CP Interview Experience

Document Submission

Nkelkar said:
You also need to carry your passport with you.
In theory someone else can submit the documents to VFS, but they need to see your original passport. SO if you are living outside India, you have just one option..... Go to India.

By the way how long does it take to get a PCC from Indian Consulate NY ?
I had actually applied for one in Jan 2005 (But it is now expired). They stamped my pssport with PCC issued back then.
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Nkelkar,
Who told you they require to see the original passport ? When I called VFS office and told them that I'm in states and if my documents could be submitted without original passport, they said it was okay.
 
Documents to be submitted to VFS without Medical Reports

Ok, I am reading the posts and now I am confused.

VFS states that all documents [Not the originals] including Medical Reports be submitted at least 7 days before the interview.

I get a sense by reading the forum that all documents [not originals ] except the medical reports can be submitted by someone knowing the applicant in Mumbai / India . This is applicable if the applicant is not in India but in USA.


IS the second point true ? Will VFS accept the documents without Medical Reports and we can take Medical reports along with us to the consulate on the day of interview ?

Please advise.
 
Packet 4 not arrived/Appt june 05 please help-URGENT

I am processing my mom's GC. It is in the last stage. She has not got the Packet 4 yet (consulate mailed it on May 14 and somehow decided to schedule the interview on june 05) and we came to know of the appointment only on May 26 through the website. Our consulate is Chennai. She is taking all the req documents to Blore VFS first thing tommrow morning(May 30). But it clearly states in the website that we have to give the docs 7-10 working days prior to the interview. How does VFS handle such a case? Please let me know if anyone has a clue. So stressed out right now.
 
Hello Sb,
I called the VFS yesterday. I am in the UK on business till the 8th. They told me that they needed to see the Original passport at the time of paper submission. I clearly asked the person on the phone if somebody else can submit the documents (They said yes, but they needed to see the original passport). To clarify things I told the person that I was outside India and was going to ask my Father to take the documents to the VFS. He clarified that was not possible as they would need the original Passport (they return it to you after accepting the documents).
He did say that I could get the Medical done later if I wanted to, but they prefer if you have the Medical done as well at the time of submitting the documents to VFS.
 
thanks

Nkelkar said:
Hello Sb,
I called the VFS yesterday. I am in the UK on business till the 8th. They told me that they needed to see the Original passport at the time of paper submission. I clearly asked the person on the phone if somebody else can submit the documents (They said yes, but they needed to see the original passport). To clarify things I told the person that I was outside India and was going to ask my Father to take the documents to the VFS. He clarified that was not possible as they would need the original Passport (they return it to you after accepting the documents).
He did say that I could get the Medical done later if I wanted to, but they prefer if you have the Medical done as well at the time of submitting the documents to VFS.
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Thanks Nkelkar, I will double check with them.

Also regarding the PCC from Indian Consulate in NY, they will issue it on the same day if your passport is issued in New York. They would not give you new PCC just because you had taken it few days back. They had my friend go thr the whole process even though they had not made any trip abroad after getting the last PCC.
 
Thanks Sb,
My old PCC was in Jan 2005, It is expired now. Last time they took a couple of days and unfortunately I dont have that much time.

I will be going to the Consulate on Friday June 8th am and the flying to India on Juen12th. Doing the Medical on the 14th and submitting Doc's to VFS on the 15th.
 
Nkelkar said:
Thanks Sb,
My old PCC was in Jan 2005, It is expired now. Last time they took a couple of days and unfortunately I dont have that much time.

I will be going to the Consulate on Friday June 8th am and the flying to India on Juen12th. Doing the Medical on the 14th and submitting Doc's to VFS on the 15th.
Click to expand...

nkelkar,

u need to submit docs ( Medical not required with VFS). I was asked to submit the docs at time of interview yesterday

KP
 
Hello KP,
Thanks for the information.

Do you mind listing the Docs you submited to VFS and the docs you were asked for / Submitted at the consulate.

Also can you give a brief on your experience. Did you have the opportunity to get your passport back yesterday?
VFS site says that Passports can be picked up at their office the same day between 5.00pm and 6.00pm else they will be couried the next day.

Thanks KP.
 
My experience

HI Nkelkar,

Here is the list provided to VFS Mumbai

a) Passport copies for me and wife ( with 2 pictures as per specs each)
b) Original passports required for verification
c) Old Passports not checked and not required
d) Original and copy of Marriage certificate (2 copies required one for wife and one for self)
e) Original and copy of each birth certificate ( if you have a birth affidavit an original and copy of that too)
f) DS-230 Part 1 for each of us ( need an updated one) as the consulate already has the one you sent with your Packet 3 to them. Ensure your information is synchronous for ( Level, Dates etc)
g) DS-230 Part 2 for both of us ( DO NOT SIGN the last page)
h) 2 copies of the Appointment letter
i) Orignal and copies of PCC for each of us ( I had mine from NYC but wife had one from CID Mumbai as of 2005) VFS accepted it but asked for one from Passport office Mumbai

Consulate Experience yesterday

a) Had an appt for 7:30 a.m. Reached VFS at 6:50 a.m. They checked the appt letter and the receipt they gave when we went to them for document submission and the 2 receipts for coffee and snacks. wife deposited her cell in the locker and took a token

b) 7:20 VFS asked us to board the bus for the consulate. bus took us to the consulate and we deboarded and were made to stand in a queue. The consulate security told us to stand in separate queues ( Males and Females). I had all the paper work and while entering I told the lady that my wife is behind in the ladies queue. She waved and said she will let her in and not to worry.
c) Security is strict and is as per the book. Belts have to be removed and they check every file ( only in plastic folders and plastic bags allowed)
d) Gave each of us a wooden stick ( dont know what it meant)
e) went in and saw a queue for about 70 people and thought this is going to be long and asked the consulate clerk there whether this is Non or Immigrant visa. he saw my appt letter and asked me to sit at the rt hand corner seats and took my appt letter
f) In all this while my wife had still not come in ( abt 15min). finally i saw her come in and at 7:47 my name was announced with my wife and we walked to counter 15
g) An Indian lady was there and smiled at us which was refreshing in all this tension. asked me for documents sayin she needs lot of stuff from us. I had methodically taken all orignials and numbered them with STICKIES.
She asked for a) Original Employment letter b) wife's PCC from Passport office c) I-134 for wife d) Original passport ( current only , old is not required). I gave it in 2.5 min and she was a bit surprised and said that we were too quick. then she asked for the 45$ draft each ( Rs 1890) and to her surprise we had our names,passport numbers and BMB case num at the back of each draft.
In all this I also gave her wife's new PCC from CID and she was happy that we provided a new PCC which neither the consulate nor VFS had observed and thanked me. she said you are set and wait for final interview. Total time about 4.5 min
h) In all this every other person was taking 15-20 min for documentation interview ( I didnt see a single Employment based candidate and about 20 family based candidate)
i) From 7:50 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. was the longest and most anxious wait since my std 12th results.
j) At 10:15 a.m. they called my name and asked me and wife to come to counter num 9. there was a white american officer with an indian lady to assist him. He asked us to keep all documentation on the floor and told us to take an oath ( blah blah)
k) then he asked me to give my fingerprint and asked me the following questions
1) Who is the sponsor
2) How many years have you worked for them
3) Address of empoyer
4) My address
5) What train do I take and the route

and then said you are set and then turned to my wife

1) When did you get married
2) What is your marriage date
3) Have you been to the US
4) When did you go to the US
5) AGAIN WHAT IS THE DATE of the marriage

and then all friendly questions do you like NYC , do you like Mumbai, do you find both crazy??

took her finger prints and said you are all set. congrats and sign DS-230 PArt 2

we left by 10:35 a.m. and then we reached half way to bandra when my dad called and said that the consulate called and asked me to come back as they forgot to get a paper signed. I thought what was the issue and tried to call the extension and was not getting the right message.

we went back and at the security told them that we came in the morning and have been called back and then he said wait for the consular officer to come. an indian lady came out and heard us and asked us to go in and to counter 10. Had to go through same security crap. went to counter 10 and that indian lady from counter 9 smiled and asked us to come to counter 9.

the same officer was there and both were apologizing to us sincerely a couple of times for the inconvenience. then asked me to sign a consulate doc sayin the immigrant visa is for the period of 6 months and if i quit or lose my job then it will be deemed null. ( not sure what it is but i heard from my friend that it is till u receive a physical green card). signed it and they apologized again for the inconvenience. the lady said go to VFS at 5 pm and said that you should get your passports.

we went to relative's place for lunch. at 4:25 reached VFS and saw a queue of 100 odd people. the stupid VFS guard said this line is for everyone when we were clearly told in the morning that the Immigrant visa passports will be returned at 5:00 p.m. and non immigrant at 5:30 p.m.

We walked around and came back in 20 min and saw that a separate queue was formed on the opposite side for immigrant visa and stood in in. only about 8 people in front of us. when we were about to enter the VFS guards told us only I will be allowed to go in and asked my wife to stay back.

went in sat and then in 10 min they called my counter and gave me two envelopes and said I could open them but not the envelopes inside those. saw my passport and wife's ,names were good. we got an immigrant visa stamp on the passport till the end of this year.

Will be flyin back to JFK on the 9th of June. Will post of that experience too.

Can anyone guide me what the next steps would be??

KP
 
Hello KP.
Thanks for the detailed post. It will be very helpful.
I am leaving for India on June 12th for my June 26th Visa Interview. Since I am not married , quite a few of the Documents wont apply to me.

As for the POE Experience, This is what I know.
When you arrive at the POE (NYC in your case). You go to the US Citizens / Permanent Residents Line. The Immigration Officer will take your sealed envelopes and direct you to Secondary inspection.
The officer at the Secondary inspection will open the Sealed envelopes and take your fingerprints (all 10 fingers individually, Four fingers of each hand together), Take a Picture and Stamp your passport with the Immigrant admitted Stamp.
You should get your Plasctic Card in the mail in about 2 weeks.
 
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
 
$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
 
POE Experience and answer to other questions

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
 
Succesful CP (Mumbai) and POE (Newark)

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.
 
Succesful CP (Chennai) and POE (Detroit)

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...
 
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...

mramnag said:
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...
Click to expand...
 
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.
 
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