sundarimudgirl

I don't know what embassy you will interview with from Kolkata. The New Delhi embassy is particularly hard on K1 although Mumbai seems to have its issues too.

Bottom line - if you are engaged to an Indian, they will all expect you to have family permission and involvement. If you are not an Indian/Indian couple with an arranged marriage, they will most likely want proof that your families are aware and approve. It is best to have letters of support notarized so as to relieve any doubt that they are fraudulent. Come to the interview over-prepared and make sure you submit documents ahead of the interview and in an orderly fashion. They most likely won't look at anything new at the interview and if they can't easily locate a piece of information, they won't acknowledge it even if they have it in their possession.

It really is best to read the last few years of embassy reviews for India, paying special attention to cases that seem similar to yours with respect to age gaps, religion, ethnicity, etc. Then search on VJ for combinations of words like India and denied or AP or 221(g) and read what other people have to say.

You'll get more and better help if you complete your timeline and visa type so that we can tell what process you're going through and where you are in the process.

actually have not started any type of visa process yet - just in prelminary stages of exploring possibilities and experiences. I'm glad I did!

Are you talking about the issue I posted?

was actually responding to Kathryn41 but if you have any input....

K1 applicants already have a harder time in India than marriage applicants. Your age difference is very unusual in India. Have you considered getting married and going the marriage visa route instead of the K1?

If you do the K1, you will need to provide a lot of evidence of family support and you might want to consider attending the interview.

If you are not of Indian descent, do some research on VJ because you will mostly likely be denied with a K1. There are several recent stories of visa denials for K1 out of New Delhi.

Just curious - why does it matter which consulate it is? BTW, we are in Kolkata. Is it a possibility there? I may even be able to rummage up some connections there.

Love your beautiful kitties! I have a fluffy one of my own (ragdoll boy). I am a little confused on the signed family affidavits thing - why would U.S. consulate/embassy care what his family thought?

oh wait - family affidavits are just more evidence the relationship is real? This should be interesting - older family members are trying to arrange a marriage for him in India (he had no interest even before he met me), but younger relatives are aware of and supportive of our relationship.

Age gap is not a reason to deny a visa, no, but at Consulates where a particular age gap is against the cultural norms it is a reason for them to take a hard look at the relationship and question its authenticity. The OP has received good advice about being prepared. Signed affidavits from his family especially, stating their awareness of and support for the relationship are definitely good. Good luck

Love your beautiful kitties! I have a fluffy one of my own (ragdoll boy). I am a little confused on the signed family affidavits thing - why would U.S. consulate/embassy care what his family thought?

I am wondering if anyone had a situation similar to mine and went through K-1 visa process (I am not sure we will be doing this but looking into it). My (Indian) boyfriend is 18 years younger. Our relationship is now four years old. I met him in India, I have been back many times, including all of last year, and he has been to the U.S twice to see me on a tourist visa. We have plenty of evidence that our relationship is "real." Because of our age difference I expect the spotlight will be shown on us extra brightly. Anyone have any experiences/advice to relate?