HI guys, Just thought of sharing my H1B stamping experience in Ottawa, Canada which might be of interest to those who are in the same boat and planning to go to Canada or in delimma whether to go to Nepal or Canada or Mexico in the near future. well, just keeping things simple, I am listing the step-by-step process to better understand 'how-to' do H1B stamping (other than in Nepal) . 1. Get interview date from US Embassy in Canada (Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Calgery,Vancouver) or in Mexico (???) or in Nepal (Kathmandu). I applied through some consultancy to get earlier date otherwise getting an interview date might be delayed due to high volume of ppl applying for visa, esp this time. 2. Once you get an interview date, apply for the Canada visa (I applied in Canadian Consulate General office in New York). While applying for the Canada visa, you should have your travel itenary ready to show during an Interview. 3. Getting visa for Canada is not so hard, they donot ask much questions and do not even check all documents but they will not issue visa on the same date. So keep ample of time to travel as it might take a week to collect visa if you are applying from different state. Like I got visa through postal delivery, took almost a whole week to receive it. 4. Fly or drive or take a bus to Canada (whichever is convenient to you). I took a flight  from DCA to YOW . I got very good deal of $ 352.00 round fare. 5. Exchange US dollars to Canadian dollars though most of the business accept US dollars, but sometimes if you pay by credit cards, CC companies deduct transaction fees. 6. OK as soon as you landed in the Canadian airport, put your cell phone in the airplane mode and disable data services and all. OW you end up paying high phonebill for international connection. 7. I am pretty sure that you have already booked hotel. Its not cheap out there in Canada, the lowest rate is not less than $ 100.00/day. unless you have someone to share or live with relatives. Interview at the Us Embassy, Ottawa 8. On the Interview day, reach the Embassy just 5 to 10 mins earlier than the schedule appointment. Do not carry heavy bags or backpacks. (They will not allow those heavy or big bags). Carry only those files needed. BTW I had an interview on Aug 12, 2012 at 10:30 am and left US on Sunday evening only. 9. Interviewer ask general questions. They are friendly and make you feel comfortable. Some general questions: a. How long you have been working in this company? b. What kind of jobs you do? jon position? c. what kind of software /tools you use? d. Project work etc etc 10. All Documents need to be prepared well like company letter, salary descriptions, jobs descriptions, bank statement, project works etc etc. not going into details here. 11. VO (Visa Officer, Interviewer here) will ask to collect the passport with visa after 4-5 business days if everything goes well. or they will ask you to wait for the email. In my case, I have been told to collect the passport on Thursday, Aug 16, 2012 after 3:00 pm ( usually US Embassy will give passport after 3 :00 pm only ). Act like a Tourist: 12. Once you are done with the Interview process, then feel free to visit the places and enjoy your stay. Since Ottawa- Ontario is a capital city  of Canada, it has lots of places to see. (out of context, not talking much  here). Agony: 13. Went to Us embassy after 3:00 pm on thursday and VO told me that my visa was not yet ready. The washington DC homepaldn security was still processing my background check and we ddnot know how long it takes time to clear and issue visa. VO told me to wait until they process and they will inform me through email. 14. It's normal process though, some people are lucky to be processed soon. In my case,I thought going to Canada might be faster than going to Nepal but unfortunately it took longer processing time for PIMS verifications (google for the PIMs verification, case varies casewise). I think it's still sooner here, I heard it might even take 2 months in Nepal. 15. So, went to Montreal, Toronto city. Visiting places and watching movie is the best time pass while you are waiting for the visa. 16. I got email from Us Embassy on Monday, Aug 27, 2012 that my visa is ready to pickup, 17. The whole process took me 16 days for H1B stamping in Ottawa. but I already missed my scheduled return ticket to DC, and it was quite an expensive to fly back,  and since I was Toronto , I took a return megabus back to DC. economical but took 11 hours travel. So, I hope it will be helpful in deciding whether to go to CA or Mexico or Nepal (esp when qatar airlines is flying you in discounted price $ 1138.00 round fare). Have a good day guys. Last edited: 05-Sep-12 02:20 PM