stiggy771

9 hours ago, dr01d3k4 said:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

341 DAYS

FINALLY

EAD

APPROVED

Congrats. I so admire your patience.:)

14 minutes ago, K1visaHopeful said:

Visa?

Your AP allows reentry into the US. 

Your passport allows entry into Mexico.

Does your country of citizenship require a Visa to Mexico.

That is the real question and should be posed in a Mexican forum.

Ah that makes sense. I have an Indian passport and yes, I need a visa for entry into Mexico. I got confused since the last time I visited Mexico was with an unexpried US student visa 

Has anybody with the ead/AP (not with an approved green card obviously) driven to Mexico and back? Do I need to get a visa since my K1 has already expired? I have a work related meeting at Juarez and my company plans to take a bus /shuttle from El Paso to Juarez and back. I'll surely be taking all my NOAs, marriage certificate etc with me. 

5 minutes ago, N400fiasco said:

Ok great. Thanks for the help. Can you or anyone reading this also confirm if during the interview did they return all of our original documents like the original birth certificate , original PCC etc back to us? My fiance insists they were in the sealed packed , but I dont think the original birth certificate could be in there as the sealed document is supposed to be kept by the POE office right? 

For me, they kept the copy of the birth certificate and pcc. The officer did not give anything back. 

Yes, the officer keeps the documents in the sealed documents with him at the POE. Only the passport is returned 

Also, please don't think of re-sealing the documents by yourself and expecting the officer to not notice it. That would really screw things up if they ever got to know that you messed with the sealed packet. Better to tell the consulate about what happened.  (read a comment posted a few minutes back) 

6 minutes ago, N400fiasco said:

Thanks Stiggy!  When you got the visa packet from the embassy, I need to know what was available to you outside do not open packet, apart from the passport

Just the sealed packet and the passport. Nothing else 

10 minutes ago, N400fiasco said:

Hi Guys, ok so I am in a state of shock right now and can't think straight. Could use some calmer heads to help me rectify the situation. 

 

I traveled back to India to accompany my Fiance and my 7 month US citizen daughter back into the states this evening.  We had been waiting for 2 years since we started this journey. 

 

I know this shouldn't have happened and I am extremely stupid for letting this happen despite reading VJ every day, but my Fiance's brother recieved the petition packet and accidentally opened "do not open" packet. He then delivered the packet to my fiance a few days later who found the envelope already open and ignored the do not open signs and just assumed it was the Packet 4 we were supposed to receive earlier.  (which we never did) . She  disassembled the packet contents and organized it in various files for safekeeping. This was a 3-4 days ago. 

 

I flew in today and asked to see the visa packet and the visa and discovered this mess. 

 

Now I know that me, my fiance and my fiance's brother are all idiots.  I also know that I need to contact the embassy to make it right, but I need to reverse engineer what was inside the sealed  envelop so I can contact the embassy to reseal it.  My fiance is in a state of shock and cant think straight as to what was in the envelop vs. what was outside apart from the passport.  Can someone advise on what they recieved back from the embassy. What was outside the envelope apart from the passport?  

 

Its saturday morning right now. I assume I should cancel my tickets, because there is no chance of this happening on a weekend right? As a US citizen is there an emergency line to contact the embassy to help me out? 

 

Thanks all. 

 

 you should definitely tell the embassy about what happened at your fiancés place with the documents. 

Regarding what the packet contains (as I just entered the US a couple of days ago and the officer literally kept the documents opened in front of me during my entry process), it consisted of 

1) the i129f copy packet 

2) letter of intent to marry 

3) Affidavit of support (i think i saw it there) 

4) medical reports (didn't really see them in the packet but it's pretty easy to know if it was part of it since if you were to see it in the set of documents with you, that means it came from the packet and not from anywhere else)

 the first 2 were definitely there, but I'm not fully sure about the AOS being there. There were a few more documents but I'm pretty sure all of them were part of our application. The packet (as far as I've read) is just a way for them to save on paying the shipping charges, and hence they send it to the US with the beneficiary. 

It's a good thing you're there in India. You should just go to the embassy asap and tell them what happened. Also, i did read about some instances where the packet was opened on VJ. I'm sure you would've read about it. Definitely expect a delay in getting the documents resealed, but that's all there is to worry about in my opinion. Good luck 

1 hour ago, jangrace said:

Oh thank God! I'm glad to hear that. Sorry if I stressed you out n00fiasco! 

Btw Stiggy, have you received your passport and visa in hand yet? If yes, how many working days did it take?

Took me exactly a week to collect the passport from the pickup location (Mumbai VAC). My interview was on Friday, 20th July and I got the passport, visa and sealed envelope a week later. 

Looking for flights as I type this. 

48 minutes ago, jangrace said:

I'm sorry but I think that means they need more time to make a decision. It could take 2 months or longer before you know. From what I've read, your status should have changed to 'Issue' if it has been approved. If someone else has better  information please jump in here.

I am worried about the same happening to me next week.😟

Please dont worry about this. it is how the process works. once your visa is approved by the CO,it usually takes a week for you to get the issued message on the ceac website. It will first show 'Adminstrative processing' and then in a day(in my case) or 2 change to issued.. This is the usual process. Sometimes it could take a while but those are rare. From what Ive read, this 'administrative processing' is the good one..

sorry about the typos. my keyboard stopped working and im using the buggy touchscreen 

4 hours ago, jangrace said:

Hey Stiggy

 

Mind sharing your experience at the Mumbai VAC and consulate? I have my interviews in 2 weeks and any information would be helpful. For e.g. I will be flying in on the morning of the VAC date, so would I  be allowed in for the biometric interview with my luggage or am I only allowed to carry my documents? I need to know whether I'd have to fly in  much earlier in order to drop off my luggage in the room I'd be booking. 

Thanks in advance.

I have written a review about my interview in my profile. 

For the VAC too, no lockers are given, and phones, bags etc arent allowed. There are some lockers nearby the VAC which isn't run by the VAC, but by private entities, where you can keep your phones, smaller  backpacks etc, but I'm not sure if you can get to keep your luggage there.  only your documents and wallet and an umbrella (if you have it since it rains almost everyday here in Mumbai ) is allowed inside. 

7 hours ago, stiggy771 said:

How long does it take for Mumbai consulate to send the notification stating that the passport is ready for pickup or track it for people who opted for delivery ?

Got it. Thanks a lot

How long does it take for Mumbai consulate to send the notification stating that the passport is ready for pickup or track it for people who opted for delivery ?

2 minutes ago, A_R said:

Hi, Thanks. Did you answer the same in your DS--160? 

How was your interview today?

I did. The interview went well. I thought it would be tough but it barely took 8 minutes for me. 

I was just too worried right before they called me, because i could see a lot of them being questioned for more than 15 minutes. But it all worked out well. 

Just keep telling yourself that you have a solid case. That helped me. 

33 minutes ago, A_R said:

Hello all,

I am trying to keep myself busy by filling out the DS-160 Form.

I have 2 questions regarding it. How should be answered?

 

1.Has anyone ever filed an immigrant petition on your behalf with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services?

I answered YES giving the explanation that my current case details – case id, recd date, etc.

 

2. Do you have documentation to establish that you have received vaccinations in accordance

with U.S. law?

I answered NO giving the explanation that MEDICAL EXAM WILL TAKE PLACE BEFORE VISA INTERVIEW IN MUMBAI, APPOINTMENT CAN BE BOOKED ONLY AFTER SUBMITTING DS-160 FORM.

 

Are these 2 answers correct?

Thanks for helping out.

The answer for the first one should be No. They're asking about previous cases. 

The second should be a Yes. You're supposed to have the medical report with you when you go for the interview. Medical appointment can be booked if you've received the letter from the  consulate. 

1 minute ago, A_R said:

The problem is Polio, Rotavirus and Hep B are given only n only when you are an infant. They can't be given now. The only thing I can do is to try n get it in writing from a doctor if he agrees.

Yup that's the only workaround. I had to take MMR shots for my F1 visa back in 2014, and the doctor that gave it to me just wrote a slip saying it was administered on the mentioned date. For my medical at Rele Clinic Mumbai, I just showed them this slip and it was ok. I didn't have to take it again. 

1 hour ago, A_R said:

Anyone else who has already completed medical  please advice.

I think without a record they're just going to ask you to retake the vaccine. Maybe you could get it in writing from a different doctor about the vaccines that were given. 

There is one slot available for Mumbai on July 20th. Get it while its there

13 hours ago, Amit&Julie said:

We got a plastic multi-pocket accordion folder. Here is generally the way we arranged the pockets, from what I remember. More important docs were toward the front. Photos were put in labeled ziploc baggies before being put in a labeled pocket.

1. Docs that we knew were required for the interview (Packet 4)
2. "Highlight" photos (about 10) from the whole span of our relationship, showing where we were together and often supporting the specific facts of our relationship (how we met, what we have in common, etc.). 
3. Trip A (most recent and happened after filing I-129F petition) - boarding passes, hotel receipts, other receipts, more photos from that trip. We did use these; the officer saw the stamp in Amit's passport and asked to  see photos from this trip.
4. Trip B - same as above but less recent. We had one pocket for each trip we had seen each other in person so there were a few pockets.
5. Proof of Relationship - since the majority of our online communication was through Facebook messenger, I picked one screenshot from each month between the time of filing our I-129F up to the time of the interview. I tried to pick conversations that demonstrated the truth of our relationship and also some typical "couple" convos. I also had a few screenshots each from Skype, WhatsApp, emails between us, etc. Officer didn't request to see any of this.
6. Proof of Wedding Plans - brought it just in case and didn't have much, but I did have some emails from wedding planners and my wedding dress receipt. Again, officer didn't ask to see any of this, just asked about my plans.

I think we had a few extra pockets for I-134 supporting documents, NOA1 and NOA2 letters, extra copies of birth certifcate & PCC, etc.

 

Most importantly, choose a structure that will make sense to the person being interviewed and go over the contents so you are familiar with what is where and can quickly produce whatever might be requested.

Thank you so much for this. This is exactly what I wanted.

6 hours ago, stiggy771 said:

Could somebody please link me to some posts which advise on how to sort and arrange documents that are required for the interview. I know there's google and I'm going through a lot of them but I would love some advice from VJ too.

 

Should I arrange all of the proof of relationship, stuff that was sent for the i129f and the ones after ? My fiancee told me not to mix them up, but I was thinking of arranging them by date. Photos all together, chats/ emails together, travel/hotel stay/visa etc ? 

@Amit&Julie any suggestions? 

1 hour ago, A_R said:

@stiggy771 - also can you please update your VJ timeline - it is not visible , it helps us out. Thanks!

Just did. Thanks for the suggestion

Could somebody please link me to some posts which advise on how to sort and arrange documents that are required for the interview. I know there's google and I'm going through a lot of them but I would love some advice from VJ too.

Should I arrange all of the proof of relationship, stuff that was sent for the i129f and the ones after ? My fiancee told me not to mix them up, but I was thinking of arranging them by date. Photos all together, chats/ emails together, travel/hotel stay/visa etc ? 

7 minutes ago, N400fiasco said:

Thanks so much! I snagged one of these. Will be able to see my Fiance a week sooner thanks to you! 

 

BTW  My CEAC status went to ready on June 28. I am assuming  I will hear from the embassy by that time .Otherwise will just email ustraveldocs in a week or so.  

Glad i could help. I can imagine the long wait for people since they changed the immigrant visa interviewing location to only Mumbai. 

1 minute ago, N400fiasco said:

My Fiance got her PCC the same day . Do you need to get  PCCs from countries other than India? 

I had to wait a good 45 days to get my pcc from Japan. It does state that we need to provide the pcc from every country the beneficiary has lived for more than 6 months after turning 16. 

 Few of the interview reviews  do mention it, that the CO asked for the non indian pcc too during the interviewing process. 

6 minutes ago, jangrace said:

Thanks stiggy.I see that the entire month of July has opened up for the Mumbai VAC. However, when I continue onto the consular appointment page, nothing is available :(. Guess I'm gonna have to wait a day or two and check again

I just checked again. If you choose a data OFC date thats before July 27th, you can still see the open slot for 27th when you go to the next page for Consular interview.  But yeah, no other dates are avaialble

20 hours ago, jangrace said:

Hi all

 

Just wanted to let everyone else waiting to reschedule know that I'm in the same boat. Keep getting locked out because after selecting an OFC date, there appear to be 0 dates available for the consular interview. Luckily, I was able to snag dates the first time I logged in, but they're a month apart. OFC on Aug 3, consular on Sep 7. Really hoping I am able to reschedule both back-to-back in Aug.  Also, never received a packet from the Mumbai embassy, but went ahead and completed the DS-160 and booked a medical appointment.

 

I wonder if it's going to be a problem that I have booked my medical exam in late July? I hear it's valid for 6 months, but will it affect my changes at the interview?

There are 3 slots available for July 27th right now

2 minutes ago, Amit&Julie said:

Sorry, I don't intend to be mean or discouraging or anything, just trying to tease out the facts. These are the kind of things that might be going through the CO's head and they might ask you about. 

 

I think it's reasonable to pursue a K1 for the purpose of being together sooner, and I think the COs are human enough to understand that motive, too.  

 

Side note: these days, getting a K1 isn't that much quicker than a CR1, and you have more hoops to jump through afterward. K1 is ultimately longer, more expensive, and more restrictive for the foreign citizen. And from the CO's perspective, the K1 has a higher risk of being abused than the CR1, so they have good reason to ask why people want to go that way.

 

Hope this helps. I recommend filling in your timeline and reading through the consulate reviews to see what questions are typically asked in Mumbai. 

Thanks for the reply.... I did look into the consulate reviews specific for Mumbai and this was one question that kept coming up. I'll just have to search a lot more before my interview. 

I'll fill my timeline asap.