CP Interview Experience

[June04]

Kp14,
Where did you make 45$ draft ? Do we need to do this from US ?
if yes, what is the specification ?

Can we do this in India ? From which Bank ?
june04

[Very_Hopeful]

KP14,

Congrats. What is this $45 draft?

[Nkelkar]

$45 is the visa issuance fee.
The fee is paid by a demand Draft drawn in favor of the American Consulate mumbai. Get the draft from any nationalized bank in Mumbai. The conversion rate used in $1 = Rs 42

[kp14]

June04/et all,

45$ is the additional fees ( in addtion to 335$ paid to NVC) for Visa Issuance. NKELKAR has it right for description why this is needed.

I took it from State Bank of India ( Rs 1890 per head DD) in favor of .....

Also dont forget to write your ( Passport #, NVC Case # and Name for each applicant on each draft)

MY POE Experience:

Landed at JFK and was asked to go to the Permanent Resident's/Citizens Queue. The officer there opened the sealed envelopes and checked the papers and our passports and stamped the passport and send us with the passport and paperwork to Secondary Inspector.( said cogratulations and welcome home)

At the secondary officers desk there were a lot of folks sitting in the sitting area. He asked us to keep our passports and papers and asked us to sit down with the folks there. Thankfully we were called in 2 min and asked to sign and only give the right index finger finger prints and told CONGRATS, YOU WILL GET YOUR CARD IN THE MAIL SOON. ( Surprising that no 10 finger prints were taken and neither a picture taken).

Also the XRAY reports taken in Mumbai were not taken anywhere.

KP

[Nkelkar]

Hello All,
Heres my experience on the CP

Flew to India on June 12th (Interview Date June 26th) Since you have to submit documents to VFS 7 working days prior to Interview.

Flew Virgin Atlantic ti Mumbai and went straight to VFS from the Airport. They are open from 8.00am - 12.00 and 1.00pm - 3.00pm

Documents Submited to VFS
- Copy of the first, second, last page of the current passport, copy of all us visa's in the current passport.
There is no need for old passports and copies of all pages.
- Original birth certificate and one copy
- Appointment letter and one copy (its one copy per person, so if you are with a wife then you will need 2 copies)

They gave me a receipt and put a bar code on the back of my passport.

Consulate Experience
- Arrive at the consulate at 7.00am. Did not avail of the VFS stars and stripe lounge, there is no need to. Make sure you carry everything in plastic bags, no cell phones, pda's balckberry;'s laptops, briefcases etc.. Umbrella is OK.
- Stand in the Line, no need to worry how long the line is.
- At 7.10am they will call all immigrant visa applicants to the front and you go thru security (Separate lines for men and women)
- They give you a wodden stick which you have to return on the way out.
- Was asked to sit on the right side.
- Name was called promptly at 7.30am
- Indain officer asked for thr letter from employer, asked my status (Single or married) and for the Medical (I had mine done at lilavati. Very efficient. I had already done my vaccinations, sdo I carried those reports and did not have to repeat them)
- Then I sat for the next 4.5 hrs
- Finally I was called at window 16 at noon.
- Asked to take oath
- Basic questions
- Who is the sponsorer
- When did you start working for them
- Are you in India on company work
- Do you intend to continue working for the sponsoring company
Then they asked me to sign the DS-230 and a form stating that I will work for the primary sponsorer when I return to the US

- Then the officer told me that she wa keeping my case pending as she needs a letter from my employer stating that I still have a job. Pointed out to her that I did submit the letter in the morning. She shuffled the papers and found it stapled under the copy of my birth certificate.

- No problem, you are all set, you can pick up your passport later. Donot forget to carry the X-ray with you when you go to the US (The consulate did not ask for the x-ray)

- It took 3 days to get my passport back. Interview was on Tuesday and I got the passport back on Friday evening. Those were the most stressful days I have had in a long time. Kept wondering what could have gone wrong...
But everythig was fine

POE Newark.
Waited for 2.5 hrs. There were only 2 officers and they decided that they will process immigarnt visa's last. There was one other guy with me. We were the last ones left in the secondary inspection area.

The actual process took only a few minutes. Sign the form, fingerprint of the right index finger. Who is the sponsorer.

They asked me extar questions as I have a private pilots licence.
When did you start flying ? Why did you want to take flying lessons. When was the last time you flew (as a pilot).
Thats it.

NOw just have to wait for the Card to show up in the mail.

I was told that I can travel on the stamp in my passport till I get the card, then I have to start using my card.

[mramnag]

Had successful entry into US ( Detroit) this afternoon.

Landed June 2nd in Chennai ( palm grove) and done Lab test in lister and picked up reports in the evening and done medical little late on the same day at Padma Nursing home Dr. Vijayalakshmi.

Submitted documents to VFS on Jun 4th . (Document List provided in the earlier threads are good and same for me as well.) Only difference is to submit documents to VFS- Chennai 10 working days ahead of time vs 7 day at Mumbai.

Came back for the interview on 24th. Appointment at 8:00 AM 25th. Didn't wait too long at the consulate ( don't forget to mention Immigrant Visa- Diffrent line even for entry) as I reached consulate only at 7:50 AM.

Security checked.. as usual no cell phones /bags.. no In healers ( had to go back out and through mine- the guy didn't allow me to put in trash inside).

Given the interview letter to Indian officer and waited to be called until 10:45 AM. Interview was done 5 minutes- and it is not too probing- The officer is from Indiana- so had conversation on Michigan weather..

questions to me.

1. Employer name & Size
2. Job function I do.
3. Mine was replacement labor. so questions about him. when did he leave & why ( which I said I didn't know)
4. How long I am with the employer.
5. Took W2 forms for last 3 years.

Questions to my Wife

When were you married
Did you together when I came to US first time.

Questions to my son-6 year old- Just for fun

What's your name and who are we to him.

Mentioned that Passports & packets will be sent to my mailing address with in 10 days.

Went to collect the passport the same evening at VFS. It was not issued. So I left Chennai same day. It took whole week to get them in Rajamundry on Saturday. Found in the Passport that Visa wasn't stamped / packet wasn't prepared until 27th 3:30PM. This tells me not to go to VFS / wait to get the passport unless you are local to Chennai.( I should have got them only on 28th if I had stayed). Received 3 individual packets on 30th in Rajahmundry.

POe- Detroit
Came this afternoon - July 7th. Went in the regular visitor line and passports were checked by one CBP officer and directed us to different counter. It was simple, She stamped our passports & took signature and Right hand index finger print. Welcome to United states...That is all..

Thanks for all the help on this board and good luck for the rest of the guys...

[overWait]

hi mramnag...congratulations...enjoy your freedom...

as you said that visa was not stampped on your passport...so did you go to channai consulate get it stampped...and can you throw more light on the three packets...what are these three packets....i thought you get only one sealed packet that we have to surrender at POE...

Had successful entry into US ( Detroit) this afternoon.

Landed June 2nd in Chennai ( palm grove) and done Lab test in lister and picked up reports in the evening and done medical little late on the same day at Padma Nursing home Dr. Vijayalakshmi.

Submitted documents to VFS on Jun 4th . (Document List provided in the earlier threads are good and same for me as well.) Only difference is to submit documents to VFS- Chennai 10 working days ahead of time vs 7 day at Mumbai.

Came back for the interview on 24th. Appointment at 8:00 AM 25th. Didn't wait too long at the consulate ( don't forget to mention Immigrant Visa- Diffrent line even for entry) as I reached consulate only at 7:50 AM.

Security checked.. as usual no cell phones /bags.. no In healers ( had to go back out and through mine- the guy didn't allow me to put in trash inside).

Given the interview letter to Indian officer and waited to be called until 10:45 AM. Interview was done 5 minutes- and it is not too probing- The officer is from Indiana- so had conversation on Michigan weather..

questions to me.

1. Employer name & Size
2. Job function I do.
3. Mine was replacement labor. so questions about him. when did he leave & why ( which I said I didn't know)
4. How long I am with the employer.
5. Took W2 forms for last 3 years.

Questions to my Wife

When were you married
Did you together when I came to US first time.

Questions to my son-6 year old- Just for fun

What's your name and who are we to him.

Mentioned that Passports & packets will be sent to my mailing address with in 10 days.

Went to collect the passport the same evening at VFS. It was not issued. So I left Chennai same day. It took whole week to get them in Rajamundry on Saturday. Found in the Passport that Visa wasn't stamped / packet wasn't prepared until 27th 3:30PM. This tells me not to go to VFS / wait to get the passport unless you are local to Chennai.( I should have got them only on 28th if I had stayed). Received 3 individual packets on 30th in Rajahmundry.

POe- Detroit
Came this afternoon - July 7th. Went in the regular visitor line and passports were checked by one CBP officer and directed us to different counter. It was simple, She stamped our passports & took signature and Right hand index finger print. Welcome to United states...That is all..

Thanks for all the help on this board and good luck for the rest of the guys...

[Nkelkar]

He Probably got one packet for each applicant (himself, wife and son).
Also I belive what he is saying that visa was not stamped till the 27th. (So it wasn't stamped on the date of his interview).

I had the same. My interview was on 26th june and visa stamp was 29th June 9.52am. Since I was local to mumbai I just went to the VFS every day and checked if the passport was ready.

Point to note here is that dont plan on flying back right after the interview.
If you are local to mumbai then give 3-4 days to get passport back, If not local then give atleast a week.

[overWait]

thanks NKelkar for the clarification and sharing your experience. It makes more sense now...

[EB1_2007]

Nkelkar,

Did you have to go through the FBI namecheck process?

Thanks!

[Nkelkar]

My application had already cleared name check. Mumbai Consulate had my application for 2 yrs

[Hanuman55]

We had our interviews on 11th and we are awaiting our passports to arrive (EB3 category PD Jul 2003). Our petition was in Chennai for a long time and I am sure they are glad to get rid of their probably oldest EB petition!

When we arrived at the gates, we saw a huge queue. The guards understood that we were for greencard and they let us get in out of turn. We did not have the appt letter, just the email from the consulate asking us to download the Packet 4 instructions from the web. With that they checked with the IV section and I was allowed in first and then a permission slip was issued for my family to join, all in a matter of 15mins.

Besides the Documents we had submitted at VFS, I handed in the medicals, 3 recent paystubs, IT return of 2006 and Affid of Supporrt. They asked for family photo I did not have one and they did not insist, as we had several H1/H4s togother. They took the latest H1/H4/F1 approvals. After nearly 3 hours we were asked to swear that everything in the application submitted was true. After that we were asked to go home or wherever we were staying and wait for the stamped passports to arrive over the next few days! We were done!

I know this is unbelievable, but now I feel asking us anything would have been a waste of time, even if only a few minutes, considering the enormous workload the Consulate handles. The employment and salary were supported by the IT return and the salary stubs. My experience was supported by documents. My previous employments with the company was reflected in the several H1s. So!

The tons of IT returns I had carried (for nearly a decade), the tons of H1 and H4 I had carried, the bank statements, the mutual funds statements, oh so many of those papers, school papers of kids, and the whole thing was so over in just those few moments, all we could do was congratulate each other. So much we had missed for just this and so much was at stake, at least in terms of kids education etc! My child missed inclusion in the State Scholar List, we were shut out of so many internships, scholarships, options. I am not complaining, in India I would have more to complain....

Also, most of the EB applicants in Chennai seemed to be Nurses, so you wont find many postings here of experiences. Also one guy who did go in prevous day was so tight lipped when we talked to him, my family thought he was pretty tense given the visa numbers fiasco. All we could get out of him was his case was fine. This was before his interview. Another guy walked in to the Mt Road Traffic like a Superman, he was so upset, we could not make out what went wrong. Somebody pulled him out of the rushing traffic before he could get hurt.

Dr Vijayalakshmi had a list of nearly 1600 (applicants & derivatives) names who would require medicals. If you use this number with the interview schedule numbers (EB and family), that gives you fair idea of how much of visa numbers each application take away! And Chennai is just one of the visa issuing consulates.

If any of you need details about CSPA, I would be happy to share my limited knowledge, which is far better than the fee sucking form filling attorneys' can boast of, pl post yr questions and I will be glad to share.

Best Wishes,

H

PS Passports reached us on 18th July & back in US 25th (POE JFK - Nothing much to write abt @JFK)

[sudiptabhaskar]

Precious and timely post. Thanks a lot. I know what you saying.. I am on the same boat.. well almost.. waiting for my GC for about 10 years now putting life on hold..

Congrats.. hope mine goes that smooth.. but I guess it probably won't as my employer changed it's name after my I140 was approved and although I am bringing the affidavit with me I am not sure if they would grant me a visa..
but either way... thanks for this post..

Sudipta

[baker227]

Congrats Hanuman55!
Please do let us know when you get your passports stamped?

[vmanish]

I am little concerned with the process went through for Hanuman. I am not trying to scare beleive me, but it seemed like just document verification only and not an interview. Which is what my attorney was mentioning that if they don't have visa number, then they will perform doc verif. and will issue visa number only when it will be available.

I pray to god this is not true and Hanuman you, including all of us get the visa stamp.

Did they tell anything after doc collection about visa stamping etc or congrats you are PR now or did you ask if your PP will get stamped once you get it.

Wish all good luck.

-vmn

[sudiptabhaskar]

For me the name change took place after they sent my file to the Mumbai consulate and I didn't find anything on the net telling us what to do in this case. I am leaving it up to my luck and if they don't give me the visa then I will call it a day after 10 years of struggle.

But nonetheless I will post up my experience for sure for future reference.

[DalRanger]

Hello All,
Finally I had my interview @ Chennai consulate today. The whole interview process was seamless and very smooth.

We have been given VIP treatment all along. If you are applying for IV then you don't have to stand in any line, you can walk all the way to the counter without any issues. One VFS attendant had escorted us all the way from the entrance to the counter.

An agent at the Counter had gathered the following documents from us.
1. DS230 I & II. asked us to sign the 230 II in front of her
2. Passport
3. Birth Certificates
4. Marriage Certificate with marriage photos only.
5. Copies of W2 forms for the last 3 yrs
6. Copies of 1040 for the last 3 yrs
7. Most recent Pay stubs, only 3
8. Original H1 approval notice.
9. DD's for the Visa issuance fee
10. Employment letter

Gave us a token number and asked us to have a seat.

After an hour a consular had called us. We greeted her, she took oath, fingerprints and then...
Consular: When did you arrive?
We : On XXXX Day
Consular: Did you just come for the status adjustment
We : Yes
Now she asked my wife the following questions:
When did you get married?
Were you in US since you got married?
What do you do?

Now she asked me the following questions:
When are you planning to go back to US?
Are you going to spend the time here with your family?
What do you do? Describe your work?
How long have you been in US?
Did you study in US?
Who is your employer?
How long have you been with your employer?

All along the consular was very friendly and been cracking jokes with us.

She mentioned that she was very much impressed with the attention to detail that I presented in preparing the documentation.

Finally she said that our documents are in proper order and good, we should be expecting our passports within a week through VFS. You are done and can go home and enjoy. Good Luck!!

Thanks guys, for all the information and support. Its been a crazy week for me to go through the documents and get through this.

Well, Alls well that ends well.

Regards,
-DR.

[ramki142]

Has any one got immigration interview letter for September 2007 and packer 4
Please let me know
Ramki

[sudiptabhaskar]

Update:

It wasn’t an issue in my case.. they didn’t ask me anything.. but for another guy from my company whose interview was scheduled a day before mine was asked questions but after he told them with documents that it was a mere name (brand name) change and nothing else they didn’t ask him anything else.

Thanks

Sudipta