Hello...
Not too many couples from india have been sharing their experiences with the embassies in their country..
lets share them on this forum..so we can help each other and learn and help others who are going thru this process....
do respond..it would be realli appreciated....
Our k1 case is en route to mumbai embassy....
others in the same route do reply....
take care...

Hi,

Thanks for your post. We just filed our I129F at California Service Center. Its such a long wait, very hard to stay apart. Good to know your K1 is on its way to Mumbai. We wish you speedy approval. Do you already have your police clearance ready? Do you know how long it takes to get that done in Mumbai?

There are forums for specific regions too

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=100

Thank you Tony. I hope your NOA2 comes through very soon.

wow
good to hear
congrats n good wishes honey !

Hi there, I'm joining in!

Our Packet (3/4?? I guess Chennai only sends only one packet and schedules interview before it arrives?!!) was mailed from Chennai on Feb 28th but hasn't arrived yet! However we got our interview date for April 13th. My fiancé will arrive at his village in Andhra in a few hours, hopefully will successfully get his birth certificate & police reports, then only the medical and we are ready for the interview!

Let's keep posting & keep in touch with our experiences!

(PS Yes this should have been in the South Asia forum...maybe we can re-start in there - or have this one moved?)

hi..any input as to can u begin on the police certificate before getting packet 3???and how long does it take????
my passport is new..so do they ask for a police cert frm passport office as wel ?i think i heard frm sum1 here..tht they ask..but not too syre..if any one knows..please let me know....
do they giv police cert easily??or wit chai pani????

also..did any one make plans to travel prior to the interview???or quit jobs before the interview????
or is it wise to wait till visa is recd????after reading sum cases of AP....im a little worried...
we hav pics osf engagement ceremony..but other than that album...no other non engagement pics..is that fine???or r they necessary????
if the usc is present there..do they interview him as well???or ask where he is????
does it help to hav him around???

Hi again Pinky!

Police Certificates: apparently some states/places issue a police certificate before receiving Packet 3, some don’t. I can only tell you from my experience: my guy is from Andhra (Hyderabad & Visakapatnam) and both places told him they wouldn’t give police certificates until he shows the interview appointment letter (which we haven’t received yet, it was mailed on Feb 28th says Chennai). He’s trying today, going to Vizag with a printout from the Chennai website (Packet 4 instructions) and email from the Consulate saying our interview is on April 13th. Police station did tell us that it is a quick and easy thing once we have the appointment letter. Yes quick and easy (a few days?) - only with chai pani though.

<<my passport is new..so do they ask for a police cert frm passport office as wel ?>>

Rules on the Indian Consulate websites say we need a police certificate from both the passport office AND the local police station, regardless of when we got the passport.

<<did any one make plans to travel prior to the interview???or quit jobs before the interview????>>

We should not make flight arrangements or quit jobs before the interview because yes, it might NOT work out as planned. This weekend I'm checking on flights though, if it is drastically cheaper booking a flight now AND if there is an option of rescheduling the flight or less fees for cancellation, we might consider it. My guy got laid off from his job recently, so he is just not committing to a new job till after the interview (his former office offered other jobs but he had to sign a contract to stay at least 6 months… so he didn’t take them).

<<we hav pics osf engagement ceremony..but other than that album...no other non engagement pics..is that fine???or r they necessary????>>

Yes I hear that in India they want lots of photos of engagement ceremony etc. We only have 6 photos of us together (with no digital dates) and no engagement ceremony at all. So that is a bit worrisome. Nothing to do but give what we have and wait and see – so good luck to us all!

<<if the usc is present there..do they interview him as well???or ask where he is???? does it help to hav him around???>>

I do not know about Chennai consulate. I think Mumbai does not allow and Delhi does allow the USC to come in. Don’t know if it helps or hurts. One danger is if they interview you both separately they might ask all ridiculous questions (like shoe size etc) – if one or two answers are different, they have a convenient reason to deny the visa. Just a thought.

Hi,
Hubby and I are going through India. We received our NOA2 on February 15. I happened to be in India visiting hubby when we got the email so it was like a late Valentine's gift for us. We found out last week that the NVC sent his information to the WRONG EMBASSY. They sent it to Mumbai instead of the New delhi Embassy. Hubby happens to be in Kerala right now getting some final paperwork together but as soon as he gets back to Delhi he has to put in a transfer request for it to go to the correct embassy. The New Delhi Embassy said once the paperwork is in

I am hoping that when they see how many times I've been to India since last March (7 times including living there for more than three months) They won't have reason to question ANYTHING at all.

We have tons of dated photos together including pics of random shots with him and my kids. But still I get nervous simply because you never know with these things. One thing's for sure...the going back and forth every other month is taxing on us physically, financially and emotionally.

Good Luck everyone. Hopefully I will be able to post the good news of an interview in Delhi soon.

Well I think the India filers will be more helpful to you, but if you're interested, I did post an Embassy Review for Nepal recently that you may find helpful.

Best wishes,

Maya

We are happily married for almost 2 years now, we went the K1 route. From Bangalore my fiancee had to go to Chennai for the interview, we were in a transition period by the embassy at the time we were processing our papers, there were no packet 3, we had to go to the chennai consulate website and download the required forms, a couple of days later my fiancee did received packet 3 but didn't have to mail it back to them, just to bring all the forms to the interview. One thing I should say about the Chennai embassy, KUDOS to the staff there, they were very prompt replying to my email, sometimes within a couple of hours I would get an answer or a status from them, I hope nothing change, and best of luck to everyone going through the process. Be patient, be strong, at the end all the work will pay off.

First off Good Luck to Everyone!! This entire process is enough to drive a person crazy. When I first found VJ I read more than you can ever imagine. I have so many posts as favorites now on my pc it's unbelieveable - but it helps if someone asks a question. I know I saw it once and probably saved it.

One thing to note, please don't hesitate to go to the Embassy/Consulate Reviews http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/ . Click on the applicable country and read what other people have posted. And then don't forget to add your experience.

We went through Mumbai. I have to admit after seeing all of the people on AP and AR, I think we were extremely lucky. We are "against the norm" in India. I am white, older (8 years), Christian and a single parent - and of course he is the opposite of all that. However we have known each other for quite some time since he was in the States for a few years. He ultimately needed to go back and then a little later we started the K1 process.

I have never visited India, but then again that was not necessarily critical in our situation since we had seen each other way more than the one required time.

We were also lucky and unlucky in police certificates. My fiance has a friend who works in the police department and even more lucky he works with police certificates. He was able to get his very quickly. I do agree from what I have seen on here, most places require the interview letter to get the pc's.

He was unlucky in getting the one from the passport office. The instructions on Mumbai's site clearly state one is needed from the passport issuing office and the police. However they did not state what to do in his type of situation. His original passport was issued in Mumbai. The last time he was here in the States, it was going to expire so he went to Chicago to the Indian consulate and had a new one issued. Now the Chicago consulate will issue pc's for Indian's who need it to go to another country, but a pc is not needed from the States when traveling back to the States (does that make sense?). So he could not get a pc from the office (Chicago) who issued his passport. I thought maybe he would still be able to get one from Mumbai since they issued his first one. He contacted the embassy in Mumbai to see what should be done and did not get any clarification other than a pc is required from the passport office that issued the passport - just like their web-site said.

He also checked with the passport office in his hometown. They would not issue him one because they did not issue the passport. They referred him to Mumbai who of course said they would not issue him one because they did not issue the passport - Chicago did. So it seemed like we were in a no-win situation - there was no information or help anywhere.

He took all of his paperwork to the VFS office and again they had no clue about this either. I guess this type of situation does not occur too often. When he got to his interview, they stated they did need this pc and gave him a letter to take to his hometown office. Ultimately the visa was approved upon this last pc being turned in. Again, he was lucky because his friend was able to keep on the passport office to get it completed quickly. As he picked it up, one guy said he had been waiting 45 days for his and my fiance's only took 9 days. I do have to admit, it would have been nice if Mumbai had clearly read the e-mail we sent asking what to do and issued this letter then. He would of been able to have both certificates at the time of his interview.

One of the main things I want to note is to be sure all your paperwork is in order. Make sure the USC's income is at the 125% poverty level or have a co-sponsor who is. And remember if you have a co-sponsor to send an affidavit yourself. I remember one person (I think caagirl) who did not send one for herself and they had to wait until she completed one and got it to the embassy.

We had plenty of evidence of relationship, but none of it was asked for. I sent phone records, chats, e-mails and he took copies (and originals) of cards I had sent. I did not go crazy on this though. Probably one or two e-mails per week, phone records for the past 5 months or so, and a couple of chats. He also had some pictures, but these were all taken while he was here. And he has a wallet-size picture of me and one of my daughter. He did show those.

If you are going to your fiance's country for anything make sure it is clearly documented. Pictures (with dates is great). Be sure to wear many different clothes in these pictures so it does not appear they were set up. If you are having an engagement party, document the guests, make sure you have receipts from the vendors and you may even want to go so far as to have a few of the guests write a short note stating they were at your party. Keep receipts, airline tickets and stuff like that. I don't think for some people you can be too unprepared.

Ok...I have to go now....but I will write more....as you can probably tell by this one I can write and write....but I hope it helps someone.

Again good luck!!

Lori

P.S. And one last positive thing about us - it is now less than one week and he will be HERE!!

Thanks for all the info & great advice Lori! Congrats - finally you can be together in USA!

Yes the passport being issued in Chicago sounds like a unique situation. It is irritating that the police certificate takes so long to get, and we are given so little time to get it! I can only hope for the best. Turns out my guy did the birth certificate thing first (there was a flood in the birth registrar office and all records were lost, so he ended up getting the notarized statement from his mother) and on Monday the 12th will deal with the police certificates. Hopefully week of Mch 19th will be the medical. All other papers are ready.

yes..lori...ur posts are always informative and helpful....thank you so much....and al the best to u guys..
does any one who has been thru mumbai..know whether the petitioner is allowed inside the interview????is it advisable to have him there???? bcoz my fiance's work doeasnt allow him 2 leave and cum here ..i mean..he can if its gonna help..but can it be handled alone??do the consular officer ask where he is????
any one hv any experience wit this???
also..maya's list of questions were very gud and exhaustive....thanks so much...
to nimble...i hvnt begun on police cert as yet..mebbe 2morrow..but i guess it shd take 2 to 3 weeks..thats fine..bcoz mumbai takes time to schedule interviews atleast 2 months...but does any1 kno abt the police cert frm passport office???is it needed???my passport is new issued a couple of months back..
also...at the interview..do they ask for plans to marry in the US...in documented form..like any court bookings...or arrangements etc....
also...from sum people's posts..in india..they ask the beneficiory..why r u not marrying in india..y do u wanna go ther marry..i guess bcoz our culture is such that the wedding is a huge family issue..
so wats the best answer to giv them...to this question..
please do reply...especially couples who hav gone thru the interview ..their input wud realli help others...who r gonna go for interview now...

NO your fiance cant accompany you inside the embassy.......chennai consulate allows that......but not in mumbai........
see my mumbai consulate review for further details reg my interview experience.......and its only with this immigration visas.....all other type of visa applicants can take relatives,sponsor inside the embassy.....heard this in VFS lounge......
Riz

hi....
need help abt police cert from the police dept and passport office...
any one who has got their pcc from the passport office and the district police station...please could you add a post about how much time does the passport office in mumbai take to issue a police cert????
is it a matter of days or months???frm the day of beginning paperwork???
and the district police office???the one at CST???
is it wise to begin on them before getting pkt 3 or do they ask for an interview letter??how long is it valid for???
also..could any one post about the approx waiting period at mumbai embassy for the interview??after they send out pkt 3..
have they realli cut down the waiting period for visa appointments as they promised???some of the recent k1 folks would be knowing this....the old time lines say approx 120 days for interview after the embassy receiving the case..but as of now...is it decreased or the same????
do reply guys...wud be appreciated...
thankx and tc..
pinky...

Hi Again Pinky!

Some places you can get the Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) before Packet 3, other places insist on seeing the interview date letter or packet 3 cover letter before issuing one.

Sorry I cannot help with info about Mumbai. However, my fiancé just got his PCC two days ago, from both passport office and local police station in Andhra Pradesh. He needed to buy the PCC form for Rs 25, give one copy of passport and 3 photos, and with chai pani he got the PCC next day evening in Visakhapatnam, same day in his local police station. I had heard stories of the PCC taking 1-2 months or more, maybe those people did not give lots of chai pani! PCC is valid for one year I believe.

Mumbai takes about 2 - 3 months to schedule the interview, after receiving Packet 3 (you can research on the “Immigration Timelines” page for recent entries).

hi guys..wat if passport is issued in nov2006 and interview is around june??
is a new passport police clearance needed or not needed at mumbai consulate????
any who is going thru pcc thru regional passport officve...in mumbai..do post ur experience..

Hey no one updating the South Asia forum lately! Except for politics.

So, all went smoothly for my guy’s medical in Chennai today (22nd). Except the Consulate doc said there were “rules” banning him from giving any vaccinations to K1 applicants! What! I wanted my guy to get the cheap Indian vaccinations instead of here! After talking to the doc myself he finally agreed to give the vaccinations and a form that would be accepted at the AOS process, but wouldn’t be noted on the vaccination worksheet given here. It all seems fishy to me, I don’t get it.

I was happy that my guy could Xerox not only all the lab reports, but even the medical report was given to my guy’s hands and he could Xerox the whole thing before handing over to the VHS office (hopefully on Monday or Tuesday).

Phew! After Monday or Tuesday we can RELAX until the interview. Haha!

hi eileen
i really wish you best of luck for the interview from the core of my heart
take care ,

Thanks so much, best of luck to you toooo!

I'm disappointed that no one is coming forward to answer your questions about CR-1/IR-1/K3 interviews in Delhi. I'm really sorry I can't help with info about that. How about going to “Embassy Info/India/Find all VJ members from India” then sending PMs to those with similar visas who recently went through Delhi? Actually I tried that with a few people who went through Chennai with K1 but out of several PMs only one person answered!