I recently got a job offer at a US firm as a software developer. My 
employer filled a petition for a H-1B visa. The petition was approved
and all that I needed to start working was a visa stamp on my 
passport. I applied for a H-1B visa sometime end of June. I was told 
that since I hold a Pakistani passport, I will have to wait for a 30 
day security clearance. After the 30 day clearance I called the 
emabassy to ask them whether they had processed it. They said they had
and I could come in and get my passport stamped. When I got there; 
they told me that they could not give me the visa for atleast another
6 weeks. When I asked them why, they said that they need to get 
approval from some 'agencies' that I am not a threat to the US. I was
also told that this kind of security check is new and is required for
knowledge workers (engineers, software developers etc).

I currently have a multiple-entry 5 year visit visa for the US which I
got in January 2002. I had no problems when I applied for the visit 
visa; I went through the 30 day waiting period and got the visa. 

Can someone please clarify the new rules? 
Is there anything I or my employer can do? 

Other information: I currently graduated from Univeristy of Toronto
with a B.Sc Honors in Computer Science. The US counsalate I applied
from is the one in Toronto,Canada.

Hi fatal!

I'm perched upon my chair, quietly grumbling in sympathy for you.  The
government has a way of frustrating everyone at times.

I've been unsuccessful in finding decipherable information for your
particular circumstances - it seems the rules have changed
dramatically post 9/11, and nothing I've found appears to apply to
you.

Even so, I don't want to leave you hanging while another Researcher
with a better grasp of the subject helps you out.  There are two
Usenet groups you could try while someone else investigates your query
(people with first hand experience post there, someone may have a good
answer for you):

alt.visa.us
misc.immigration.usa

You can also request a free consultation with attorney Greg Siskind,
whose firm specializes in immigration law:

Greg Siskind
http://www.visalaw.com/

...and check Carl Schusterman's comprehensive immigration law site for
more information:

Carl Schusterman
http://shusterman.com/

Hang in there, and good luck!


--Missy

fatal...

Here's a White House webpage which explains the considerable number of
steps
taken to increase national security in the wake of 9/11:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/six_month_update.html

Here's a site, maintained by the American Civil Liberties Union,
focusing
on immigrant rights:
http://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrant/hmir.html
The ACLU is a tremendous resource for the downtrodden, often offering
pro bono (for free) legal assistance if the cause is 'right'.


Searches done, via Google:

ins + 9/11
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=ins+%2B+9%2F11

immigration + 9/11 + security
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=immigration+%2B+9%2F11+%2B+security

Best wishes...
sublime1-ga