Imp info. for H4 applicants at Mumbai consulate

T

Tim Willis

Registered Users (C)
My wife applied for her H4 at the Mumbai consulate two weeks back. She got rejected on her first attempt because of a new rule.

Besides the standard supporting documents like (original I-797, marriage cert., company letter, photo album etc.) They are now asking H4 applicants to add spouses name on the last page of the applicants passport. This means that all H4 applicants will essentially have to get a new passport with their spouses name printed on the last page.

Two important changes:

1. You cannot take an appointment for H4 before you are actually married.
2. You cannot take an appointment if spouses name is not present on the last page of the applicants passport.

Tim
 
H4 visa from Mumbai Consulate

Tim, if you can please let me know since when is this new rule effective. I did checked the website and could not find this new requirement. My wife will be going for H4 pretty soon. And also if you have checked whats the procedure to get my name on my wifes pp.
Thanking you in advance.
 
More info on the new rule

Well, that is the part that really surprised me. I checked the VFS website and could not find it mentioned anywhere. Either way, if your wife is already in India she can go to the Visa facilitation service and get all the information on what is needed to apply for an H4. Alternatively, there is a VFS email address where you can send an email and get this confirmed.

I am not exactly sure when they started enforcing this rule, but was probably in the first week of July 2002.

Either way, to get your name added your wife will have to go to the passport office and file an application for adding spouses name. I believe the form fee is 5 Rs and the processing fee is 300 Rs. She will have to go to the passport office which issued her the passport in the first place (i.e. if her passport was issued in Mumbai, she will have to apply in Mumbai).

She will need,
1. Copy of marriage certificate
2. Copy of her current passports first and last page
3. Copy of husbands passport first and last page

I cannot think of anything else that might be needed but I could be missing something, so check with the PP office.

Hope this helps

Tim
 
H4 at mumbai consulate

I checked on the mumbai passport office website. They have something called Tatkal in which i believe they take 10 days to have spouses name added to the passport. However my feeling is this new law will be a problem for many who go to india, get married and want to bring back wife along within a short time span of 15-20 days.
Possibly share experiences/comments.
 
3 to 4 days for adding spouses name

It took 3 days for my wife to get the new passport with my name added on the last page. The passport application form in itself is pretty confusing. Besides that it is not mentioned anywhere about what documents need to be attached along with the application. Here is a list again of the things needed for adding name:

1. Marriage certificate, original and copies
2. Photo copies of wifes current passport along with original
3. Photo copies of husbands passport
4. At times they ask for 'ration card'
5. If you want the passport in 3 days some of the officers there ask you to attach a letter stating the reasons for urgency.

Hope this helps

Tim
 
thanks tim for all the valuable info. 3 days is real quick. so your wife engaged some agent or she did herself...and did she do at worli passport office. so if i have understood it right, its not a new passport issue, but only addition of the spouse name...right?
thanks once again and keep posted about any progress on the same...i was also wondering how they can employ a new rule without mentioning the same in the requirements/documents needed to obtain H4 visa....
 
She will be issued a new passport

Yes I think it is the worli office, if that is the place she was issued her existing passport.

The day my wife went for her H4, it was the first day that they had started enforcing the rule. 12 applicants, all H4's got rejected that day for the same reason; 'spouses name on last page'.

And, she will be issued a NEW PASSPORT with a new passport #. and no, doing it yourself is faster than using an agent (one of the agents told me that)
 
I've included my name in my wife's passport recently

I've recently included my name in my wife's passport - it's basically the same procedure if you want to do the opposite also. I did this to apply for a passport for my daughter, not to get H-4 visa for my wife.

I filled in a "miscellaneous services form" that I downloaded from the internet (free of cost). It costs Rs. 5 if you buy it at the passport office. This form needs one passport size photo of the applicant. I have attached the following to the completed application form:

1. photocopy of my passport (I've copied all the pages which were not blank since the instructions were unclear).
2. photocopy of our marriage certificate.
3. a photo of my wife and I together (need not be from the wedding album)

The following documents were needed to verify the photocopies but were returned immediately (except #1), so I did not attach them to the form:
1. Original passport of my wife
2. My original passport (if available, I provided it because I was there in person)
3. Our original marriage certificate

The fee was Rs. 300 and I got my wife's passport back the next day evening. You can get it done in one day if you can convince the Tatkal officer of the neccessity and pay some extra fee (I don't know how much).

This experience is from Regional Passport Office in Hyderabad, which I should say wasn't too bad.

Hope it helps.

SND
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top