Successful CP from Chennai - March 28

CPfromIndia

Registered Users (C)
Everybody,
    We had a successful CP today at Chennai. I feel more than anybody else, this forum deserves all the thanks I can give for preparing me for the whole process.
    A brief description : I moved tothe Indian branch of my company in 1999, but the CP process continued. I had a child in India, who was with us today.
    What I observed today :
    - everybody waits in the AC room (thankfully)
    - everybody is made to wait till 8am, then everybody forms a queue to submit the documents. once done, u go to another window to pay the initial drafts. then, you wait for the interviews to start. as you can imagine, this means that the scrutiny of documents can be more stringent as they do it \'offline\'. the first person to be called for interview was at around 9.15 am!
    - the order for the interview was definitely LIFO. This is very unfair to the early birds, but I guess the consulate people are not bothered to turn the list of submissions upside down to be \'fair\' to anybody.
    - we were the 6th emp-based grp to be called (one window just for emp-based), at around 10.20 and were done in 12 minutes. i had followed the order of documents very rigidly, and had been more than generous in providing all needed/unneeded docs (he returned many), so he justasked \'which company\', and even jotted it on the folder that i was in india with the same company that had the GC application. The gentleman was indian, of average height, and very proper in his approach and talk. I had an inquiry about our baby-to-be and he gave precise instructions to follow later.
    - unfortunately, one of the earlier E3 candidates was rejected. he was given his passport back. i was right after him, so could not get to ask him what happened, but he was desperately searching his documents for something. he had not managed to be methodical with his documents, but i am sure that was not the reason. I hope it was just a case of missing document that he can get tomorrow or something. I wonder what happens to his application fee (for 3 people)...
    - there is a \'canteen\' to buy tea, biscuits, cold-drink etc, and these are allowed inside the AC room. there is a toilet that is not dirty. the guards, etc, are pretty friendly and courteous.
    - for all the warnings, i still saw many people trying to get in with briefcases! even i had my cell-phone, but could nip back to my rental car to keep it there.

thats all i can think of now. i am available to answer any questions.

Best of luck to everybody in the pipeline!
 
I-140 not asked at all!

i sorry for the delay in posting, there was a problem here..

I did not have the original I-140 with me, just the copies. But I did not submit these with the rest of the documents, with the idea that I would do so if asked. I noticed that my folder with the interviewer had the same thick bunch of I-140 (and supporting papers). And he never asked for the I-140 (copy or original), so I still have my copy. (As you can imagine, I would not ask him if he wanted the original I-140 ;-)

Btw, The most important reason of delay during an interview seemed to be un-organized papers with the interviewee. There was this lady with a thick folder which had all her papers, but one each in a separate plastic sheet inside - which meant she had to take the docs out one-by-one! No wonder the guy at the counter asked her to go back to her seat and collate all papers first.

And they expect you to take the medical reports out of the envelope from the doctor and put these at the end of the other documents.
 
More details on Chennai CP

Couple of things I did mention earlier :
 - My 3-year old was not needed to undergo Lister at all. No blood test/x-rays. Dunno till what age this waiver holds. Maybe 12? You might call and ask, so you can leave your kid behind if that is convenient.
 - I had got PCC from both the RPO and the police station. The interviewer made it a point to check both of these for me and also wife. So I am guessing that if he would have raised an issue if I had not got the PCC from the Police Station.
    BTW, this I could get only when I submitted an application, a proof of residence document (telephone bill) and a notarized affidavit on a Rs.10/- Stamp paper (saying that I had no criminal case against me in this State). I was told this is the latest procedure prescribed for all Police Stations. But others can tell us if this is true.
  - Since I reside in India, I had included my indian bank and tax details. He simply returned these.
  - Also, I stayed with my cousin, so cannot help anybody out with Hotel details. But yes, the call-taxi works pretty efficiently if you give them notice of around 45 minutes. There are a number of these organizations; some phone numbers (all chennai) : (a) 4372020, only Maruti Omni (b) 5384455, only Ambassadors. But remember, these run on meter, so keeping one waiting for a couple of hours might prove prohibitively costly. If you want them to wait, better would be to engage a private cab, which generally go for slabs of 5 hours for Rs.350 (approx), for non-AC. Autos are convenient, but don\'t shield you from the sun and the dust, nor from the pot-holes on the road.
 
PCC format

Hi boss,
Congrats! I want to know whether the PCC format from police station also same as that from passport office.
Thanks,
Prakash
 
Yes, more or less

The format is almost same, just some change in wordings. It just says \'... lives at ... for ... years and has no case against him in the state of ... for the past 1 year...\'.
As such nothing I could have done, seeing that both RPO and the Police gave the letter in whatever format they had, without any input/suggestion from me.
 
Hi Could you please send me your Contact info,I am also in the same boat,working in hyderbad

HI,
Could you Please send me your contact info,I am in Hyd,I need some more details.
here is my email-address(lakshman_y@yahoo.com)
contact number:91-40-7881285(office)
 
Email bounced back

Email to you bounced back to me.

Maybe you can just give your problem here and I can reply to it. (That way anybody else with a similar answer is also happy)
 
Form I-134 needed?

Hi, mine is a similar case as yours. Did you have to submit an affidavit of support (Form I-134)? The instruction in the appointment letter is a bit confusing about this. I was under the impression that for employment based cases, only the offer letter is needed and is sufficient.

Please let us know what happened in your case.

Thanks.
 
I did submit I-134

I agree that I-134 seems un-needed, but I diligently filled and submitted it. I attached copies of my employment letter, bank and broker statements. But, I did not sign it as it should be signed in the presence of the Consulate Officer; and you know what - I forgot to bring this up, and he never asked for the signatures! So, in effect, my I-134 was as good as useless. So either this is an \'overlook\' by the person at the window, or the document is not needed at all. Take your pick...
 
Document checklist..

Congratulations on getting your GC and thank you very much for your patient replies to the various questions.

One more request (hopefully the last!) that will be helpful to all.

Considering that your interview was just a few days ago, can you please spend a few minutes looking at this document checklist and guiding us whether anything has changed? This checklist is based on the posting (million thanks!) made by a really considerate and helpful CP applicant going by the name Desertboy.

Thanks again.

FOLDER 1
-Passport
-3 Immigration photos (1.5in by 1.5 in. Sign on two copies at the bottom front. Do not sign on the 3rd copy)
-OF-171: Appt letter from Consulate (original letter) This is sent by the Consulate, Packet 4
-OF230 part I(photocopy) & II Visa application (part-II UNSIGNED) This is sent by the Consulate, Pkt 4
-Birth Cert. orig
-Birth Cert. copy
-Employment letter (orig- notarized)
-3 months bank statements
-last 3 years tax returns (1998, 1999, 2000) (Take 2001 as well if you have filed them)
-Medical reports (4 sheets total, no X-rays) (These will be done by an approved doctor prior to attending the interview, more instructions are available in your Pkt4)
-IRS 9003 form
-4 latest pay-stubs

(folder 2 & 3 - similar docs per Folder 1 for spouse/child)

Folder 4 : Primary (H1+I140+LC+Edu)
-Latest H-1 approval notice (my visa in passport had expired)
-originals + supporting docs of all H1, F1, I-20\'s, H4\'s etc.
-copies of Labor cert (AEC), I-140 application, I-140 approval etc.
-originals + copies of work experience certs
-Degree certs, transcripts, marklists + copies

(folder 5 - similar docs per Folder 4 for spouse)
 
I was told that I-134 has to be notarized in US before I leave!!!

So I got it signed in front of a Notary. BTW we do not need I-864 correct?
 
Document List In Order specified for the interview

I have made some minor changes in the list :

FOLDER 1
-Passport and 3 Immigration photos
   (special immigration style side-pose; Sign on two copies at the bottom front. Do not sign on the 3rd copy)
-OF-171: Appt letter from Consulate (original letter)
          This is sent by the Consulate, Packet 4
-OF230 part I(photocopy) & II Visa application (part-II UNSIGNED)
          This is sent by the Consulate, Pkt 4
-Birth Cert. orig
-Birth Cert. copy
-Marriage Cert. Orig
-Marriage Cert. copy (2 copies)
-Employment letter (orig- notarized)
-3 latest pay-stubs
-3 months bank statements
-Only latest year\'s Tax Returns
-PCC (if you are in US, from closest Indian consulate; if in India, from the RPO AND from the Police Station)
-Medical reports (everthing from the envelope, no X-rays)
    (These will be done by an approved doctor prior to attending
     the interview, more instructions are available in your Pkt4)
-IRS 9003 form

Folder 2 & 3 - similar docs per Folder 1 for spouse/child
i except that you will submit the Affidavit of Support : I-134, which will be just before the Employment Letter. (Even though my experience is different, I recommend you do attach this if you have dependents).
(I-134 is for employment based while I-864 for family based categories).

==================================================
As for the other (Support) folders, all that you have listed are good and should be enough. But do not submit these. Keep them with you in case something from this is asked for. Mostly, nothing will be if your first folder is good.

========

Folder 4 : Primary (H1+I140+LC+Edu)
-Latest H-1 approval notice (my visa in passport had expired)
-originals + supporting docs of all H1, F1, I-20\'s, H4\'s etc.
-copies of Labor cert (AEC), I-140 application, I-140 approval etc.
-originals + copies of work experience certs
-Degree certs, transcripts, marklists + copies

(folder 5 - similar docs per Folder 4 for spouse)
 
You are okay

It should either notarized in the US
b or
in front of the consulate officer in Chennai. (I guess that means they do not trust notarizations from Indian notaries ;-)
 
That\'s awesome! Thanks a lot.

Thank you again for taking the time off to reply. Sincerely appreciate it. Have a safe trip back!

Warm regards
 
More details on Chennai CP

Couple of things I did mention earlier :
 - My 3-year old was not needed to undergo Lister at all. No blood test/x-rays. Dunno till what age this waiver holds. Maybe 12? You might call and ask, so you can leave your kid behind if that is convenient.
 - I had got PCC from both the RPO and the police station. The interview made it a point to check both of these for me and also wife. So I am guessing that if he would have raised an issue if I had not got the PCC from the Police Station.
    BTW, this I could get only when I submitted an application, a proof of residence document (telephone bill) and a notarized affidavit on a Rs.10/- Stamp paper (saying that I had no criminal case against me in this State). I was told this is the latest procedure prescribed for all Police Stations. But others can tell us if this is true.
  - Since I reside in India, I had included my indian bank and tax details. He simply returned these.
  - Also, I stayed with my cousin, so cannot help anybody out with Hotel details. But yes, the call-taxi works pretty efficiently if you give them notice of around 45 minutes. There are a number of these organizations; some phone numbers (all chennai) : (a) 4372020, only Maruti Omni (b) 5384455, only Ambassadors. But remember, these run on meter, so keeping one waiting for a couple of hours might prove prohibitively costly. If you want them to wait, better would be to engage a private cab, which generally go for slabs of 5 hours for Rs.350 (approx), for non-AC. Autos are convenient, but don\'t shield you from the sun and the dust, nor from the pot-holes on the road.
 
Hi CPfromIndia.

Can you give me your email ID? I have some doubts and i am doing cp from india.

Thanks
 
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