CP s success in Mumbai - Nov 26 Part I

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novmumbai

Registered Users (C)
My wife and I completed CP in Mumbai on November 26, 2001. The whole process was extremely smooth and stress-free. Some details about my case:

Category: EB2
Entire process commenced: November 1999
I-140 applied for (CP specified): November 2000
I-140 approved: June 2001
Packet 3 sent to consulate: September 17, 2001
Appointment date: November 26, 2001 (on Mumbai consulate website Oct. 11, 2001)
Entry into US: December 3, 2001
POE: Philadelphia, PA

We are both from Calcutta; therefore our case was handled by the Mumbai consulate.

Arrived in Mumbai night of the 20th. Stayed at the Hotel Shalimar (near the consulate) for one night before deciding it was too expensive for a 7 night stay (Rs. 6000 incl. taxes). Moved to Hotel Kemps Corner (2 doors down) the next morning. Much more reasonable rates (Rs. 1526 incl. taxes). Clean decent rooms, very helpful and courteous staff. These hotels are about 10 minutes walk from the consulate. Royal Castle Hotel is a little further down, about a 20 minutes walk.
 
Part II

Day 1: Wednesday, November 21, 2001

Drafts

Went first to the consulate to check on the fees. The board outside said that the fees were Rs. 12,480 ($260 x 48) (application) and Rs. 3120 ($65 x 48) (issuance). Went to Indian Overseas Bank across from the consulate to get drafts done. Was told they can’t break Travelers Checks, so we went to Grindlays (about 100 yds down) where we broke travelers checks as well as obtained demand drafts (2 drafts: Rs. 24,960 and Rs. 6,240). The staff was very helpful and courteous. The atmosphere was more pleasant than IOB, I felt. Remember to put the primary applicant’s name, passport number and case number on the back of each draft.

I later found out that the consulate accepts cash in US$ in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 so if you’d rather not get demand drafts, that would be OK (I don’t know how to pay $65 given those denominations though)

Photographs

Went down about 50 yds to My Own Studio at about 12:30 for photographs. Older gentleman asked me when I required the photographs. I said as soon as possible (even though my interview was not for another 5 days). He said photos would be available at 6:30 that day. Took 2 sets of photos (4 pictures) for each of us. One set was side view (for the consulate, Rs 150 for 4) and one set front view (for medicals, Rs. 100 for 4).

Went to collect photos at 6:30 as scheduled. They were ready and were fine. They were also accepted later by the consulate, no questions.
 
Part III

Day 2: Thursday, November 22, 2001

Medicals

Had made appointment with Hinduja shortly after finding out the appointment date. Chose Hinduja because at that time thought that only Hinduja provided reports same day, but later found out (from info sheet that Consulate sent with Pkt 4) that all 3 hospitals now have same day service. (Breach Candy is 5 minutes walk from Consulate)

Left hotel 6:45 am. Was at Hinduja by 7:00 am. Told to go the old building (Out-Patient Department). Had to complete application form and waited in line before paying Rs. 1700 per head. A folder was created for each of us and we were told to go to the 3rd floor.

We were asked to submit 2 photographs (front view) and copy of appointment letter (make sure you have a copy) and issuing pages of passport. We were then called into a room and asked for vaccination records. We had done blood tests in the US to find out what we were naturally immune to. Anything we were not we got vaccinated against in the US and got the doctor to certify it. The result was that Hinduja accepted the certificate and we did not have to take any shots. We were glad about that since some of the others had to take multiple vaccinations that day.

They took some blood (presumably for the HIV test) and blood pressure and weight was measured. Then they told us to wait in the waiting room for the chest X-ray.

About half an hour later, all the other US visa people who were there that day were herded together and taken to the X-ray facility in the newer building and one by one we were called for the chest X-ray. We were then told to come back at 1:45 for the doctor’s examination. Since it was about 9:30, we went back to the hotel.

At 1:30 we came back to Hinduja for the doctor’s examination. We were called in at about 2:15, first me and then my wife. The doctor asked us some preliminary questions, did an eye test, poked and prodded a little bit and then we were done. I asked him if everything was OK and he nodded yes. Very straight-forward exam, he didn’t look at the X-ray. My wife went in next and she had a similar experience

We waited about 20 minutes in the waiting area and then were called and given the reports (sealed) and X-rays (sealed). We were done by 3:00 p.m.

Overall, the Hinduja staff was very efficient and courteous. The process is extremely stream-lined and very little time is wasted. I would recommend Hinduja to other CPr’s if you had to choose between the hospitals.

We had no other work until our appointment on Monday, so we spent the weekend roaming around Mumbai.
 
Part IV

Document Organization

Before leaving for India, I had arranged the documents in 3 folders. I had one folder each for myself and my wife where I put copies of only the documents that were listed in Packet 4. The third folder contained all the originals and any other documents that were not listed but I thought I should carry (tax transcripts, paystubs, degree certificates, I-20 and H-1B notices). Each document was put in a sheet protector and labeled with tabs so I knew exactly where everything was. I put the three folders along with the sealed medical reports, X-rays and my passport bag in a large transparent bag (Circuit City).

Day 6: Monday, November 26, 2001

Consular Interview

Our appointment was at 10:30 am so we arrived at the consulate at 10:00. My wife had her handbag which they would not allow inside the consulate, so we had to make a frantic trip to Raj Pavilion (3 minutes away) to drop it off. The guy took Rs. 30 to store the bag for the morning. We returned to the consulate gate at 10:10, showed the guard the appointment letter and we were let in. We were told to pay the application fee (the Rs. 24,960 draft) at Window 13 where the guy collected the draft and the appointment letter, put my name in the computer and told us to wait in front of Windows 10, 11, 12. We sat down and struck up a conversation with some of the EB IV cases that were there that day.
 
Part V

The names were being called pretty much at random. We were called to Window 12 at 11:15, before a lot of people who had an appointment earlier than us. The Indian lady asked us to present the following documents:

Primary (me):

1) Passport
2) 3 photographs (side view)
3) Receipt of application fee
4) DS-230 (Parts I & II)
5) IRS 9003 (Yellow form)
6) New H-1B notice
7) Medical reports (no X-rays)
8) Birth Certificate
9) Marriage Certificate
10) Police Certificates (for the 2 countries besides the US and India that I had lived in since the age of 16)
11) Employment letter

My first H-1B visa had just expired, so she asked me if I had the new notice, which I had just received days before I left the US and I gave this to her.

With regards to the birth certificate, since my birth wasn’t registered, I provided her with a non-availability certificate and an affidavit from my mother. She asked me if I had a School Leaving Certificate which had a DOB on it, but since I didn’t go to school in India, my SLC did not have it. I offered her the Birth Certificate from the hospital that I was born in, but she said that would not do. After a little bit of hesitation, she said OK and moved on to the next document.

Secondary (my wife):

1) Passport
2) 3 photographs (side view)
3) DS-230 (Parts I & II)
4) IRS 9003 (Yellow form)
5) Medical reports (no X-rays)
6) Birth Certificate
7) Marriage Certificate

The I-134 was not asked for (I believe it was an oversight on the lady’s part) and when it came time to give the birth certificate, I gave her the non-availability certificate, the affidavit from the mother and the school-leaving certificate and she was satisfied with that. Since my wife had only lived in the U.S. and India, police certificates were not required.

She then asked us to sign one of the photographs and told us to take a seat. The entire document collection process took 10 minutes.

We waited about 45 minutes before our name was called again to Window 9. When we went in, there was an Indian lady (different from the document collector) and an American gentleman (Consular Officer). First, the lady asked us to sign DS-230 Part II and then asked us to take the oath saying that all the documents we were presenting were true to the best of our knowledge. Meanwhile, the officer was flipping through our documents. He started by asking me what I was doing in country X (probably because it was an unusual country to be in) to which I replied that I was there because my father worked there. He then asked me where my company was located to which I told him the location. Then he said: “You’re done, pay your issuance fee and come back at 3 for the visa”.

I went to Window 13 to pay the issuance fee. This was the only person I found to be rude in the entire process. I paid the fee, waited for some of the other CPr’s to be done and went back to the hotel.
 
Part VI

Visa collection

We came back promptly at 3, even though I knew they would not be handing the visa’s out until 4:30. They handed out the non-IV’s early. All the people remaining were IV cases (both EB and family). We waited in the hot sun for 1 1/2 hours until they started handing out the visas promptly at 4:30. As you approach the window, you hand them the receipt from the issuance fee and they hand you a brown sealed envelope with all the documents (clipped at the edge) and the visa attached to the front (full page). Make sure that all the critical information is correct. In my case, I noticed my mother’s name was spelled incorrectly, so I went back. They asked me to come back the next morning at 8:15. I said I was leaving for Calcutta that night and if it was OK to get it corrected at the POE to which they said yes, so I left.

We went out to a celebration dinner that night before leaving for Calcutta the next morning.

Day 13 Monday, December 3, 2001

Entry into the US

We arrived at Philadelphia after 22 hours in the air. At Immigration, there is no separate line for new immigrants so we took the line for US passport holders and residents. When we got to the counter, we presented the brown envelopes and passport. The officer asked us if we had completed the I-94 to which I replied that as new immigrants we were not required to and he didn’t say anything. He did some stuff on the computer then sent us to a room behind him. There we were greeted with a very nice officer who made the necessary corrections on the visa (my home address was also slightly off, which I had not noticed, as well as my mother’s name), opened the envelopes, checked that everything was OK, took our fingerprints and autographs. He stamped our passports with the temporary I-551 (very unimpressive stamps). He then told us that the plastic cards should arrive in 6-9 months and what to do if it did not (go to the local INS office). He asked us if we had any questions to which we replied no and then he said we were done. So we left, collected our bags and headed home

Conclusion

The overall CP experience was a very smooth and efficient process for me. The fact that the entire process took only 2 years is extremely gratifying and the lawyer’s employed by my company were extremely efficient and knew what they were doing. They had specified CP at the I-140 application stage hence the process was as quick as possible from my end. If anyone was to ask me which route is better, there is no doubt in my mind that CP is the way to go. The information available on the web is mind-blowing and a lot of my fears were allayed by all the positive experiences I read about. My thanks to all those people who went through the experience before and provided such detailed accounts on forums such as this one. As a result, I knew exactly what to expect at each step.

I was, in the end, a glorified and expensive courier. I collected all these documents which I then took to India which the consulate then put in a brown envelope and told me to deliver it back to the immigration officer in the U.S.

I will be checking into this forum periodically if there are any specific questions I can answer. Good luck to all future CPer’s and to those sitting on the fence between CP and AOS, I would encourage you to climb off it onto the CP side.
 
to novmumbai, question reguarding birth certificate

hi novmumbai,
congrats on having a successful cp.i had one question, where did you obtain the nonavailability certificate?i too have the affidavit from my mother but wondering from where to get the nonavailability certificate.
 
Did everyone for CP got it!!

Do u know if all the people who applied for CP that day got the approval..also do u think thats they study the case before u appear before them for the interview as per yur experience its just a formality...what my understanding is it should be lot more to it..as this sounds life a dream come true.....
 
novmumbai: Congrats again...

Very well written experience. My POE will also be Philly. I have my interview scheduled for Jan 17, 2002 in Mumbai. I hope we too have a smooth experience like you.
 
Non availability certificate

We obtained non-availability certificates from the local municipal corporation (in my case the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, who labeled it a "no-entry certificate"). My in-laws got this the same day that they went to the corporation, and considering the Calcutta Corporation\'s reputation, that can be considered something of a minor miracle. If it can be done there, it can be done anywhere. If you fail to get this, I would not worry too much. If you have a school leaving certificate, that should suffice.
 
Dream come true !!

I think all the EB cases that I saw that day got approved. Your question is an excellent one though. My sense is that most of the screening is done in the Labor Cert. and I-140 phases and the final stage, be it CP or AOS is just a document collection process. AOS just takes longer because its run by the INS whereas CP is run by the consulate. Its a volume thing. The consular officer does not have the discretion to reject an application unless there is a clear case of fraud or some other extenuating circumstances (HIV etc.) If a document is missing, all they can say is to go and get it. They cannot outright reject it based on missing documentation. To counter-act that, just make sure all your documents are in order, and you should be fine. What you said about there being more to it is true, but only at earlier stages. I am being told of cases now where Labor is being rejected or delayed because that case is not well presented. If you get past the 140 stage, the remainder is really just a formality, in my opinion.
 
Thank you skarecat

Good luck in Mumbai. I\'m sure you will have a pleasantly smooth experience. Just make sure your documentation is complete and you are well organized. Let te forum know how you fared when you return.
 
No Title

Novmumbai

* Behind the DD for the spouse, should my name be mentioned with my passport number or spouse name and spouse passport number
and can we write in the middle portion of the back side of the DD

* Can u give contact number for Hotel Kemps corner

Thanks
 
Couple if questions

Did you take copies of Birth Cert/ Affidavit, Marriage Cert, H-1b notice etc.

If not did they themselves make copies and gave you the originals back?

What documents are kept and not returned - Originals/copies.

Thanks, congrats and good luck.
 
Answer for lovely

I did not have a separate draft for my wife so the answer I can give is only an educated guess but since you are the primary applicant the name at the back of the draft should be yours and the passport and case numbers are yours as well. They just want to make sure that you are paying the total amount and that they can associate the total amount with your case. I would recommend getting two drafts only, one for the application and one for the issuance. You can also pay cash (US$ only).

With regards to the contact number for Hotel Kemps Corner, it is 363 4646 or 363 4655 or 363 4675. Fax is 363 4732.
 
Copies only

Highly recommend that you take copies with you. When they ask for the documents, you only have to give them copies, but keep the originals close at hand if they ask for it (they rarely do). The only originals you need to provide them are the forms (DS-230), Affidavit of Support (I-134) and the notarized employment letter. They also asked for my new H1-B notice, which they returned to me in the afternoon anyway, even though it was useless to me then since I got the visa which supercedes that. When you are handing documents to them, it is under the assumption that you are not going to get them back, so if there\'s something you really do not want to part with, give them copies.
 
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