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TO: usnycus

thanks a lot. your a great help to me and the rest who needs assurance for there papers . The consul included in the packet I-134 . who should fill this up? me or my husband who sponsored us? so that i could mail the necessary docs the I-134 to my husband in US. Thanks again.....
 
to usnycus

may i ask if the I-134 thing for follow to join should be filled up by the sponsor who petitioned us or should i be the one to fill it up?

next would be, should it be mailed then asap to the consulate the duly notarized i-134 or be hand carried by the derivative beneficiary during the interview along with the requirements?

the consulate just gave me pages 1-2 or the ds 230 Part1 and ds 2001, how about the ds 230 part II should i download it and submit it along with the part 1 and ds2001 or will i wait for there go signal? thanks
 
Here is what I did:

Filled all the details in the begining like name, address etc.

Section 1: filled DOB, City and country.
a) Blank
b) Blank
c) Blank
d) 'A' number

Section 2: Filled age, date of arrival

Section 3: Spouse details (last name, first name, gender, age, country, marital status, relationship, address).
None in the section of spouse & child.

Section 4:

Section 5:

Section 6:

Section 7: Employer details. Left blank where questions were not applicable.

Section 8: None

Section 9: None

Section 10: None

Section 11: Checked 'intend' box.
And wrote "All expenses including but not limited to their visa expenses, airline tickets cost to come to USA and US domestic travel, lodging, boarding, food, incidental expenses and visitor medival insurance" in the details section.

mega007 said:
Hi usnycus or others,

In I-134, Should I leave the column blank or should I fill with "N/A" or "none" for the columns which I dont fill anything ?
[ex : If a US citizen through parents or marriage give citizenship number ___
; I have stocks and bonds with market value $______ ..... questions like that... and the Child Name, gender and Age .........]

Bcoz for question like 9 they specifically ask to state "None" ... If there is nothing to specify ! or Am I worrying more '?

Thanks
 
Your husband.

He can download that form from www.uscis.gov.

Knighthorse1 said:
thanks a lot. your a great help to me and the rest who needs assurance for there papers . The consul included in the packet I-134 . who should fill this up? me or my husband who sponsored us? so that i could mail the necessary docs the I-134 to my husband in US. Thanks again.....
 
See Inline ...

Knighthorse1 said:
may i ask if the I-134 thing for follow to join should be filled up by the sponsor who petitioned us or should i be the one to fill it up?
... Correct (Sponsor). Check my previous post.


next would be, should it be mailed then asap to the consulate the duly notarized i-134 or be hand carried by the derivative beneficiary during the interview along with the requirements?
... You can carry that along with you during interview. I am 200% sure that they (i.e. consulate folks) will ask for that.


the consulate just gave me pages 1-2 or the ds 230 Part1 and ds 2001, how about the ds 230 part II should i download it and submit it along with the part 1 and ds2001 or will i wait for there go signal?
... If it's missing, just download it and submit that with other papers. Make sure you have copies of all the documents you are submitting.

thanks
 
‘PrinceOfJungle’ is right.

Don't sign DS-230 Part-II. As per instruction, you will be asked to sign that in front of officer. And it's always better to follow the instruction.

BTW, in my wife case they never asked her to sign during/after interview.

PrinceofJungle said:
>> Knighthorse1, Make sure Only DS230 Part I will be signed, Not Part II, Part II will be signed on front of officer when asked.


Good Luck
 
NJBLUE said:
Hi RM101

Did you guys recieve packet 3 from Chennai consulate. My wife hasn't received yet.

Thankjs


Hello RM101 and NJBLUE or anyone else who are waiting to hear from consulate after sending the documents:

I am also in the same boat with you. I have sent the documents to Chennai consulate on June 27, 2005 and have not heard back from them yet.

1. Have you guys made any progress? Did you receive any communication from Consulate?

2. Another IMPORTANT question is, Can we send a copy of filled form DS2001 to notify the consulate that all the required documents have been collected and ready for the interview process.

2a. By doing this, can we avoid a little more wait time by letting the consulate directly send us packet 4? Is this even a possibility? I have read Salim 's earlier post that his brother got packet 4 directly from Mumbai by doing this.

2b. In this scenario, where can we download Form DS2001 for Chennai. The one I found on Mumbai consulate web site is specific to Mumbai consulate.

3. What does your gut feeling say about the time line to receive the Immigrant Visa, ASSUMING that visa numbers become available for EB3 in October 2005 and all our priority dates become current? (Mine is May 2000)

Please reply guys... I am so much disappointed and frustrated!

Thanks,
Ansi.
 
to: USYNCUS and PRINCE of the jungle

thanks for the advice. yap i did that. may i know what time frame should i expect for the interview and medical exam esp. those who are from the philippines ? and possible interview questions please.. thanks
 
to usyncus and prince of the jungle

i saw it in the lists posted here that i need the ds 230 part 1 and 2 during interview, are they going to return my ds 230 which i submitted to the consulate or download again for my own copy?

one more thing, our area wer i stayed before was a flooded area, all my marriage pictures were gone. and sad to say no more negatives since it is not our camera before. i only have our marriage licenses, baptismal ceremony, etc.would it create an issue? anyway its not that impt right? the more impt. thing is the papers or the marriage license.
 
Hi Ansi2004
Please find my answers below against your questions.

ansi2004 said:
Hello RM101 and NJBLUE or anyone else who are waiting to hear from consulate after sending the documents:

I am also in the same boat with you. I have sent the documents to Chennai consulate on June 27, 2005 and have not heard back from them yet.

I have sent the documents in the first week of June.

1. Have you guys made any progress? Did you receive any communication from Consulate?

No progress so far. They said they will inform us as soon as they schedule interview.

2. Another IMPORTANT question is, Can we send a copy of filled form DS2001 to notify the consulate that all the required documents have been collected and ready for the interview process.

I'm also thinking of doing this.

2a. By doing this, can we avoid a little more wait time by letting the consulate directly send us packet 4? Is this even a possibility? I have read Salim 's earlier post that his brother got packet 4 directly from Mumbai by doing this.

I think we should do this.

2b. In this scenario, where can we download Form DS2001 for Chennai. The one I found on Mumbai consulate web site is specific to Mumbai consulate.

Even I did not find it. May be we should send cover letter stating that we are ready.

3. What does your gut feeling say about the time line to receive the Immigrant Visa, ASSUMING that visa numbers become available for EB3 in October 2005 and all our priority dates become current? (Mine is May 2000)

It is hard to predict the timeline. MY priority date is Jan 2002.

Please reply guys... I am so much disappointed and frustrated!

Thanks,
Ansi.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Here is some Important things , all credit goes to ppl who shared the info, Not me :D ,

Hope it would help ppl and 'knighhorse' u may find interview questions in it too . :D

All paragraphs are shared by different ppl, I am just posting all for you.
you can seperate whatever u need it .

This is not my exp, I haven't gone thorugh yet so use it with some common sense :D



Good Luck
P.O.J

-------------------------Sample cover letter for F2J-------------------
Sample cover letter ,

To
IMMIGRANT VISA SECTION,
Complete Address

Subject : Following-to-join benifit for my spouse.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I bacame permanent resident of the U.S on ( "put date" ) ,I got my permanent residency
through employment category , I would like to apply for the following-to-join
benifit for my spouse, since we were married prior to my permanent residency.

Please find the enclosed document

1) Notorized copy of I-824 receipt.
2) Notorized copy of I-485 adjustment.
3) notorized copy all pages of passport
4) copy of marriage certificate
5) copy of birth certificate of my spouse.


MY soupse's local addres in india is .


"HIS/HER NAME"
"REST OF THE ADDRESS"

thank you,
your's sincerely
ABC

Date :


-------------------- The Intervew


details of the interview process .

my wife's interview was scheduled for 10:00 a.m 17 May, she went to the gate at 8:30 a.m itself .
she waited in the waiting room where lot of other people wer also there.
her name was called at 11:15 a.m .

she went to the counter and there was an indian guy who collected her documents.
this guy was very rude .

he asked the following questions :

1) are you married ?
2) Name of your husband ?
2) how many marriages your husband had before.
3) how many time you were married before.
4) he looked at the marriage certificate and he asked as to why there is only
her photograph on the marriage certificate and not the joint photograph.
My wife said that she had applied for the marriage by herself as my husband was
in the U.S .


5) he then collected all the other documents and told my wife to wait for the
interview.

6) at 1:00 p.m my wife was again called by the same guy and he told her
that there is no consular available till 1:30 and she can go outside and come back
after some time.
at that point my wife went outside and came back after half an hour.
at 2:30 p.m her name was again called by a white consular lady.

questions asked :

1) how long ago you were married ?
2) what does your husband do ?
3) how did you meet your husband first time ?
4) which company does he works for ?
5) when did he last visited you ?

after that she said "you are very sweet" and then "we welcome you to america".
and told her she will get her passport back in a week.

my wife went to the TT services window and paid Rs 441 and put the address
on the prepaid envolop.

that's it.

thanks


-------------------

As of December 2001, immigrant visa packet system has been eliminated in favor of new system.
Packets 1, 2, 2a, and 3a no longer exist.
"Packet 3" has been renamed "Instruction Package for Immigrant Visa Applicants."

"Packet 4" is now "Appointment Package for Immigrant Visa Applicants."
"Packet 4a," which is the mailing that initiates the termination process, is now "Follow-Up Instruction Package for Immigrant Visa Applicants."

The old OF-169 (Checklist of Documents), which was renamed DS-2001 in 2001, is now a redesigned information sheet entitled "Instructions for Immigrant Visa Applicants." This document is part of the new "Instruction Packet for Immigrant Visa Applicants." The DS-2001 has been redesigned as a one-page optional form to be used by applicants or their agents to notify post or NVC that they are ready for interview.


Packet 3 from consulate has additional documents which are
Cover letter (Case information etc.)
Sample cover letter
General information about affidavit of support.
Supplement to Form DS-2001. It explains about the documents which need to be taken to the consulate for the interview. Explained below.


http://www.immihelp.com/gc/consular/packet3.html

--------------


If you are from india all you have to do is collect the following documents :

1) I-485 approval notorized copy.
2) I-485 form ( which you applied for you permanent residence )
3) Passport copy ( all pages notorized ).
4) Letter indicating that you want to start FTJ for your wife
in the letter give her local address in india.
5) Her birth certificate copy.

once you sent all these documents to indian consulate they send packet three
to your wife address.

----------------




Forms:
-----------------------------
DS230
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/7988.pdf

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1309.html
----------------------------


http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=96693&page=54&pp=15

http://www.visapro.com/US-Immigration-Forms/DS-230-Form.asp


824
The address in part 1 is ur address since thats where you will get the receipt notice.

Her information should go into a separate sheet of paper marked as "Addendum to I-824." Don't forget to include your A# in it.
The addendum sheet should contain her name as it appears on her passport, her address in India (again, good to be consistent with the passport), date of birth, place of birth, date of marriage and the type of application you intend to file for her (FTJ).
Hope this helps.



Packet 3 consists of DS 230 part 1, OF 169 and the financial affidavit form. If you have already sent in DS 230 part 1, all you have to do is get your financial affidavit, marriage ceritificate, PCC, birth certificates etc ready and send the OF 169. They will schedule the interview upon receiving the OF 169 form


OF-169 is the document that the consulate sends to your wife. Its a checklist of all the documents( some of which you would have sent it anyway) that has to be sent to the consulate, it will arrive along with PKT4. You dont have to worry about it now.



) A sealed packet marked Do Not Open.
2) Passport with immigrant visa stamp.
3) A sheet of paper explaining what to do to get a SSN.




I-485 approval
2) I-551 Stamping or GC Photocopy
3) I-140 approval.
4) Passport copies of the you and your spouse
5) Birth certificate
6) Marriage Certificate
7) I-824 Receipt Notice

---------------
It might take around 2-3 months for them to generate Packet3.
This process is called as Badger process.

In my case everything happened at the same time (badger process outcome + I-824 approval)
So I dont know which one initiated the packet03 generation but
my wife is pretty confident the badger process is the one that helped us
as for as p03 is concerned.



The Greencard for my wife has been approved my the chennai consulate today(June 02). She first submitted the papers. While submitting the Desi guy (Staff) in the consulate asked for Tax returns which unfortunately I havent sent. But it didnt matter. She submitted all the papers by 10:00 AM. They asked her to comeback at 03:30 for interview. Interview was filled with formal questions

1) Whats your husband doing?
2) Where are you going?
3) Whats your marriage date?
4) Whats your marriage day? (little tricky quesiton)
Later he sniffed(smelled) our marriage invitation to make sure it is not printed recently.

what's your spouse doing ?
where is he ?
when did u get married and where ?
Name of in laws and birthplace of mine
how long ago you got married ?
why didn't you go to U.S after marriage ?



--------------

For me Here is the flow of events

GC Approval June 10 2002
Stamping Jun 16 2002
I-824 RD Jun 20 2002
I-824 ND Jun 21 2002
Mailed Notarized Docs of I-140, I-485 approval ,I-824 etc on Jan 1st week
I-824 Approval Feb 12 2003
Packet#03 Generation on Feb 16 2003
Packet#03 replied on Feb 18 2003 (We mailed thrice. They did not receive or missed)
Packet#04 on Apr 13th 2003
Interview on May 28 2003
Becoz of Crowd they rescheduled Unfortunately to the Local (Madras) candidates to Jun 02 2003
June 02 2003 approval

Future Prediction
Jun 03 2003 Blue dart envelope.



of-171,visa appointment (you will get it along with packet4)
2.ds230part1&2 visa application
3.marriage certificate& wedding photos
4.birth certificate
5.evidence of financial support i-134
5.1 employment letter
5.2.letter from an officer of the bank
5.3.bank statement.
5.4 stocks & 401k&car title
6.photos of the beneficiary (Wife)
7.proof of relationship bet beneificiary and petitioner
7.1 marriage certificate
7.2 marriag invitation
7.3 marriage photos
8.police certificate from local ps
8.2 pc from passport office
9.medical reports
10.passport,DD
11. Tax return 1040

Also have the originals of the Birth Cert , Marriage Cert, Album in hand. You never know what these people will ask.


.They give a brown sealed envelope(Bluedart) with visa pinned outside, to be seen at airports.Dont open the envelope.Just carry it with the attached visa on it.The latter will show passport details and USA visa details.
5.Go to regular noncitizen lines at the POE.They will send u to another line/ counter.


------------




Good Luck, and again I posted all mixed threads impt paragraphs that would help to und the process, I haven't gone through yet. and I am not responsible for accuracy of info written above :D use it with some common sense :D :D

P.O.J
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Doc's to chennai

ansi2004 said:
Hello RM101 and NJBLUE or anyone else who are waiting to hear from consulate after sending the documents:

I am also in the same boat with you. I have sent the documents to Chennai consulate on June 27, 2005 and have not heard back from them yet.

1. Have you guys made any progress? Did you receive any communication from Consulate?

2. Another IMPORTANT question is, Can we send a copy of filled form DS2001 to notify the consulate that all the required documents have been collected and ready for the interview process.

2a. By doing this, can we avoid a little more wait time by letting the consulate directly send us packet 4? Is this even a possibility? I have read Salim 's earlier post that his brother got packet 4 directly from Mumbai by doing this.

2b. In this scenario, where can we download Form DS2001 for Chennai. The one I found on Mumbai consulate web site is specific to Mumbai consulate.

3. What does your gut feeling say about the time line to receive the Immigrant Visa, ASSUMING that visa numbers become available for EB3 in October 2005 and all our priority dates become current? (Mine is May 2000)

Please reply guys... I am so much disappointed and frustrated!

Thanks,
Ansi.

Hi Ansi,
Chennai consulate received my doc's on 29th june and i called them on july 1oth they said they have received the doc's and created the cas enumber and said they said they mailed packet 3 to my wife.But as of 15 days from now my wife did not get the packet 3 (Looks like lost in mail transit)
I sent an email to chennai to resend.

Please call teh consulate .They will give u the case number and info about packet 3 .

Good luck,
I know friend it is pain ful but we got to have patience.Nothing in our hands ..
Good luck,
RM101
 
rm101 said:
Hi Ansi,
Chennai consulate received my doc's on 29th june and i called them on july 1oth they said they have received the doc's and created the cas enumber and said they said they mailed packet 3 to my wife.But as of 15 days from now my wife did not get the packet 3 (Looks like lost in mail transit)
I sent an email to chennai to resend.

Please call teh consulate .They will give u the case number and info about packet 3 .

Good luck,
I know friend it is pain ful but we got to have patience.Nothing in our hands ..
Good luck,
RM101


Ansi,
Call them with number on chennai consulate direct number and ask them to connect to immigration dept.Ask for ur case number .
 
Check post from "PrinceofJungle". "PrinceofJungle" pretty much covered all possible questions your wife may face during the interview.

Once consulate assigns a case number and schedule an interview, you will receive a letter. In India one can only go for medical after getting interview letter from consulate.

Interview Date: In my wife case, she got her date two months after submitting all the papers. We never got any letter from consulate in mail. I had to go personally to the consulate and during status check we came to know about interview.


Knighthorse1 said:
thanks for the advice. yap i did that. may i know what time frame should i expect for the interview and medical exam esp. those who are from the philippines ? and possible interview questions please.. thanks
 
If they already have DS-230 in your, they are not going to take another set. Take extra copy in interview, just in case.

If you don't have marriage photograph, don't worry about them. Just explain that to the person who is going to take the interview. Photographs are just one of the evidence, not the only evidence.

Not only in FTJ, but in any/all US immigration cases, outcome only depends upon supporting evidence you provide to present your case. Just make sure you are carrying all the documents listed many times in this thread.

Knighthorse1 said:
i saw it in the lists posted here that i need the ds 230 part 1 and 2 during interview, are they going to return my ds 230 which i submitted to the consulate or download again for my own copy?

one more thing, our area wer i stayed before was a flooded area, all my marriage pictures were gone. and sad to say no more negatives since it is not our camera before. i only have our marriage licenses, baptismal ceremony, etc.would it create an issue? anyway its not that impt right? the more impt. thing is the papers or the marriage license.
 
rm101 said:
Ansi,
Call them with number on chennai consulate direct number and ask them to connect to immigration dept.Ask for ur case number .

Thanks RM101 and NJBLUE

I called the consulate last night and got the case number for my wife. The lady said "they will schedule an appointment and let my wife know".

I asked when would that be... and she said she dont know. I tried asking if my wife will get the packet 3 or direct appointment letter... the lady did not listen (OR did not want to listen) to my question and repeatedly said that "they will schedule an appointment and let my wife know".

1. What good is the case number for us now? What to do with that? Is it just a proof that my wife's details are in their computer system?

2. Will they send packet 3 or appointment letter (which is packet 4) directly?

3. I still think we should send DS2001 anyway without waiting for their letter as NJBLUE agreed. Do you agree RM101?

4. Can you guys help me find the DS2001 for chennai consulate? However, the Foreign Affairs Manual says Ds2001 is an optional form... So, my gut feeling is that we can even just send a fax stating that we collected all the documents (specifying the list of docs) and are ready for the interview.

Thanks for your help guys.
Ansi.
 
ansi2004 said:
Thanks RM101 and NJBLUE

I called the consulate last night and got the case number for my wife. The lady said "they will schedule an appointment and let my wife know".

I asked when would that be... and she said she dont know. I tried asking if my wife will get the packet 3 or direct appointment letter... the lady did not listen (OR did not want to listen) to my question and repeatedly said that "they will schedule an appointment and let my wife know".

1. What good is the case number for us now? What to do with that? Is it just a proof that my wife's details are in their computer system?

2. Will they send packet 3 or appointment letter (which is packet 4) directly?

3. I still think we should send DS2001 anyway without waiting for their letter as NJBLUE agreed. Do you agree RM101?

4. Can you guys help me find the DS2001 for chennai consulate? However, the Foreign Affairs Manual says Ds2001 is an optional form... So, my gut feeling is that we can even just send a fax stating that we collected all the documents (specifying the list of docs) and are ready for the interview.

Thanks for your help guys.
Ansi.


Hi ansi,
Good to know that u got case number.Consulate lady is very specific and will
not answer any additional question.I think they are stressed out with volume of calls.I think now ur case is in there system, they will send the packet 3.
I would suggest send an email to chennaiIV@state.gov by giving ur case number and ask that when we can expect to receive packet 3 also ask them can we download and send any way.I sent same email and waiting for response.Since my wife packet 3 is missed in mail. Just wait for 3,4 days and send an email.Some times those lady's will not have info of packet 3 dispatch.

I will let u guys know if hear any thing from them .

Bottom line is having a case number shows that we are on track and when w ecall next time we can directly reference..Just matter of time friends.

NJBLUE do u have any updates for us???

Thanks,
101
 
Hi Ansi2005 & RM101

Thanks for the update. I have sent an e-mail to consulate enquiring about Packet 3 and I haven't received any response yet. I will keep you posted as soon as I have some info.

Thanks
 
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