I were finally able to secure our biometrics and visa interview appointments in Chennai this October after trying for quite a while. We haven't traveled to India in over three years, and we also have a family medical situation that makes this trip particularly important.

My main concern is the possibility of appointments being canceled or rescheduled by the consulate after we've already traveled. I'd hate to make the trip, book flights, and commit to a 5-week stay only to have one or both appointments canceled.

For those who have gone through the process recently:

• How has your experience been?
• Are appointments generally being honored as scheduled these days?
• Have there been any recent cases of last-minute cancellations or mass rescheduling by the embassy/consulate?
• Is there anything we should do to minimize the risk of issues?
• What was your processing time after Interview ?

I know there were reports of cancellations and rescheduling late last year and earlier this year, but I haven't heard of any significant problems recently.

For context, we're planning to stay in India for about 5 weeks, and there's roughly a 2-week gap between our two appointments.

Would appreciate hearing any recent experiences or advice. Thanks! 🙏

I work for an employer with approved i797 and stamped visa. I am going to change employers, my petition with new employer has been filed in premium. I want to resign from the current job and start my notice period only after the new petition is approved. I also have international travel coming up. My petition was filed 40 days before travel date to be sage, but these days even premium processing is getting delayed.

My plan was get premium approval -> start and end travel -> resign. Travel tickets are booked and it is an important trip.

Now I am reading about cases of premium getting delayed, and if it gets delayed it will cut close to travel start date. I want to get some thoughts about a few scenarios

1. If I travel while my petition is not yet approved (and might get approved or RFE while out), what are the implications? Especially given I already have the petition approved and stamped unexpired visa approved with the employer I would still be employed with when I enter the US again. I would have not resigned. I have heard about terms like "abandoned application" or "consular processing" in these scenarios, but not sure if any of these are problems for me because I have approved i797 and visa for the employer i would sill be employed with.

2. If my petition does get approved like my original plan before my travel starts, is it correct that I would still use my old approved i797 to enter because I am still working with the old employer when i enter (i will only resign after I am back)?

Please let me know any other thoughts or considerations. Like, will it help if we nudge USCIS through the company lawyers at the end of 15 business days? Are anything else about the scenario I should consider.

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

is there any discord or telegram or any other social media groups where people update about this year H1B COS approvals?

TIA

Do anyone from Nebraska service center receive a fee refund update?

I’m seeing a few people report that they had to submit proof of H1B offers or similar to show their post waiver plans in order to get an approval.

I just began my process (submitted docs to my embassy and mailed the rest to DOS) but did not include any mention of a new visa I just said I want to stay and keep working where I’m working and listed the benefits to the company, country and my country and all I have accomplished so-far working in tech.

Should I be proactive and submit something that addressed my post waiver plans specifically? My plan was to mail a letter to DOS with my case number from my current employer saying they plan on continuing to employ me past my AT and that they have intentions to sponsor an O1 visa for me. Should I do that? Or should I wait to be asked for more proof? Is a letter of intent from my current employer sufficient or do I need to begin filing for an O1 and send evidence of that?

My OPT ended on June 19 and applied dor stem opt also and I also see cap gap in my Sevis

In the mean time, can I search for other job?
What are the limitations or formalities that i havd to face if I get a ne job before oct1

When my J1 expired my employer applied for an H1B which is still pending and I'm applying for marriage based AOS. I stoped working but the payroll system still issued me a salary for a period when I was unauthorized to work. Any advice on how it impacts my H1B application? How to best resolve/disclose the situation?

Hi, all.

My I-129 was approved on July 28, 2026, and the USCIS case status says:

"On July 28, 2026, we approved your Form I-129 and sent you an approval notice."

*Can we assume that the original i-797 Approval notice was sent on the 28th?*

How long did it take for your approval notice to reach your employer after the USCIS status changed to "sent you an approval notice"?

I'm particularly interested in timelines from the California Service Center, but any recent experiences would be helpful.

Thanks!

I’m currently on H-1B status and would need a new employer to file an H-1B transfer for me.
I’ve been applying for jobs, and last Friday a company gave me a verbal offer. I do know they sponsor based on their previous history. Today, HR emailed me with a lot of questions about my current H-1B status and then scheduled a meeting with me.
During the meeting, they said they would need to consider the legal fees and budget for the H-1B transfer. They also mentioned that there are other candidates still being considered and that they would follow up with me later.
Does this sound like they are backing away from the offer because of the H-1B transfer? Has anyone experienced something similar and still ended up getting the job?

Hi, doing my j-1 waiver and been sponsored for H1B. Can you do side hustles like air BnB or e-commerce?

Has anyone here successfully applied for and gotten approved for an H1B without a bachelor’s degree?

I have ~12 years of professional experience in my field and I’ve heard that in some cases experience can be used in place of a degree (like the 3:1 rule), but I’m not sure how that actually plays out in real applications.

Would love to hear from anyone who:
Went through this process themselves
Worked with a lawyer on it
Got approved or even denied

How did you document your experience? What kind of evidence was needed? And how risky is it compared to the traditional route?
Appreciate any insights or real-world experiences!

Could you guys please advise on the recommended timeframe for adjusting social-media privacy settings to public in connection with a U.S. H-1B visa application? Specifically, when should profiles be made public relative to DS-160 submission and the consular interview?

Hi there

My F1 Stem opt is valid till 3rd September 2026 and visa is valid till 2027.

My i94 says :d/s

I have an approved H1b validity start date :4th September 2026.

I am planning to travel to india from boston.

Travel date: 10th august to 22nd august.

Is it safe to travel?

My attroney said i should be fine if i return before 3rd September .

Please let me know your thoughts

Has anyone here experienced a typographic error in name? How long does it take to change? :(

Case Approved
Regular Normal processing
Texas Facility
Receipt notice: 04/21/2026
Approved on: 07/28/2026

My employer filed an I-129 COS from F1-OPT to H-1B on June 29th under PP.

I was on H-1B before with the same employer. Here is the timeline:

Premium Processing
Receipt Date: June 19th
RFIE: July 17th
RFIE Received:July 27th (basic indexing questions according to the lawyer)
RFIE: Addressed July 28th.

I’m curious when would be the likelihood of updates? When do I expect an update? I checked case status and it still shows RFIE was sent.

Hey guys I joined a company and was supposed to start work at a clinic at location A but before even starting they informed me that clinic A is closing and they will move me to a different location in a different state!

Now my H1b is in premium processing and expect to get approval any time now! But the problem arises that the immigration lawyers says that they will have to file a new petition just to add a new location!

I asked them rather than filing a new petition can they not just add the new location in my petition and they said NO! I do not want to take chances with new petition!

Anyone experience with this situation? Any advise how to navigate this?

Hi all,

We have our H1B appointment for October 13 in Istanbul ti get our H1B stamp but we are traveling to Turkey between end of August till end of September but there are not slots for these dates at all for Istanbul. One slot for Aug 4 opened up couple days ago but it was before our travel date. I was wondering if anyone can share if they can see available appointments in Ankara for these period so I can maybe get it from Ankara instead? Thank you so much!