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| Mumbai, India |  Review on February 17, 2019: |
MJgc
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
My interview was Feb at the Mumbai embassy. Will call out key bits of my experience below in case it helps anyone applying.
MEDICAL: CHENNAI
I did my medical a month in advance in Chennai at Apollo. It took quite a bit of time so I would definitely not schedule anything before or after just as a precaution. (I had originally scheduled my VAC biometrics appointment in Chennai, but realized I wouldn’t make it on time and rescheduled). They will give you an appointment time of 8:00AM on the phone, but request them to change it to 9:45 or 10:00AM. Most doctors only come in around that time or later so you’ll just be waiting if you come too early. I finished my appointment at 1:00PM that day, and returned the next day at 4:30pm to pick up the sealed packet.
BIOMETRICS VAC: MUMBAI
I scheduled this two days before my consulate appt. Took 10-15 minutes. I took my required documents (passport, DS260, 2 passport size photos, NVC interview letter, VAC appt letter) and you go through a couple of people who check your documents. The lines are very organized and moves quickly. They take your picture, fingerprints, stamp your DS 260 and put a sticker on your passport.
INTERVIEW APPT: MUMBAI
I had at 7:30AM appointment, and got there at 7:00AM. My husband came with me and they let him in with his US passport. I had some irrational fears about the type of folder I could carry because the interview letter has some vague instructions - “Does It have to be transparent plastic!!? Mine is opaque! The instructions said no briefcases, but my folder has a little handle and could look like a briefcase!â€, but it was just fine!! Just don’t carry any purses or handbags with you – no phones, no earphones etc. Just take your file folder (mine was an expanding folder with compartments). You then go through security like in an airport and through an outdoor area into a large room with 19 counters. There are some Indian officers walking around there who are actually very nice, helpful and respectful.
You stand in line and are asked to organize your papers in order:
Passport
Stamped DS260
interview letter
Birth certificate, copy of Birth cert
Marriage cert, copy of marriage cert
PCC
Medical
You go up to a counter two times. First for document verification and then again for the actual interview with the American officer. It all happens in the same room in one of the 19 counters. When they first called my token number (it flashes on a screen) for document verification, the officer took all my docs and my passport and asked me some questions about how long my husband and I had been together, the age difference (2 years), what my wedding date was, etc. Honestly, I thought that I’d only get asked questions the second time I would be called up for the interview but they even asked me these questions during document verification. All good – I answered honestly and went back to the waiting area and sat.
Then my token was called again for the interview with the American officer. I went by myself but my husband was sitting in the waiting chairs right behind me.
- Who is calling you
- When is the last time you saw him
- Describe the exact timeline of your relationship
- How did he propose – What was the exact date of the proposal
- Tell me about the religious ceremony you had
- Where does he live now
(Since he is living with me here because we didn’t want to be apart while my green card is being processed, I was asked some additional questions on his ties to the US, even though he’s a US citizen)
- What is his job
- Does he have a home in the US?
- What are his plans to live a life there (he pressed me on this question quite a bit even though I gave him the answers. I then waved my husband up from the waiting area to answer himself)
Finally the magic words – approved!
The process has changed for some and they no longer give you a sealed packed to give to immigration officials when you are entering the US. And You have to pay some immigration fee online before you enter the US.
All completed, I had chosen premium processing for Rs500, and my passport was mailed back to me in Bangalore and arrived just 2 days after my interview was done (It beat me home!).
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #25609