Tuesday, May 13, 2008

PIMS in Tijuana

Update: Looks like the consulate at Tijuana has stopped replying about PIMS verification. But you are still required to fax them them prior to your appointment.

PIMS verification has been officially commenced for a while now. It is very crucial to verify PIMS before you go to the consulate otherwise you could get stuck for three days. Though I have not experienced PIMS myself, this is the collective information about PIMS in Tijuana. (Source: http://tijuana.usconsulate.gov/petition_based_visas.html and http://tijuana.usconsulate.gov/niv.html )

You might ask, what is PIMS?
Consular officers may no longer accept Form I-797 as sufficient evidence for visa adjudication. Petition approval and visa eligibility must be confirmed in the Department of State's Petition Information Management Service (PIMS) database.

How Long does it take?
PIMS verification takes on average 24-48 hours to complete. A visa will not be authorized in the interim.

What should I do?
If you scheduled an appointment at the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana previously, we recommend that you fax a copy of your approved I-797 to the NIV section at least 72 hours prior to your interview date (fax: +52-664-634-3069). Please include the date and time of your appointment, as well as the confirmation number given to you by the appointment call center. Consular staff will determine whether your petition is registered in PIMS, and if it is not, will request that the petition be verified and added to the database. Please note that we are able to verify petitions in PIMS only for individuals applying at the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana. If you have scheduled an appointment at a different U.S. consulate or embassy, please contact NIV staff there directly with any questions you have regarding processing your petition-based visa.

Also from some other sources I have found that you could verify PIMS using the contacts below.
E-Mail ID of Consulate : tijuanainfo@state.gov
Tijuana U.S. Consulate Fax Number's:
+52-664-634-3069 - Mexico Number

Tijuana U.S. Consulate Phone Number's:
+52 664-634-3045


Following is the Generic email format for PIMS verification.

Dear Consulate Officer,

I am XXXXXXX (Your Name), working as a XXXXX (Your Designation) on H1B with XXXXXX (Your Company). I scheduled an appointment at Tijuana Consulate, Mexico for getting my H1-B visa stamped on XXXXX(Appointment Date) and my confirmation number is below:

Confirmation Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I would like to know if my PIMS check is already cleared for my I-129 petitions. I am attaching scanned copy of approval of I-797 and appointment letter as PDF file to this mail.

Attachments:
1. I-797A.pdf
2. Visa Appointment letter. PDF

Hope to hear from you soon.
Regards, XXXXXXXX (Your Name)

You would get an email confirmation from the consulate and your PIMS verification.

After you have done this, you are all set to go for Stamping.

Hope this post helps. If you experience anything different please let me know and I will update here. Thanks.