Gagan and Lindsay

You will need to check with the VFS to see what the exact exchange rate is at the time of your interview. Ours was 13920 Rs. I've seen cases where if you go under, they will let you go to the bank and come back same day to interview, however in our case of going just a little over, we had to come back the next day for the interview. I would assume that is what the process is now.

No, you cannot send a check from your bank in the US, it has to be in Indian rupees.

However you decide to answer the question of why you decided to get married in India, it needs to be honest to you both and your relationship. Our first reasoning to get married in US was because it was faster but then as time went on and we started thinking about our wedding plans, neither my fiance, his family, nor I had to money to pay for the wedding so my parents (US Citizen) are pretty much paying for the wedding and that is the truth and that is why.

Good luck!

Hi All-

Has anyone had a POE at Newark around 12:30 in the afternoon? How long is the wait? Would a 4 hour layover be enough time? Can K-1 visa holders go in the Citizens/Perm Res line?

Thanks!

Q1. WHAT DO WE DO NOW??!?! Please help!?

Call DOS and check to see if Packet 3 has been sent. Once Packet 3 has been sent then follow answer to Q2.

Q2. Can we just send in the Packet 3 documents downloaded from the Consulate website before receiving instruction? What will happen if we do so?

Yes - Download all the documents and fill them out and take them to the VFS office directly. DO NOT E-MAIL!! (This delayed our interview by a month because the consulate never actually received our Packet 3)

Q3. How much longer is the wait from Packet 3 to interview date?

I believe we had our interview date within 2-3 weeks after sending in Packet 3 to the VFS office directly. Remember, getting an interview date is not the same as the interview. We got the interview date at the beginning of June for a July 11 interview. Keep calling the DOS to check status and they can tell you the interview date way before Packet 4 Interview Letter is issued.

Q4. She has a valid tourist visa for the US. I have been told that it is not advisable for her to travel on this to come visit me because of the pending K1. Is this accurate?

My fiance came to visit me in the US between NOA2 and Packet 3 receipt. Just make sure there are solid ties back to India such as a job, bank statements, etc. Even bring a copy of the K-1 docs (NOA1, NOA2, NVC letter, etc) to show you are doing this legally. It's also easier if they have been admitted to the US previously and they have that record where they have followed the laws. At this stage, I probably would not recommend spending that much money when you are so close to being done.

Hi Everyone-

Well this has been a long trip. I've seen people on the other side and could not wait to be there myself! Through a lot of tears, joy, sadness, etc...My fiance and I are FINALLY on the other side and with 6 weeks away from our wedding date!! Our K-1 visa has been APPROVED!! God has definitely prevailed here and I am even more sure that he is in the middle of our relationship! Enjoy the interview review below!

My fiance had his interview at 7:30am on 07.11.12. I will try to be as descriptive as possible but I apologize as this is coming 2nd hand.

Our interview was originally scheduled on 07.10.12 at 7:30am. We were prepared and ready to go. He got there at little after 6am and it was raining so he got to go inside the consulate very soon after he got there. He did security and got his token. They called him up to pay his demand draft and we had gotten it for only 60 rupees more than required as we were concerned about the exchange rate. They sent him away and told him he would have to interview the next day. They DO NOT give change and you are NOT allowed to go fix it and come back. We were devastated and so emotionally exhausted.

The next day we did it again. This time he got to the consulate around 6:30am. They formed the 2 lines for 7:30am interviews and 7:45am interviews and started letting people in. He got his token # and was 4th to be interviewed!! He gave his corrected demand draft and they just asked general questions:

Who is calling you?

What is her name?

What is your name?

What is your date of birth?

He then went and sat down and waited for about 45 mins to an hour for his token # to be called again. The CO was a woman and asked him the following questions:

Do you want to interview in English?

Who is calling you?

How did you meet?

How many times have you been to the US?

How many times has she visited India?

When did you meet her family?

When did she meet your family?

When did you get engaged?

What does her father do?

What are her sisters' names?

Do your parents support the marriage?

Are your parents going to go to the US for the marriage?

What are some wedding plans?

What does she do for work?

Are you going to convert to her religion?

Is she going to convert to your religion?

How are you going to raise your kids?

Have you been to a church?

Has she been to a gurudwara?

I'm going to approve your visa and you should receive it via courier in 3 days.

YAY!!! It was an easy start, a long journey, and a rocky, exhausting end but we did it and we get to be together FOREVER!! I am SO glad that we had VJ to prepare us for this journey!

Preparation is KEY to the success. Always think a step ahead and learn from others' mistakes. Also, don't always believe the negative comments. Have faith in your relationship! My fiance and I did not have very many red flags but the ones we did have have caused scrutiny in other cases and sometimes denial so do not underestimate the severity but do not give up hope either.

I wish everyone the best of luck on your journey and I'm not going anywhere so please feel free to ask questions!

Hi All-

Here is my dilemma...Received my NOA2 approval on 03.30.12. Packet 3 was sent around 04.17.12 and we sent Packet 3 back on 04.18.12. After a month of no information my fiance called and checked on it and found out they "lost" our Packet 3 and we had to re-submit our documents on 05.23.12. We did that successfully and have already received confirmation of receipt so we are back on track. With how our consulate(Mumbai, India)schedules their interviews about a month in advance, we will probably have our interview scheduled for the beginning of July. My petition approval expires on 07.29.12. Should I request an extension? At what point do you request an extension and what are the steps/forms to do so? Our consulate is a high fraud consulate and to prepare for the worst, sometimes applicants are put into administrative processing and I'm concerned if that happens, our petition would expire and then they would deny strictly because the petition expired. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Thank you everyone! My fiancé kept calling the VFS and kept getting different answers so he went there in person and they told him we should have never e-mailed the packet in even though we received confirmation they received the packet and I've seen so many cases on here where the VFS tells the applicant to e-mail but whatever. We re-submitted the packet on 05.23.12 and then received confirmation Packet 3 was received on 05.24.12 by the DOS...We are back on track now...just a little delayed... :-/

Sorry to ask , should have asked at first go, so u emailed the documents to infousmumbai@vfshelpline.com or actually couriered the documents ?

When we couriered documents it never made it, so later emailed to vfs and requested them to submit , we were told that the size of the documents (together) should be less than 2 MB. So we had to email couple of times.

Once DOS confirmed they received Packet 3 , it took few days for us to get an interview date

We sent Packet 3 via e-mail to the e-mail address you listed above. We had the same issue with the file being too big so I printed the pages to a PDF and made sure they were under 2mb (the file was actually 1.9mb) and then sent it. The VFS even confirmed they received it and forwarded it to the consulate.

Did DOS confirmed if the consulate received Packet 3 ?

No...They are not showing the consulate received yet but they told me that normally the consulate will update all 3 areas at the same time (Packet 3 Recv'd, Packet 4 Sent, and Interview Date)

Hi All-

Everything was moving very smoothly. We got our NOA2 after 143 days. It was in and out of the NVC, Consulate received, and Packet 3 was issued within 2 weeks of our NOA2. We downloaded the forms online and did not even wait for the hard copies as my fiance was visiting and with me in the US. We sent back Packet 3 on 04.18.12. We received confirmation from the VFS on 04.23.12 that Packet 3 was received and forwarded to the consulate. My fiance received the Packet 3 hard copy in the mail around 04.26.12. I have been calling DOS every other day checking status and no interview date yet. All they keep telling me is "I show they sent out Packet 3. Have you received that yet?" I have checked the Appointment Dates on the Mumbai consulate website daily and we are not there for the first 1/2 of June. I'm starting to get a little worried.

We sent an e-mail to VFS to follow-up and check status and did not receive an e-mail response back. My fiance then called the helpdesk and they tell him that it can take up to 12 weeks for Packet 3 to be processed. They said that after 12 weeks we should call the NVC and they can schedule an interview for us. I called the NVC today to see if that was even possible because I did not think they did anything with our case once it was sent to the consulate and they confirmed for me that they CANNOT do that. They confirmed my thinking was right which leads me to wonder if anything the VFS has told us has been accurate. I'm watching those cases around me that submitted Packet 3 well after we did get their interview dates.

I don't care when the interview date is, I just want a date. I was fully prepared to wait for NOA2, but this wait has caught me by utter surprise and is quite discouraging. We have waited over 4 weeks since submission to VFS and over 3.5 weeks since consulate should have received. Does anyone have any insight as to ways we can escalate? A phone number to where I can call the consulate directly? Anything other than just waiting with no help on our side?

Thanks!

When I call VFS, they say that the waiting period between packet 3 and packet 4 in 8 to 12 weeks.. can anyone tell me that it really takes that long?

We e-mailed our packet 3 to Mumbai VFS 4 weeks ago and the consulate received 3.5 weeks ago and we have yet to receive packet 4 or an interview date.

Lindsay,

My recommendation is to call them. Many people on this site going through either the Mumbai or New Delhi consulate have never even received their packet 4.

New Delhi seems to be better about issuing packet 4 than Mumbai though. If you call, they can provide you with your interview date prior to receiving your written notice.

Hi Amanda!!

How are you? I hope you are doing well! I should have mentioned that I've been calling the Dept of State every other day checking status to see if we have our interview date yet. They just keep telling me the same thing "We see that Packet 3 has been issued. Have you received that yet?"

I just didn't know if anyone knew how long the consulate takes to process Packet 3 before they update the system with the interview date.

Are you getting married on the 23rd? That's my birthday so it's a good day!

it usually takes 4-5 weeks till interview date though embassy says 8-12 weeks n mine took 14 weeks...so u never knw the exact time.

did u check this months interview schedule?

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/visa_interview_dates.html

gud luck...

Yes...I checked the interview schedule for May and we were not on there but we have been planning for a June interview date.

Does anyone know how long it typically takes once the consulate has received Packet 3 for them to issue Packet 4 and the interview date? We sent Packet 3 on 04.18.12. Received confirmation that it was received from VFS and forwarded to consulate on 04.23.12. Been 10 days since then and no Packet 4 or interview date yet. With how impatient I am currently, I'm surprised I made it almost 5 months for the NOA2...LOL

Thanks!

Here is what I have so far...even cutting it down I'm not sure it would be small enough to send:

Cover Letter

Packet 3 Checklist (bc it says to check the boxes and return)

DS-2001

Applicant's Statement sheet

2 copies of DS-156

1 copy of DS-156K

1 copy of DS-230 Part 1 & 2 (I think I can remove the Part 2)

And I-134 Affadavit of Support

If I take out the I-134, Packet 3 Checklist, and DS-230 Part 2, I still have 10 pages because the DS-156 is 2 pages. Do you think I would only need 2 copies at interview and not right now?

In the packet on the consulate's website it says Applicant Statement, DS-156, and DS-230 Part 1. If I sent just that and only 1 copy of each that would be 5 pages which would probably be small enough to e-mail.

Thoughts?

Hi All-

My fiance and I have completed the Packet 3 documents and scanned them as PDF documents. Both his e-mail and my e-mail account were both able to receive the attachment and documents but they are like 15MB (18 pages). Any suggestions on how to submit the paperwork to the VFS for Mumbai consulate as the e-mail we sent was returned back to us undeliverable and I've read and been told they only accept submission via e-mail?

Thanks!

Lindsay

Thank you everyone!! I wish all of you the best of luck and may God's grace be upon all your journeys!!

So I had a normal Friday evening and had just got done Skyping with my Fiancé and was getting ready for bed when I received the life-changing text message and e-mail!! I immediately started shaking and then read the e-mail that confirmed our petition has been APPROVED!! 143 days!!

I screamed and then started crying and called my fiancé to tell him the amazing news...then conference called my family at 12:30am! Hahaha...so much for sleep tonight!

Even though it's just 1 step to this process, it feels like a milestone...we are 1 step closer to being together forever!

Oh and my sister won $90 tonight gambling that we split and my fiancé is coming for a visit in 9 days so it's been an AWESOME day!!

Hi All-

My fiancé and I are still waiting for our NOA2 which should hopefully be coming any day now as we are on Day 140. My family and I are starting to make some wedding plans (and yes they are flexible and definitely not much money involved). The original plan was to have a traditional wedding and reception but due to some issues, I'm now really interested in just having a court house wedding and family dinner with immediate family only.

There are some financial issues but also I have a moral issue with my parents paying for people to come to this wedding and reception that do not fully support my fiancé and I just because he is from another country. I love the intimacy and simplicity of doing a court house wedding but my family is outraged. They think I'm blowing things out of proportion and that I will regret this decision.

Any advice? Am I going to burn bridges by going the court house wedding route? Has anyone done a court house wedding and regretted it?

Thanks!

We are about 116 days into our wait for the I-129F petition approval for our K-1 visa. I want to start filling out the paperwork for Packet 3 and Packet 4 (I-134, Letter from Employer, Letter from Bank, Letters from family, Updated Letter of Intent, etc) but was wondering if the dates would be too early as our interview may still be 3+ months away. It will probably take a few weeks to gather all these letters but would the dates on them being in March be too early if our interview isn't until June? Whats the rule of thumb regarding dates on these letters?

Also, does the updated letter of intent have to have different wording or can it say the same thing as the first one just with an updated date?

Thanks!

Are there any November 2011 CSC filers out there getting anxious as they watch the time lines creep closer to our adjudication dates? Rounding out 4 months and it honestly hasn't felt that long. I've tried to keep myself busy and I guess it worked! Actually, with each day I get more anxious and nervous and then start stressing about all the paperwork we still have to get done for Packet 3 and 4...Where did the time go?

What is the difference between the PCC and the ECNR in India?

My fiancé has started the police clearance certificate process but we are not sure how the process goes once that is completed? I thought we had to have some type of passport stamp but he said he already has a stamp and it's called ECNR (Emmigration Check Not Required). I thought the Passport PCC expired in 1 year but my fiancé says his ECNR never expires. Are those the same thing or what is the difference? What is the next step and what is the requirements once we have the police clearance certificate?

Thanks!

I've been looking at this website and although I don't have the personal experience, it seems pretty legit...

http://www.utsavfashion.com/

Hi All-

A couple questions here while we wait for our NOA2.

1. I know there are a lot of posts out there about visiting your fiance in the US while the I-129F/K-1 is pending and how immigration goes but I wanted to get an updated opinion. My fiance is in India and his POE would be Newark. He still lives with his family so all of the bills are in his father's name. He does have a good job and will potentially be able to bring documentation from his boss that advises the date he is expected to return to work but not guaranteed. He has been to the US twice before we filed our K-1 and his first entry experience (Detroit) was horrible, they grilled him and asked for a lot of documentation of his roots in India and where he plans to go back and that was for a business trip but his 2nd experience (Newark) was perfect and pain-free and they did not even ask for any documentation and that was for a personal visit. Comments?

2. I've also seen a lot of debate on whether to do invitations, Save the Dates, etc. A lot of the advice has been not to do wedding invitations or Save the Dates because that is being presumptuous about planning a set date. At the same time, I've seen a lot of reviews for my embassy (India) where they ask to see a guest list and the plans for the wedding such as invitations, venue bookings, etc (which typically you need to set a date to make plans). I've been making plans for our wedding but they have been flexible plans so that we can change them as well as the date if need be. I thought it would be fun to play on our long-distance relationship and do Save the Dates with a Skype theme and then put an * on the date and a fine print that says "Date Subject to Change At Any Time Pending Visa Approval"

Thanks all!

What I have heard and been told from some other users that have gone through New Delhi is that AP is pretty common and they are doing an extra background check or something like that since there is so much fraud reported from New Delhi. I hope someone else can give you more specific insight...I'm just giving you information I've read and heard as I'm still waiting for NOA2 and will be going through Mumbai.

As I sit and read the forums daily, I keep telling myself "my case is different" as a means of trying to stay positive through this process. This takes the edge off the fear that my fiancé and I will go through all this waiting and end up getting denied or put in AP...but the question has been looming the last several days...

At what point does your case stop being "different"?

I don't mean to be a debby-downer and in all reality...everyone's cases are ultimately different and everyone's outcomes can be different...I know that...

My fiancé and I have built a strong case and we just want to be together so bad like so many other couples...it's almost made our relationship somewhat different because we are going the extra mile to make sure we have documentation of EVERYTHING... My first thought before every decision is "can we use this as documentation?" which was not at all how I thought this journey would be...

When I visited an immigration attorney a couple months before we started our process, I was so naive and now I feel so tainted by the government...It may be years after we are married that I let go of the feeling that we constantly have to prove our relationship and love is true...

But alas, we are building great memories that will last a lifetime and that we will have documented. We will have an amazing love story to tell our kids and grandkids and we are determined to live happily ever after...

Just some thoughts on a lonely and cold winter's night... ;-)