Can I apply for a PC w/o packet 3? If yes, what steps are involved and how do I go about it? I am still awaiting packet 3 from Mumbai. Also, can I get the medicals done now? ANyone going thru' the embassy in Mumbai, please advice. Thanks in advance.

Hi Sweety, this question would probably be answered more quickly if posted in the South Asia Forum! I am in Bangalore and we just finished getting both certificates - no letters from consulate required, but each city seems to have different rules. Jigi would probably be the best one to respond about Mumbai! The earlier you do these the better! (Just not so early that they are no longer valid at the time of the interview!)

It took us 2 weeks to get the local cert., and 5 weeks for the PCC.

Yes, you can get a police clearance certificate without packet 3. Just go to the nearest passport office or an agent, and tell them that you need a police clearance certificate. They will have you fill out a form and submit your passport along with couple of photos. They will stamp your passport with clearance and send it to you along with a separate police clearance certificate. Somebody from police department would probably come down to your house to talk to you before the certificate is issued, so make sure you apply only if you you are going be available at your primary residence the next few days. There are certain places in India where you can only get your passport stamped with clearance but not the clearance certificate. The consulates are aware of that, and they would not require the separate certificate in that case.

As for medical, I do not think you can do it without the appointment letter, but I may be wrong.

Thank you both. That information really helped. Does the embassy give us enough time between packet 3 and 4? I am really worried about that. How do I get in touch with Jigi? THanks once again. I really appreciate it.

How long police certificate is valid in india???

I have idea. I'll let somebody else answer it.

Per the Packet 3's 'Applicant Statement' form from Mumbai consulate, the police clearance certificates are valid for one year from the date of issue.

I may be wrong, but I believe that the consulate sends out packet 4 soon after they receive the packet 3 from you. Packet 4 has an interview date, which may be as early as a month. Between 7 to 10 working days before the interview date, you are supposed to submit the documents to the VFS office. You have to gather everything you need within that time. You can postpone the inteview if you need more time. As for PCC, if I were you, I would get it in advance as that can take a while. BTW, if your passport was issued within six months, you don't need a PCC -- you can read about that on the Mumbai consulate's web site.

passport office certificates for 6 months and city pcc for one year (that is what my husbands local passport office told him, that is vizag) and you do need a PCC the difference is if you have recently got you passport (with in the last 6 months) you only need PCC from passport office not from all the cities you lived in.
http://chennai.usconsulate.gov/documentation.html
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciproc..._3582.html#docs

Indianheart, This is really confusing. What do I exactly need? I did get a new passport with my husband's name, but that was issued back in July '07.

shreyans, your I-129F processing time is really impressive !!! Did you file in VSC or CSC ???

Good luck to all on this forum !

sweety, though PCC is valid for one year, I would recommend 6 months period. It wouldn't take that long to get it, max. 2 to 5 weeks depends on the location. So, please plan it within the 6 months period of your consulate interview.

Indianheart -- you are right; I miswrote in my post. Thank you for catching that & clarifying it!

Sweety10 -- what it means is that you will need passport office certificate as well as the city/district police clearance certificate. They don't require the city/district PCC if the passport was issued within last six months, but your passport is already older than that so you will need both. My wife is from Gujarat and she automatically got both when she applied for PCC at the passport office, so I do not think it is a big deal. It might differ by region though.

I had filed at California Service Center. I just got lucky in that they approved my I-129F along with I-130. If you look at my I-130 filing date, I have been waiting for ever and ever. But, still I am counting my blessings that my I-129F was not "administratively closed." I really wish and hope that they would bring down the processing times back to the normal 3 months level for everyone. The current waiting times are just too hard.

It is better to be patient.

Hey ...Ppl were saying you donot need PCC if you have passport with in 6 months ............is it 6 months from filing date ???or interview date at consulate ??or filing DS 230 at NVC stage???

can someone explain in detail please??

Hi Caroly,
I am from Bangalore and trying to get my PCC. I have taken an online appointment from the Bangalore passport office to submit the form. I have downloaded Form No.2. Can you please let me know what are the enclosures required with this form to be submitted to the passport office and also how did you go about getting the 2nd PCC from the police commissioner's office. I have my appointment day after, if you could reply with details at the earliest, I would really be helpful. Thanks in advance.

I am hiring an agent to get the work done for me. Not that I am lazy, but didn't get information every time I called. So, I think PCC via an agent makes things a lot easier.

Hi Sweety, I have some good news to you. As mentioned earlier, I had taken an online appointment for PCC from Regional Passport office and I had got a slot of 2:02 P.M today. I submitted my papers, they verified with the originals, paid the fee of Rs. 300/- and surprisingly they asked me to come tomorrow at 3:30 P.M and collect it. I had my own doubts hence checked with two more clerks and the information was right and I did see a person collecting his PCC from the particular counter. So it looks pretty easy of course the whole process could have finished within 10 minutes, it took 1.5 hrs but that is not uncommon in India . I did check the travel agent as I got psyched up two days ago, but they said they wouldn't do. Now I am glad he said so I think the key is if you are residing in the same state from where your passport was issued, the process would be much easier. Now I am on to go to the local police office for the 2nd certificate.