Sanjiv Patel

UPDATE:I did call NVC yesterday and was told that the case status changed to complete while they were already doing appointments. She said they do apporintment scheduling in 2nd week of each month for following month (same response as calamitka's post). On pressing hard, I was told that the scheduling started Feb 11 and completed on 15th. This may or may not be true if there is spillover in 3rd week, as one pointed out earlier in this thread. NVC, as usual, will not commit if this case has a chance for April interview, but in my heart I feel that April is most likely scenario. However, as ze22 pointed out, a case completed on Jan 19 is still not included for March! So, one never knows, if this can get into May interview.

vbtbmrt - My case is neither Kx, nor Cx, but in Family First preference.

Indianheart, ze22: Chennai - like Mumbai - is an Appointment Post, for which NVC now schedules the interview date. This change happened recently - Jan 2008. Mumbai consulate had many cases in their hand from previous embassy process which they had to schedule in Feb and March. However, for March, at least for Mumbai, the consulate has scheduled around 700 interviews, where in last year in March they had processed around 1700 interviews, telling me that they have the capacity to do much more. NVC will then fill in the remaining capacity. So, even if Chennai has posted their March interview schedule on their web site, NVC will add more interview slots to March schedule. Best way to find out is to call NVC and speak with a liver person. Unfortunately, NVC is not as proactive as USCIS or even consulates abroad to post the status of the case or to post visa interview schedules. Would it be too much to ask to post NVC scheduled interview dates to their website?

Ales: You can call NVC (in addition to DoS, as suggested by calamitka for Standard Post consulates) or check your consulate website to see if they publish interview dates. At least Mumbai and Chennai seem to be doing so, but that was when consulates were scheduling interview dates, and not NVC. If NVC does not start posting this information on their website, the Appointment Post Consulates will not have anything else to publish, unless they decide to take NVC schedule and publish it in future. The link posted by trailmix (http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3176.html) will give you all information you need to know what needs to be sent to NVC and what if anything needs to be sent to Consulate - depending on whether your consulate is Standard or Appointment post. If I understand this correctly, for a Standard Post consulate, the DoS or consulate does the scheduling and publishes it on their website (at least for Mumbai and Chennai). For Appointment Post consulate, NVC collects everything (except medical exams) and schedules the interviews. However, NVC does not publish the interview schedules on their web site, and hence, you have to call NVC to find out if you are scheduled for interview.

Calamitka: Thanks for posting Vladimir's experience of getting embassy to schedule the appointment earlier than originally scheduled. If I understand his posts correctly, he did not have any earth-shattering reasons, which is normally set as a reason to do so by NVC/consulates: such as a child aging out or a serious medical condition of a family member, etc. I am glad for Vladimir that it happened for him. We can only try to find out if it works. I ask fellow VJ'ers to post their experience (positive or negative) if they try this in a separate thread so we can take comfort in knowing this trick works or was Vladimir's case was an exception rather than rule.

Does anyone have firsthand knowledge (by speaking to NVC personnel) if NVC is done setting visa interview dates for March 2008?

My case is complete as of 2/12/08, but hasn't been forwarded to Mumbai consulate as of today. I am evaluating my chances for a March interview. What are the chances for April interview? Is it possible that interview can be as late as May, if Mumbai consulate/NVC has many cases for Mumbai?

Thanks in advance to all VJ'ers who respond.

Sanjiv Patel

P.S. - Please remove my quotes when responding, to keep this thread succinct.

Does anyone have firsthand knowledge (by speaking to NVC personnel) if NVC is done setting visa interview dates for March 2008?

My case is complete as of 2/12/08, but hasn't been forwarded to Mumbai consulate as of today. I am evaluating my chances for a March interview. What are the chances for April interview? Is it possible that interview can be as late as May, if Mumbai consulate/NVC has many cases for Mumbai?

Thanks in advance to all VJ'ers who respond.

Sanjiv Patel

P.S. - Please remove my quotes when responding, to keep this thread succinct.

J-Boy,

I concur with simple_male. There needs to be a distinction between NVC and consulate communication. All NVC communication will come to the petitioner/Agent (which is recommended choice by NVC) in the USA and once file is transferred to consulate, all future communication for interview will be sent directly to the Applicant. I recommend to chose the petitioner or someone in family proficient in dealing with these matters as the Agent. This will allow reduced turn-around time for each document that will be requested by NVC. It also avoids lost mail that certain countries may be more prone to.

Good Luck.

Sanjiv Patel

waitman,

I concur with ZeeNusah. My case status is complete, and I did not provide any information on assets and proof thereof, as it is optional. Since, it is acceptable to NVC, I hope the consulate will not require anything more than what I had submitted (Tax returns of 3 years and job letter). I do not recollect if I provided pay stubs or W-2s, but I lean more towards not having provided W-2s and pay-stubs. If the AOS forms does not require any information, and other set of information is "optional" I would not bother providing this. However, that's a personal opinion, and obviously there is no harm in providing more than what is needed.

Good Luck.

Regards,

Sanjiv Patel

izreal,

It seems that you are a US Citizen currently living in Russia. Hence, your brother and you are not sharing the same address. In this case, your brother will file I-864 as a co-sponsor. However, if you are temporarily visiting russia and live at the same address as your brother, and have other documents/proof to back you up (e.g., your driving license, address with your bank, your paymment stubs (current or past) before you left for Russia), you may be able to have your brother use I-864A as household-sponsor.

I concur with pushbrk with everything he had to say.

Good Luck.

My case was completed on 2/12/2008, and Authorization for Release of Federal Tax Data was not requested by NVC. I guess, its no longer needed by NVC. Else, it might be specific to some consulate. Those going to Indian consulate for visa need not worry.

My case was completed on 2/12/2008, and Authorization for Release of Federal Tax Data was not requested by NVC. I guess, its no longer needed by NVC. Else, it might be specific to some consulate. Those going to Indian consulate for visa need not worry.

Does anyone know what do different "Attention to" in NVC address stand for? So, far I have come across WC, ACL, DR. Are some to be used in certain situations only?

Also, has anyone noticed the 5+4 format zip code on the envelope that is sent with AOS (Affidavit of Support) and DS-230 forms is not the same as that on the NVC letter with the barcode? The one that has worked for me is: 03801-2909. However, I am not sure if there are different zip codes for different situations (e.g., sending in I-864 vs, DS-230, vs. response to RFE).

In one instance, I had sent the envelope with wrong attention, and in all instances I have avoided use of NVC supplied envelopes either because the zip code on it did not match the one published on NVC's website (03801-2909) or because the content was shipped in USPS Express Mail envelope. I have run into 2 RFEs for things I had already submitted to NVC. Also, reading other people's timeline, I feel that my process has taken longer (5 months from DS-3032 to file complete). (Please bear in mind that my case is in Family 1st preference category, and hence it may have a different timeline than those in IR/CR/K.)

I am not sure if there is any correlation between use of zip-code and "attention to" and the length of time it takes to correctly process and file the documents in proper case file.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated. Eventually, I plan to put together different comments in one easy-to-read thread, which probably deserves to be pinned at that time.

Regards,

Sanjiv Patel

The name in native alphabets is not a signature and hence anyone can write it. If you can't write it yourself, seek assistance from someone who can write it natively. (Think about those illiterates who can't read or write in their own language - someone has to write the name in native alpabets for them. However, signature is a different matter.)

Even though CSPA does not help a child as a derivative beneficiary under the given petition, the immigrating parents can apply for this child once they become legal PR, while retaining the original priority date of the original petition on which the child aged out. This will be beneficial to many.

Here is a link to an article that talks about this:

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,1005-patel.shtm

An excerpt from this article:

". . . where an alien child is a derivative beneficiary under a principal beneficiary of any preference petition, and is determined to be 21 years of age or older and has therefore become ineligible for the benefit of § 203(h)(1), he or she may nonetheless be eligible for retaining the earlier priority date of the original petition that enabled the original principal beneficiary become a lawful permanent resident.

The principal beneficiary may then file a relative petition for the derivative beneficiary who would then fall under the second preference category as an unmarried son or daughter of the principal beneficiary. . ."

Another good source of information on CSPA:

http://www.tancincolaw.com/tancinco_subidx...co2004626105042

Basically, CSPA is applicable to many children since it was passed in 2002, as long as the child was under 21 when petition was filed and is still unmarried. It removes the period between priority date and petition approval date (in some cases, as much as 5 years) from current age of eligible child.

Here are some sources of information on the subject, as well as a CSPA Age Calculator. Hope this helps:

_{Mod note: links removed as old and became inactive. There is still a lot of useful info in the thread as a whole, please do read through it.}

Good Luck.

krisahmiah,

I hate to break the news, but she is not eligible under CSPA. You can read up more here at South Korean US Embassy on calculation of CSPA age: http://seoul.usembassy.gov/child_protection_act2.html

Some important excerpt from this site is below and the one that excludes your sister from getting benefit is highlighted in bold:

Who is eligible for the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)?

The CSPA may apply to any immigrant visa application in cases in which:

1. The immigrant petition was approved on or after 8/16/2002.
2. If the immigrant petition was approved before 8/6/2002:

3. The alien aged out on or after 8/6/2002; or
4. If the alien aged out before 8/6/2002, the alien was refused a visa under 221(g) between 8/6/2001 and 8/5/2002.

5. For immigrant visa preference (family or emplyment-based) applications, the calculated alien's age using the age formula below is under 21.
6. For IR2 immigrant visa applications, age is determined using the age of the child on the date the immigrant petition was filed.

Mohgli,

My case just turned to status = "complete". We were required to send all civics document (birth, marriage, death, police clearance, RPO clearance) in January, and photographs in February. When sending photographs, make sure to write applicant's name and NVC case #.

Good luck.

NVC is known to generate unnecessary RFEs. It creates unnecessary anxiety in the beneficiary and sponsor. Every time they ask for something we rush the item out - second time, thus incurring $16.25 Express Mail charges, and generating more revenues for another semi-government agency!

In my case 3 unncecessary RFEs were generated.

1st time, it was for a DS-230 form (when all applicants forms were turned in at the same time, they seem to think we did not send Part II for one of the applicant). - we ended up re-sending DS-230

2nd time, 1 month down the road, it was for DS-230 for another applicant, which NVC had previously confirmed as having recieved DS-230 for! - I called NVC and resolved the need to mail out another copy.

3rd time, for Passport photos and Police Clearance for 1st applicant! (PCC was received by them 2 weeks earlier for all applicants in one envelope). - Called NVC to clarify and was informed that the case is now complete! I was soooooooo happy to hear that.

Sin-jaz,

You are correct that you have one year from date immigrant visa became available for your parents to file for CSPA benefit. You need to file DS-230 Part I and Part II within this 12 month time frame. Your age does not matter once DS-230 has been filed.

As an example, today if you were 1 month away from turning 21 as per CSPA formula and your father got visa today, but were 3 months away from turning 21 when the visa became first available, you have 12 months from visa priority date becoming current. That means even by CSPA calculation your age may be over 21, but since you complied under CSPA by taking action and filed DS-230 Part I and Part II within the 12 month time, and have remained unmarried, you are eligible to get visa.

Having said that, I would not delay the process on my end to immigrate just because CSPA act allows me to. If possible, immigrate before you turn 21. In traditional (non-CSPA) cases a few years back, I know two separate cases where children who left on the brink of 21st birthday have been sent back from US airports, if they turned 21 during transit or before entering port of entry.

For anyone else reading this post, if you are over 21, CSPA does protect age out by reducing your age by the period of time the application was pending approval. In some cases, this period can be up to 5 years, thus allowing a 24-25 yr old unmarried child to immigrate with their parents under dependent derivative benefit. For immigration purpose, under CSPA act, the child is still 20-21 yr old only.