Kiki&me

Has anyone been able to accompany their spouse for the interview? Do they let you inside the consulate with the person being interviewed? Please let me know if anyone has had that experience and how you did it. Thanks!

this is optional right?

someone told me for K3 visa you have to go to India?

I believe this is optional. I have not seen any documentation where it says you have to accompany your spouse for the K3.

Has anyone been able to accompany their spouse for the interview? Do they let you inside the consulate with the person being interviewed? Please let me know if anyone has had that experience and how you did it. Thanks!

Paying the CR-1 fees will not interfere with the K-3 process.

You can interview for the K-3 and then wait a bit for CR-1 case to reach the consulate and then interview for the CR-1.

K-3 was originally intended for this, to allow the foreign spouse the option to travel to USA and wait for the immigrant visa case to complete, and then return home to interview for the immigrant visa.

Thanks. But at a later stage if I change my mind to pursue AOS can I abandon consular processing or will paying the fee bills lock me in?

My I-130 and K3 were both approved on the same day and are now processing in parallel. My wife just got her K3 interview appointment date from the consulate. Now my lawyer just received the AOS and IV fee bills for her CR1. I would prefer not to give up my K3 option. Just tired of waiting. But I would like to pursue the CR1 if we can get that case completed in time and forwarded to the embassy before her K3 appointment. So if we pay the fee bills and keep pursuing the CR1 will that affect our K3 process? I certainly don't want my K3 to stall. Please advise.

My lawyer just received the fee bills and send those over to me. They do not have an IIN number or instructions on them so I called the NVC and they said I cannot pay these online. She said this system was not available any more. Does anyone know about this?

Hi all:

My wife is currently with me in Singapore. Her folks are trying to get her PCC from the local passport office? Does she need to bring my wife's original passport for this? Or would a certified copy of the passport work?

I believe they will need to submit the original passport which they return in a few days with the PCC. They stamp your passport along with the PCC they give you. At least that's what they did for my wife. You should call them to find out before you do anything. I don't have their number but I know they have a website.

FYI.....the lines at the counter (at least in Mumbai) are looong so get there early and make sure you check the timings before you go. Submission is in the mornings and collection is in the evenings. However, the process it self is quite painless as they take just a few days and you have your PCC. The other PCC you need is an entirely different matter.

My wife submitted Packet 3 at the consulate in person but they did not ask for any passport photos. My wife forgot to ask them as well if they needed those. I believe 2 photos needed to be attached with DS 230 Part 1. They took the Applicant Readiness Statement, DS 230 Part I and a copyof her passport. The lady at the consulate then informed her to wait for the Appointment Letter by mail. So now, should I ask her to go back and offer them the photos, or will that be settled if we submit extra photos with Packet 4? We got a little tense when we realized this mistake. Please advise.

My wife submitted Packet 3 at the consulate in person but they did not ask for any passport photos. My wife forgot to ask them as well if they needed those. I believe photos needed to be attached with DS 230 Part 1. They took the Applicant Readiness Statement, DS 230 Part I and a copyof her passport. The lady then informed her to wait for the Appointment Letter by mail. So now, should I ask her to go back and offer them the photos, or will that be settled if we submit extra photos with Packet 4? We got a little tense when we realized this mistake. Please advise.

So I call up the DOS today and they tell me the consulate has already sent Packet 3 to my wife on May 8th. But we still haven't received it So I sent the consulate in Mumbai an e-mail asking them about it. What do you guys think? Should I just have my wife go to the consulate with completed Packet 3 forms that we downloaded from the internet? How does the DOS know this?

Don't know the answer to this but do let us know when you find out. By the way, did the passport office take the original passport from your wife when she applied for the PCC (returning it later with the PCC)?

PCC form Passport office should be easy .... besides the long line

PCC form District Police Station ... i don't know how long it takes ........ it could be long ....

NVC says if you got your passport 6 months prior to the interview .. you only need PCC form the Pass Office ....

my question is ... the 6 mon rule is for brand new passport ??

( i mean i never had a passport in my life and i got one 1 month ago) Vs ( my passport expired and i replaced it i month ago)

I would think it means for both but am not sure. It all depends on whether the passport office does a new PCC at the time of renewal of passports. I guess you could ask the passport office to find out instead of trying to ask NVC or the consulate which may be harder to contact.

The automated system says my AOS and IV fee bills were generated about 10 days ago (8 business days) and sent to my lawyer. Lawyer says they still haven't received it. Does it take this long? I am scared my lawyer is just being lazy and they are sitting in his mailbox.

Tell me about it....the PCC counter in the passport office sent my wife back asking for more proof of residence even though she showed them her existing passport, ration card, drivers license and utility bills They wanted her to produce either a voter id card or a letter from her housing society saying that she lived there....I have never heard that before...and all this after standing in line for about 30 minutes...

Do we have to apply at two different places to get two separate PCC's - the passport office and the CID offices in Crawford Market or is there one place where we can apply for both? How long do they usually take to get? Passport is older than 6 months. Anyone with experience in Mumbai, please let me know.

Thanks!

How long does it generally take to receive Packet 3 in Mumbai? Its only been about 10 days since NVC sent it out to the consulate but we are getting so impatient

Hello friends,

I need a more information regarding packet 3 for K-3 visa. Do I need DS 156 form or DS156K????? What’s the best way to speed up our case? We’ll wait for packet 3 or we’ll go to embassy in person to receive packet 3? What we’ll do? Anybody whose case goes through Mumbai embassy plz helps us or anybody who knows about that plz replies us. Thanks in advance plz reply as soon as possible.

Thanks!!!!

Hi Rahul, same boat here. My case left the NVC for the embassy on May 6. I think you need the DS156 as the DS 156-K may be for a K1 visa. Don't think you can go to the consulate to collect your packet 3 as it is mailed to you. Let me know if you receive your Packet 3 and I will do the same. That way we will know if one of us doesn't get it soon that something is wrong.

Cheers

If my CR1 case is completed at NVC and sent to the embassy before I have my K3 interview, can I ask them to convert my K3 interview to a CR1 interview? Just wondering if anyone has gone through this kind of a situation before.

If your I-130 case file arrives at the Consulate before the K3 interview takes place, you may request the CR1 interview. Make sure you have the vaccinations required for CF1 that are not required for K3.

Thanks pushbrk, you are the boss!

If my CR1 case is completed at NVC and sent to the embassy before I have my K3 interview, can I ask them to convert my K3 interview to a CR1 interview? Just wondering if anyone has gone through this kind of a situation before.

How do you know if your AOS bill and/or IV bill has been generated? Do you need to speak to an operator (they didn't tell me anything) or does the automated line tell you? My message is still "...please wait 4 to 6 weeks for your LAWYER to receive info..." I used a lawyer to file and so it looks like I get to skip the DS-3032 step (according to my lawyer and the NVC operator).

My wife will be having her K3 interview soon hopefully. Does she need to present original tax returns of the sponsor (me) at the interview?

A quick update for anyone in the same boat as me. NVC assigned a case number to both the K3 and the CR1 applications. Looks like they are both processing in parallel. So far so good! See my timeline below.

I think the USCIS is the culprit here......they don't leave you that easily from their icy grip......got NOA2 7 days ago and it still hasn't reached the NVC......probably still sitting in the USCIS mail room....its like a bad girlfriend that just won't get the message and go away...lol

Hi, NVC will be assigning me case number soon for my approved K3 NOA2. What is in "Packet 3" which the consulate sends out? Would like to be prepared for a quick turnaround once it comes. I looked up many sites and found information on Packet 4 but not Packet 3. Would be even better if anyone who went through this with the Mumbai consulate or any consulate in India could guide me. Thanks!

Hi, my I-130 and I-129F both got approved together. Can I choose to pursue both paths simultaneously? Do I need to inform USCIS or NVC that I intend to do that? My attorney thinks that it could be done but has never done it before herself. I have read cases on this forum where people did do this. Please post if you have had such an experience.

Just got my NOA2!!!

It was really eerie but good......so last night I am sitting on my computer checking my case status on USCIS.gov as usual, moping around, feeling blue, cursing my luck, and then at 10:30pm I suddenly get an e-mail from USCIS saying my I-130 is approved! I look at my case status and it shows approval notice sent out. So I'm sitting there stunned and then "blink" I get another e-mail saying my I-129F also just got approved! I go back to my case status and there it is....just updated and showing as approved ...at 10:45pm at night!!! Respect.

Anyway, I called my wife and we did a little dance - her out there and me out here So, can anyone tell me (and I know there has been a lot of debate about this but little clarity) which process is going to happen next at NVC? Is it the K3 or the I-130? Do I get to pick? Which one is faster (Mumbai consulate)? I read the forum for about 4 hours last night trying to figue this out but couldn't. I have a lawyer so they will give me some input too but not before next week.

Hang in there folks....your approval is just around the corner.....!!! See my timelline below.