Thank you, Ingo for all the helpful suggestions. I decided to go with
your prefered option.
I made a 48 hour whirlwind trip to Canada (Philly to Calgary and back)
to resolve this issue. Considering that I planned on arriving there the
night before the interview and leaving the night of the interview after
picking up the passport and considering that one connection flight was
missed on the way there and one connection flight cancelled on the way
back, I am just happy to be back, successful in my trip, in one piece!
Some advice to potential fools like me :)
1) If you are in the east coast, try to go to Toronto, Ottawa or even
Halifax. Avoid arduous travel to Canadian west coast.
2) Check the local weather! I went in my light jacket to Calgary and my
kidneys froze. It was -40 there, while 50's and 60's in Philly.
3) Don't ask don't tell: They didn't ask me if I were out of status for
any time and I didn't volunteer the info either. In general, only
answer questions asked and answer to the point, not more, not less.
Note: Calgary appointment letter had "First time H" in parenthesis next
to the non-immigrant visa category. This was confusing. Do they only
process first time H1 applicants? Do they not do visa stamps if you
have a previous expired H1B stamp? (I have 3 of them!) I noticed this a
bit too late, so I went ahead with my trip. Again, while there, I did
not ask any questions about this. Looks like it's not an issue.
Note 2: In addition to the basic requirements (DS-156, DS-157,
photograph, passport, H1B approval notice and fees), they only asked
for I-129 copy and employment verification letter.
Thanks and good luck.
BD
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