A routine H-1B visa stamping has exposed the messy and unpredictable side of the US immigration process. A Reddit user shared his experience from the US embassy in Kathmandu, and the story quickly showed how fragile even a legitimate visa process can be.
One missing document changed everything
The applicant arrived for his interview on November 12 with a valid H-1B job and full confidence. But he did not carry the Labor Condition Application. That single gap triggered a pink 221(g) slip demanding heavy paperwork.
A simple visa request turned into an audit
The officer asked for the LCA along with five years of pay stubs for every employee, five years of employee lists with immigration status, and five years of corporate tax records. The user was stunned, as the process felt less like a visa check and more like a full scale company audit.
A week of panic and paperwork
His employer spent days printing documents. The user submitted everything on November 20. The status moved from Refused to Approved on November 25 and Issued on November 27. Two weeks of stress all because one document was missing in the interview folder.
A worrying trend in F-1 student rejections
The user also noticed something more alarming. During his hour at the embassy, he said almost every F-1 student applicant faced rejection. Many walked out heartbroken, and the rejection rate looked close to 90 per cent based on his observation.
A system showing signs of strain
This account reflects wider instability within US visa processing. Workers with clean profiles and students with genuine goals still face uncertainty. With stories like this becoming common online, it appears the system remains slow to correct itself.
Source – https://www.m9.news/usa-news/h1b-stamping-issue-kathmandu-221g-delay-story/