Is it okay to get h1b stamped for the first time in Canada being an Indian citizen
I know I can ask the legal team, just asking
Yes. There’s a misconception that first stamping needs to be in the home country. Any embassy, accepting third country nationals, is ok. Main risk is since it’s not your home country or country of residence, the visa officers do not have some extra information, so risk of rejection is high. I never understood why that matters for H1B’s already working in the US and paying taxes. Canada and Mexico are right next to the US, therefore, you may have a good reason to go there for stamping since in a country that’s not your home country/country of residence, the visa officer does ask why did you choose that consulate for stamping. With Canada/Mexico, you can give reasons such as not enough PTO left, in a time crunch, to have a reason. With consulates in other countries, that’s a tough one.
In normal circumstances, yes. Currently, Canada and Mexico are only allowing their nationals, not foreign nationals for stamping.
I heard Canada was fine, the consulate in Mexico is not allowing foreign nationals for stamping. Anyway, there are no appointments, for a year, in Canada.
How do they know you are there for stamping and not to visit banff ?
Yes, one of my close friends stamped their visa in Toronto
No, first time is always in home country, AFAIK.
There’s no such law that states that and people have routinely gotten first time stampings done in Canada. Only issue I have heard is that due to that, dropbox is not available for 2nd stamping.
Last I checked a few months back, Canada and Mexico are not even allowing third country nationals for h1b stamping since they have their own citizens in a backlog