PGM

its advisable that if you are doing this in India, goto one of the local travel agents and ask them to refer you to someone who has experience with doing this kind of immigration work.

they'll type up everything, send your documents, reserve your tickets, etc. etc. etc. with out any guess work for nominal 1-3000 rs.

Thanks, but does anyone know the answer to my question?

No, It's not necessary. They gave the checklist back to my husband at the embassy window when he tried to submit it...

You just need to sign & return the last page of the checklist (Applicant Statement).

Email them. They have their email address posted on their website to contact them.

In the subject line, indicate "Appointment Letter."

Some folks on VJ have had positive response through this technique. :-)

I found my case status by calling Dept of State @ 202-663-1225. Call them & give them your case #. Call them like 2-3 business days after your Packet 3 is physically received at embassy.

If this phone # doesn't work, Please let me know! If you know they're received your Packet 3 & they don't have your status updated as received P3 after 2 weeks resubmit the packet. It doesn't take more than 1 week for them to process P3. We've experienced this first hand. :-) They actually lost our filing & we ended up delaying our process by over 1 month.

DOS saying my packet 4 has been sent to me on 6th august but i have not yet received it ;now what to do ??? can you tell me from where i should personally go and collect it???

You can collect it at the consulate window, but you can also download everything from their website. I think I had posted the link ?? You don't need to go there physically.

I found my case status by calling Dept of State @ 202-663-1225. Call them & give them your case #. Call them like 2-3 business days after your Packet 3 is physically received at embassy.

If this phone # doesn't work, Please let me know! If you know they're received your Packet 3 & they don't have your status updated as received P3 after 2 weeks resubmit the packet. It doesn't take more than 1 week for them to process P3. We've experienced this first hand. :-) They actually lost our filing & we ended up delaying our process by over 1 month.

Don't wait for Packet 4 to come in the mail. Just go on Mumbai Consulate Website, Get the Packet 4 Instructions, & Begin working on it... We made the mistake of waiting for it & it never came.

Check out this link:

http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/ivforms.html

The faster you send it back, the faster you'll receive your Interview date. I'm not sure what embassy you're going with, but that was surely the case with Mumbai Office.

The Mumbai Consulate website is a great resource!

Browse through the Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Visa sections... Very beneficial.

http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/

HI AvoidDanoid,

We filed shortly after we moved & we didn't submit any change of address forms & everything went fine. The change of address become important when your AOS is pending, but submitting after the move is fine.

Our IO just documented that we had moved since I-130 had been filed.

Hope this helps!

Did you recently have an interview?

We were approved at our interview & received this email a few hrs later.

congratulations....i have a question though...i was never sent a ref for i 693(i had send them a copy of my ds 3925 with my aos forms)so when i went for the aos interview the officer asked me to get the I693 and mail it to them and they would send me my decision by mail.well so far so good....but i am really confused about the tubesculosis or ppd test...before i came to america i already had the x ray done in my country and i still have the report with me because the embassy said they didnt want it.anyhow i have all my shots also but i cant get an appointment with the doc for three weeks...so my question is can i avoid the ppd test and just get my transcribs done by another surgeon.

please help.

Have you checked with other civil surgeons in your area to see if they can get you in sooner? Check the Civil Surgeon Locator on USCIS.gov to find other doctors.... Maybe they can get you in sooner if you don't want to wait.

We had a similar situation & we found that Civil Surgeons are a real pain to deal with.... We called quite a few doctors in our area & all of them refused to give us ONLY what we needed. They told us that either you have to do the whole medical or we can't help you. We needed them to simply give us the 1 or 2 shots we were missing and transfer the remaining info. from DS 3025 to I-693. They all refused, so we were forced to take the whole medical over again. But, we also didn't want this issue to delay our GC, so it was our choice to take the full medical.

Many folks have simply gone to the interview with just a DS-3025 received from their country & the officer doesn't ask for anything else & doesn't inquire too much further. I have read many posts of this nature.

I can also tell you that our officer didn't even look at our DS-3025. She just asked us if we thought we missed any shots & she didn't care to dig deeper in the medical issue, but my husband willingly handed her our updated medical record because we spent so much money for it. She didn't even look at the updated medical. She simply filed it with all of our other paperwork.

I hope I've answered your question....

Thanks all for your wishes!!

For all of you who have interviews coming up soon, GOOD LUCK! I'm sure you'll be fine. Please let me know if there are questions I can answer. Be glad to help!

I just wanted to share my experience with everyone. We had our interview in Orlando, FL yesterday. We were approved & received an email at 5pm stating, "Card Production Ordered."

Our interview was at 7:30am & we got there @ 7:00am. We were allowed in the building @ 7:15am and went through the security check. We were instructed to go to the window in the waiting area and submit our interview letter there. We did exactly that & waited for about 1/2 hour before the immigration officer called out our name. Once seated in her office, we were instructed to take an oath.

She began going through our case file and casually chatting, not too overtly friendly. She asked us questions directly from the I-130 application. The questions were about our names, address change, birth date & place, etc. The only personal question asked was How did we meet? We had a disagreement with a technicality in our case. This scared us like our process is going to get jeopardized, but she said she would like to complete the interview before she reached a decision about the discussed technicality. Then she asked my husband questions like if he belonged to illegal organizations, or lied on anything, etc. Then she asked us for our proofs of relationship and/or pics. We showed her 2 albums of pics and she loved our wedding pics. Then she asked for other proofs so we gave her bills, credit card copies, home purchase together, car purchase together, etc. She never looked at them. She simply filed them. Then she typed something in the computer and turned to us & said, "I am going to approve your case. You will not receive a stamp today because the card processing has sped up & you should be receiving the card within 2 weeks." We were thrilled. She never even discussed our earlier disagreement again. She only took my husband's I-94 card.

The interview was nothing like we imagined. We thought we were going there to prove our relationship/marriage. But It turned out to be a meeting to verify that all information submitted on our I-130 & I-485 applications was infact accurate. It seemed as though her mind had already been made up before we even got to her office.

Overall, we had an OK experience. It was stressful to a certain degree, but with an excellent outcome. We did a lot of preparation & didn't need even half of it!! She did advise us that if we ever had a concern about immigration issues & weren't sure about anything legal or procedural, to not call the 1-800 line, but always schedule an InfoPass appt. at the local office for EXACT answers....

Please let me know if anyone has questions or concerns about your upcoming interview! Good Luck all! This website has an excellent group of folks who are always willing to help each other. Thanks Everyone for all your posts!

Thanks for your responses!

They are very helpful.....

HI, I have read a few things on this forum & I'm extremely confused....

My husband came to USA w/ his DS3025. That is what we submitted with our AOS package. Do we need I-693A for the interview? I have read many folks saying that got approved w/o submitting an I-693A. We never received any RFEs for anything.

We only have a few days & I'm extremely worried that we'll get denied because we don't have I-693A. Is a DS3025 sufficient? It was filled out by a US Consulate approved doctor in India.

Does anyone have feedback?

Thank You all so much for your response!

It surely makes me feel better....

Thanks everyone!!

Thanks everyone for providing such wonderful information on these forums!!

My husband's AOS Interview is scheduled on 07/07/09.

In our Interview Letter, they are requiring the Petitioner's (my) birth certificate. I lost my birth certificate many yrs ago & would have to travel back to India to get one...

I received my citizenship in 2003, but my Birth certificate was not required at the time w/ my application. What do I do? Will my husband be denied his Permenant Residency if I can't provide a Birth Certificate?

Is there something else I can provide in lieu of the Birth Certificate? Can someone provide a similar experience?

Thanks again...

PGM

HI,

My husband filed his AOS Package in early Jan. & his biometrics appt. was on 01/30/09. We haven't heard anything about our application since then. As I review posts in this forum, I noticed that people who have filed after us are receiving their Interview dates. Should I be concerned? Is this normal?

Does anyone have any feedback? I'm not as familiar with what expect in the AOS process.

Thanks!

Hello Everyone,

Our K3 Visa was approved earlier this week & now I am trying to plan for steps ahead....I have been reading the Adjustment of Status Guide and the AOS Forum for guidance & have noticed some conflicting/confusing information. I'm a bit confused about certain things & have some questions. I would like to submit the I-485, EAD, and Application for Travel together ($1010) at one time. Having said that, My questions are:

1. Do we need to apply for a SSN before we submit AOS package? If not, when do we apply for SSN?

2. Our I-130 was approved with our I-129F & I-129F was transferred to NVC. Is there anything that needs to happen with the I-130 at this stage, or do we just leave that alone and apply for AOS?

3. How long is the I-94 Valid when issued for K-3s?

Thanks in advance everyone! Whatever info. all can provide will be much helpful!

PGM B)

HI anish and lijy,

Certified copies mean that the copies have to be issued from the original issuing agency. In India, even though notaries have more power, notarized copies are still different from certified copies. Certified copies usually bare the seal of the issuing agency, not the usual notary seal. I have read many posts on the Asia:South forum where the NVC has not accepted notarized copies & have sent RFEs for Certified copies.

PGM

HI Shreyans,

Thanks for your wishes!

I wish you the best on June 6th. I'm happy that you were able to successfully get an interview date. I will pray that you get your visa just as quickly.

As for some tips, my husband said that the interview was very simple & the consular officer was very professional, polite, and nice. My advice would be to read up on the embassy reviews where fellow VJers have posted their experiences on the interview date. That is what helped us prepare & get an accurate idea. I would recommend being very prepared with proof of relationship. There were no out of the ordinary demands or occurences. If you have what they've requested on their Packet3/4 lists, you will be all set. Make sure you take some phone logs, emails, and pics with you if you haven't submitted them to the VFS office already. That is what they asked my hubby for.....But they looked at nothing else we submitted. Not even the Affidavit of Support. My hubby had already submitted emails through the Ahmedabaad VFS Office, so they only asked for phone logs & pics. Even the pics, they simply glanced over.

By husband didn't even have to request to pick up passport the same day. They simply gave him a receipt to show for at 5:30pm at the VFS office to pick up Visa the same day.

I feel like we were worried and stressed for no reason at all. Mumbai's experience was surely excellent. I will post my complete experience soon.

Once again, Let me know if you have additional questions/concerns. I will be glad to help!

Good Luck & God Bless Shreyans!

Our Visa was approved May 16th Morning.

Thank You VJers for sharing all the wealth of information, support, & optimism.

I will post all the details once I have a chance. If anyone has questions about anything or if there is any information I can share, please let me know. I will be glad to help!!

Thanks again!!

HI rahul shah,

The best way to speed up your case is to download Packet 3 off the Embassy's website & submit it in person to the Mumbai Embassy. If you live far, you should consider using a courier service to mail the Packet to the Embassy. Before you send the Packet 3 to the embassy, make sure you confirm that they in fact have your case registered with them.

The contents of Packet 3 that needs to be submitted to the Embassy are:

1. DS 230 Application Part I

2. Signed Applicant Statement (Obtainable from Mumbai Website)

3. Photocopy of Passport Pages

4. Passport Sized Photos (I'm not sure about photos, if you need them)

I hope this helps. (You can go to my timeline if you require more info.)

HI Sunny & neetu, I know this is somewhat inconvienient, but have your wife go back to the embassy & talk to them, re-submit if necessary. Stay on top of them. The same thing happened to us. We waited for one month for an interview date, then my husband went back to the Mumbai embassy to investigate & they advised him that they had "lost" P3. They entered it as "received" right in front of him & we received an interview date the next day. But, we lost 1 whole month over their mistake. So stay on top of them. Have you tried emailing them?

HI Sunny & neetu, Have u confirmed with the Dept of State that you, in fact, haven't received an Interview date yet? I have heard that Delhi is fairly prompt in issuing interview dates. What did they tell your wife at the embassy?

HI Kshatriya,

We are so sorry about the 221 G. Stay Strong!!

I will pray that you can receive sound advice/help & resolve this soon.

PGM