IR5 entry from India for parents

sampat1 said:
brajagopal,
I have not received written confirmation from them. I guess as you pointed out, will need to check with them first.
IR5 option was not there before.
Please update us if you find out any additional info about it.
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I just checked and the website for scheduling the IR visa shows IR-5! However the questionnaire asks if State Department scheduled it or any communication was received for the interview and when you answer No to them, it tells you to email Support on that site :-(
 
I had sent an email two days ago to support-india@ustraveldocs and got this response. I had asked this for my mom: For reissue of IR-5/I-551 what category do I need to schedule for me? My I551 issued in Mar 2020 expired in May 2020 due to COVID travel shutdown. What category do I select to schedule an interview at Mumbai Consulate?

Can we just show up in Mumbai after fixing an appointment with the updated Police Clearance and Medical certificate ?


Dear Applicant:

Thank you for writing to our office.

We understand that you are unable to use the immigrant visa before the expiry date and wish to know if the visa validity can be extended.

In response to your questions, issued immigrant visas are generally valid for six months or in some cases three months after issuance. If an applicant does not use an issued immigrant visa within its period of validity, a replacement visa may only be issued if the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the consular officer that he/she did not use the issued visa because of reasons beyond his/her control and for which he/she was not responsible.

CR1/2 and IR1/2 applicant’s applying for re-issuance of their Immigrant Visa will need to log in to http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in and select “Consulate Appointments” in order to schedule your appointment at the Consulate.

For Extension of an Expired Visa Applicants should bring the following documents:
• Fees of $325, which must be paid by international credit card or in cash. Please carry exact change if paying in cash. As the consular rate of exchange can change, check it at http://www.ustraveldocs.com the day before your interview to obtain the current consular rate of exchange. Consular fees are not refundable.DS 260 confirmation page
• Two recent photographs (2 x 2 inches)
• Obtain an updated Medical Report (No X-ray films or discs). A list of panel physicians is available at http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/immigrant_visas.html. Medical reports are valid for 6 months, and in certain cases 3 months. The visa is only valid for the duration of the medical report’s validity.
• Obtain an updated Police Clearance Certificate from the Regional Passport Office. Police certificates are valid for one year from the date of issuance.

We hope this information is helpful to you.

Please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/gss_india to share feedback on the services we provide.

Sincerely,
U.S. Visa Service Desk
 
@sriram1975: Yes, that is a generic response I had received in the past as well. However, they did newly enable IR5 visa renewal appointments under "Embassy/Consulate Appointments" section. Do you see it?
 
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Thanks for the info! I didn't click on that option earlier.

I select this:
1615232453408.png

Then this:
1615232503796.png

Then this:
1615232543650.png

After two more button clicks filling out mom's passport info, contact info, address etc.. I get this:
1615231514920.png

I get the "No appointments available" message. I tried it several times with either option and result is that with option suggested by sampat1 results in No appointments available.
1615231670745.png

Were others successful in scheduling an appointment after choosing the expired visa option?
 
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You mean change from Mumbai to Delhi? Are we allowed to do that ? Yeah, while I saw no dates earlier, my mom cannot make it before April 1st before she takes her second shot of vaccine. Even if they get an appointment in the next two weeks, getting PCC and Medical in short time will mean chaos and undue anxiety for them.

Just now I tried to login to CGIFederal website to check for slots, and the website says account has been locked for 72 hours due to suspicious activity! Maybe because I went back and forth with different options!
 
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sriram1975 said:
You mean change from Mumbai to Delhi? Are we allowed to do that ? Yeah, while I saw no dates earlier, my mom cannot make it before April 1st before she takes her second shot of vaccine. Even if they get an appointment in the next two weeks, getting PCC and Medical in short time will mean chaos and undue anxiety for them.
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Not sure if you could choose different interview location, just to see if other locations had dates available, but looks like Mumbai has couple of March dates.
Trying to get PCC and Medical in such a short time is difficult, especially with current situation. My mom tried to get PCC done but had to go back again for additional documents. Hopefully more slots will open up for April.
 
I had emailed usatraveldocs. As per them: CR1/2 and IR1/2 applicant’s applying for re-issuance of their Immigrant Visa will need to log in and select “Consulate Appointments” in order to schedule your appointment at the Consulate.

About IR5: "Any update regarding the IR5 visa category you will be communicated then you may procced accordingly with the confirmation you are not allowed to schedule the appointment."
 
Can you please clarify this ? Any update regarding the IR5 visa category you will be communicated then you may procced accordingly with the confirmation you are not allowed to schedule the appointment
 
sriram1975 said:
Can you please clarify this ? Any update regarding the IR5 visa category you will be communicated then you may procced accordingly with the confirmation you are not allowed to schedule the appointment
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Above I quoted what they replied me in the email.
I assume what they are saying is you have to have some official notification from them that asks you to make the appointment.
1615391627274.png
So may be they are still processing CR1/2, IR1/2 and may begin processing IR5 in the near future.
On Twitter they indicated: "We are contacting applicants for cases in chronological order, by visa category, with instructions to continue processing their cases"

Anyone else has any update?
 
I doubt if they are going to contact people who have already had their I551 stamped on passports that couldn't travel due to COVID lockdown. What chronological order I'm not sure. There would have been people who would have gotten approval and traveled in the two weeks before shutdown and some who would have done in June/July 2020. Are they going to go through the USCIS database, cross-check with the visas they have issued and then send email/mail to those people who didn't get to use their visa ? That sounds like too much to ask from a Dept of State employee! ;)

If they were that concerned, they would perhaps ask the people 60+ who had already had an interview before the covid shutdown to do a drop box in their respective cities for a new I551 imho.
 
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sriram1975 said:
I doubt if they are going to contact people who have already had their I551 stamped on passports that couldn't travel due to COVID lockdown. What chronological order I'm not sure. There would have been people who would have gotten approval and traveled in the two weeks before shutdown and some who would have done in June/July 2020. Are they going to go through the USCIS database, cross-check with the visas they have issued and then send email/mail to those people who didn't get to use their visa ? That sounds like too much to ask from a Dept of State employee! ;)

If they were that concerned, they would perhaps ask the people 60+ who had already had an interview before the covid shutdown to do a drop box in their respective cities for a new I551 imho.
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Just a technical point, you keep referring to I551. An I551 is a green card, not a visa. An unused visa does not become an I551, that only happens to a visa that has been validated on entry before expiry.
 
sriram1975 said:
I doubt if they are going to contact people who have already had their I551 stamped on passports that couldn't travel due to COVID lockdown. What chronological order I'm not sure. There would have been people who would have gotten approval and traveled in the two weeks before shutdown and some who would have done in June/July 2020. Are they going to go through the USCIS database, cross-check with the visas they have issued and then send email/mail to those people who didn't get to use their visa ? That sounds like too much to ask from a Dept of State employee! ;)

If they were that concerned, they would perhaps ask the people 60+ who had already had an interview before the covid shutdown to do a drop box in their respective cities for a new I551 imho.
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Not sure what chronological order means here and how would they know whom to contact for IR5 renewals and how they would contact them.
It would help if any CR1/2, IR1/2 renewals could share their experience.
 
sriram1975 said:
Susie I meant it as the I551 temporary stamp on the passport. I thought permanent residency is an Immigrant Visa.
My understanding is based on this definition: https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-72?language=en_US
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The immigrant visa is just a visa. Once it has been used for entry it becomes a temporary i551 (when endorsed - read the small print at the bottom of the visa - by endorsed they mean stamped at entry). It is not and does not become a I551 until it has been stamped for entry, and by extension your parents do not become permanent residents until then. Until that day, it is just a visa, albeit a visa that is intended to lead to permanent residence. If you start talking about your parents already having an i551, or having an “i551 stamp” in their passport, to anyone at the embassy, you could confuse them as to your parents’ actual status. An i551 stamp in a passport is a thing that does exist, and that is proof that the person already is an LPR. This is not your parents case.
 
SusieQQQ said:
The immigrant visa is just a visa. Once it has been used for entry it becomes a temporary i551 (when endorsed - read the small print at the bottom of the visa - by endorsed they mean stamped at entry). It is not and does not become a I551 until it has been stamped for entry, and by extension your parents do not become permanent residents until then. Until that day, it is just a visa, albeit a visa that is intended to lead to permanent residence. If you start talking about your parents already having an i551, or having an “i551 stamp” in their passport, to anyone at the embassy, you could confuse them as to your parents’ actual status. An i551 stamp in a passport is a thing that does exist, and that is proof that the person already is an LPR. This is not your parents case.
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Got it ( think). The stamp on the passport after an embassy/consulate interview is just a immigrant visa. It becomes a temp I551 after endorsement at Port of Entry. Right? Thx. Had no idea with the nuances of the various terms!!

www.uscis.gov

Temporary I-551 Stamps and MRIVs | USCIS

A machine-readable immigrant visa (MRIV) usually has the following text on it: “UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR.” When a new immigrant first
www.uscis.gov
 
Came across: drive.google.com file d 1HN10swxEbGBK57odb7qItqyKzhRgS203 view
(add / for blanks)
Not sure what "Documentarily Qualified" date would mean for IR5 renewal.
1615520599552.png
 
My father got the IR5 visa last year in January 20. But he was not able to travel to US due to Covid-19 pandemic. Now he is going for his interview at Bombay for expired visa IR5 category.
My questions, does he need to update the DS260? IF yes, how can I do it?
Also does he need to do the finger prints before appearing interview.
Any suggestions or information is appreciated.
Please share if anyone has any info regarding these 2 concerns.
Thanks in advance.
 
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