JULY 2003 CHENNAI CP EXPERIENCES

K

kant

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,

Created this thread so that we July CPers can share our CP experiences. I am leaving for Chennai tomorrow (07/15) by LUF. Will post once I reach chennai.

This is the list of July CPers for your reference.

chennupandu -- 22nd 8:00am
cp_chennai_hyd -- 22nd 8:00am
kant -- 22nd 8:00am
holy_gc -- 22nd 9:00am
karthi_ram -- 22nd 9:00am
bvganesh -- 22nd 10:00am
ssn43017 -- 23rd 8:00am
ram1329 -- 23rd 9:00am
chencp2003 -- 23rd 10:00am
gopal72 -- 29th 10:00am

Good luck to all !


-Kant.
 
dist/time from Lister labs to Dr.Vij's Padma Nursing home

sorry for the intrusion in the July-forum.

Can one of the Chennaiite CPers
comment on this ...
Is it possible to pick up
lab report at 4:30 and be at
Padma Nursing home by 5:00 on a Monday?

July CPers,
also please post your experiences/
suggestions for rental cars

Thanks,
 
Hi,

My interview date is 28th August.

Is it okay to complete the medicals in lister lab and the doctor appointment on August 25th ?????

Is lister lab and Dr. Vijayalakshmi clinic open on saturdays ???

Please advice so that I can make the travel arrangements accordingly.

Thanks,
Lux
 
replies to luxGC & CBEGuy

Originally posted by luxGC
Hi,

My interview date is 28th August.

Is it okay to complete the medicals in lister lab and the doctor appointment on August 25th ?????

Is lister lab and Dr. Vijayalakshmi clinic open on saturdays ???

Please advice so that I can make the travel arrangements accordingly.

Thanks,
Lux
Click to expand...

Hi CBEGUY:
You can collect the reports at 4.30PM and reach Dr.V's hospital by 5.00PM. I did the same. It just takes 15 minutes in Auto . ( I went on Thursday). Even if you are late by half an hour or so,(incase), there is absolutely no problem. Dr.V is nice docotor.
So don't worry.. and schedule your appointments .

Hi LuxGC:
I know that Lister lab is open on Saturday. ( I specifically asked them and they said yes.).
About Dr. V. as per the Packet4 instruction, Dr.V works on Saturday also. But you need to confirm it from them. better call her... her numbers are : 26413445/46 Call to hospital and take the appointment now itself.

Good luck,
Sam.
 
Hi kumar_sam,

Thank you so much for your response.... I will call Dr. Vij and fix an appointment.

Thanks,
lux
 
Got my medicals done!

Guys,

Here is my GC timeline. Since I am a native Chennai resident, I don't have any notes on Hotel (for stay) and autorickshaw (for travel).

5th July 3:00am: Reached India
5th July 8:15am: My wife & myself had gone to lister labs.
5th July 8:35am: Completed the forms with the photo.
5th July 8:50am: Got our X-ray and blood extracted.

Cost: Rs. 1200.00/-

Things required here:
1. Your GC appointment letter.
2. Medical form that is available with packet 4
3. Passport size photographs (one for each individual). (It could be ordinary passport size photograph and doesn't require immigration style)

(For people trying to locate this. Mention "GANPAT" hotel on NUNGAMBAKKAM HIGH ROAD as a reference. This street 'JAGANATHAN STREET' is just opposite to this hotel)

5th July 10:30am: Went to camera citi.
5th July 10:40am: Immigration style photographs taken for both myself and my wife.
5th July 11:00am: Waited for 15 minutes and collected the photographs.

Wife had to take off her ear-ring, bindi and I had to take of my spectacles.

Cost: Rs. 200.00 (for 10 copies each -- for myself & my wife. No negatives provided as this is done digitally)

Things required here:
NONE

5th July 4:30pm: Collected our x-rays and reports (sealed in an envelope with the medical form we had filled) from lister labs

Cost: None. As everything was pre-paid in the morning.

Things required here:
None.

5th July 5:03pm: Went to Dr. Vijayalakshmi's hospital. We had our appointment for 5:00pm.
5th July 5:30pm: Called in by the Dr.
5th July 5:45pm: General checkup completed. Dr. asked me whether I had got chicken pox. I said yes, when I was a kid. Hence no Chicken pox vaccine. Only MMR.
5th July 5:55pm: My wife's checkup completed and MMR admistered to her even though she had MMR when she was a kid.
5th July 6:10pm: Dr. V gave the reports in a sealed envelope. She mentioned everything was mentioned in the report and seem to be ok. (Just curious, did Dr. V give the reports sealed for everybody who had gone to her?)


Cost: Rs. 1500.00/- (Rs. 600.00 per person for the visit and Rs. 150.00 per person for the MMR)

Things required here:
1. Your GC appointment letter
2. Any past vaccination report with date (if available).

NOTE: Any vaccination older than 4 or 5 years would usually be discounted and may have to be readministered. The Dr. mentioned this. Also she wanted to post the info to the fourm that if you have any vaccination records, please make sure you bring it. Atleast get a letter from your family Doctor mentioning what vaccinations were administered to you and when.


TIMELINE continues......


NOTE: This is a repost from "LIKELY JULY INTERVIEW -- CHENNAI - track here" Thread
 
Vaccination record

Hi bvganesh,

A question on vaccination record:

I do not have any immunization record and I don' t remember getting any vaccinations done in the last 5 yrs or so and same applies to my wife as well. Will it mean(based on your comments) I have to go through the pains of all the immunization shots again ??

I also understand not all the vaccinations can be administered at the same time and a gap of certain # of days is needed, so if the interview schedule does not permit the completion of all vaccination what happens ??

Appreciate your comments.

RK
 
Medical Completed

Completed medicals(lab&Dr. Mathai) on 11-july.
Lister - reached at 7:40 took maybe 20mins for fee/blood/xray. Only one other person was there.
I didn't have any vaccination records but my wife did. Dr. Mathai after listening to our medical history(ckn pox, etc.) gave MMR for both of us. He also looked at all my medical reports and gave some suggetions. I was worried about a positive TB skin test in the US. Dr. said nothing to worry, most Indians would test positive.

Took photo at Konica - thought it was over-exposed.
Next day took at Camera-citi - Photo looks digitally touched, bronzy look.
Decided to stick with the Konica photo.
BTW, Konica specifies Rs.136/- for 16pics+CD. Also has Without CD for 108/- .
 
Re: Vaccination record

RK_0629,
>I have to go through the pains of all the immunization shots again ??
Most probably you may have to undergo only the MMR. I didn't have any immunization records either.
 
Re: Vaccination record

Originally posted by RK_0629
Hi bvganesh,

A question on vaccination record:

I do not have any immunization record and I don' t remember getting any vaccinations done in the last 5 yrs or so and same applies to my wife as well. Will it mean(based on your comments) I have to go through the pains of all the immunization shots again ??

I also understand not all the vaccinations can be administered at the same time and a gap of certain # of days is needed, so if the interview schedule does not permit the completion of all vaccination what happens ??

Appreciate your comments.

RK
Click to expand...

Not all vaccinations are required! The doctor decides what needs to be administered. Certain vaccines like Tetanus is effective for 5 years.. but things like chicken pox is effective for lifetime...

I did have chicken pox when I was a kid. Hence Dr. V said that I don't need to take that. She just gave me MMR.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Ganesh.
 
Successfully completed the interview!!

Guyz,

Hot!! Just now came back home from the consulate

Myself and my wife have successfully completed our interview today. (22nd July 10:00am -- about 3 hours back ;) ).

I'll post my experience in two parts.

In the first part, I'll describe my preparations and the required documents I had taken.

In the 2nd part, I'll narrate the interview experience.

Overall the whole process was smooth and painless. I would certainly recommend CP.

Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot for all the people who help me in preparing for the interview and all the valuable inputs and answers to all my quries and hats off for Rajeev Khanna without who's efforts my CP process might have me tedious.

Cheers,
Ganesh.
 
Ganesh CP Exp. PART I -- Preparation!!

This will help us all gear up for the JULY interview:

SECTION 1 -- Things required before leaving US

1. Collect NOTARIZED employment letter
   (2/3 copies would be good)
2. Collect NOTARIZED Affidavit of support (I-134) for spouse
   (Required if your wife is getting her GC along with you)
3. Collect last 3 years' Tax copies from IRS
4. Get Sailing permit from IRS (Just-in-case item)
5. Get PCC from Indian Consualte in US
   (if you are in US)
6. Take the receipt of form IV bill ($335/- PP paid to NVC)
7. If you have stayed only in India and US Email Chennai Consulate
   as to whether you need a PCC from India.Almost always they would
   reply that you wouldn't need one and that the one issued
   from Indian Consualte is enough. Take a PRINTOUT of that email.
8. Collect all contact information like phone nos, Fax & emails of --
   NVC, your employer's, your attorney's, Chennai consulate's etc.
   This cheat-sheet will help you very much when something doesn't
   work according to the plan
9. Collect the last 2/3 years of Audited/Unaudited
    Financial report of your company (Just-in-case item)


SECTION 2 -- Things required At Chennai

PHOTO STUDIOS -- Mention Side posture, Immigration style, 37 x 37 MM.
Konica colour lab -- opposite to Chola Sheraton
Apollo colour lab --
Premier Studios -- opposite to stella maris college.
Camera Citi -- right across Hotel Chola Sheraton, Cathedral Road.

BLOOD TEST & XRAYS -- Mention that the test is for immigartion
Lister Labs -- across Taj Cormondel hotel
   No. 13 (Old No. 6) Jagannathan Road, Chennai 600 034
   Tel: 28222561, 28222562 Fax: 7139636
   Hours: 7:30 am to 10:30 am, Mon – Sat;
   pickup daily 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Note 1: There is an extension to that lab 2 blocks down the down with the
same name. Check whether it is the lab where tests for immigration is done!

Note 2: Have 3/4 regular Passport-size photographs handy always.
It would required during doctors visit.


DOCTORS VISIT -- Please carry the following documents

1. Your Passport
2. The Interview letter that comes in Packet 4
    ( the yellow sheet)
3. The lab report
4. A passport style photograph. (you would have
    pasted another photo on the lab report)
5. Your vaccination records ( if any )

Fee: (Approx.)
Rs.600 per adult ,
Rs. 350/- for child
and amount for any extra shots.
(Carry roughly Rs.4000/- to Rs. 5000/- in cash with you. )


DOCTORS ADDRESS -- Still working on it.. will update it later


1. Dr. V. Rajkumar
   1 Club Road, Chetpet, Chennai 600 031
   Tel: 28265122
   Hours: 8 am to noon and 6 pm to 8 pm, Mon – Sat
   For Appointments via email: venkatraman_rajkumar@vsnl.net

2. Dr. N. Vijayalaksmi, Padma Nursing Home,
   753 Poonamalle High Road, Kilpauk, Chennai 600 010
   Tel: 26413445, 26413446
   Hours: 10 am to 4 pm, Mon – Sat

3. Dr. Mathai Thomas, Best Hospital Pvt. Ltd.,
   9 Vellala Street, Kodambakkam, Chennai 600 024
   Tel: 24832777, 24832781, 24831407
   Hours: 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm, Mon – Sat

4. Dr. Sanjan John
   9 Dr. T.V. Naidu Road (Off. Spurtank Road), Chetpet, Chennai 600 031
   Tel: 28240808, 28265519
   Hours: 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm, Mon – Sat


SECTION 3 -- Complete Documentation for Interview

For APPLICANT:

 1. Cover letter / Appointment letter & OF-171
 2. DS-230 Part I & II. Part II unsigned.
     -- Can Take a photocopy of DS-230 Part I and add "NONE"
       next to all N/A and sign adjacent to existing signature with
       the current date (ie. date of the interview).
 3. Original Marriage Certificate followed by Photocopy.
 4. Wedding photos & Invitation card.
 5. Original Birth Certificate followed by Photocopy.
 6. Employment Letter (Notarized) followed by Photocopy.
 7. PCCs followed by Photocopies.
 8. Passport and immigration style photos (3 cpoies).
     (Sign on the front bottom for 2 of them and leave the 3rd one blank)
 9. Medical reports in the original envelop from Dr. xxx
10. Bank statement followed by a photocopy
11. IRS Tax transcript for (2000, 2001 & 2002).
12. W2 for the year 2002 followed by photocopy.
13. IRS-9003 (Sailing Permit) (Just-in-case item).

For each DEPENDENT(S):

Above items 1 through 10 with the following changes:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. Only a photocopy of the marriage certificate.
   (Item not required for dependent children)
 4. (Item not required)

In addtion to the above you need:
---------------------------------------------
11. NOTARIZED Affidavit of support I-134 followed by a photocopy
12. Wife's employment letter followed by a photocopy
   (if she is working)

Note: Arrange all the documents in order and slip them inside the passport for each individual. This makes things a lot easier.


SECTION 4 -- Things that MAY be useful if carried

1. All your H1-B (I-797) papers
2. 4 or 5 months of pay stubs.


SECTION 5 -- Things required AFTER interview

1. Remember to collect all your ORIGINALS. (important)
2. Take all receipts if any paid (to get reimbursement if eligible ;) )


SECTION 6 -- After Interview
1. Take with you couple of immigration style photographs with you.
     You might need it if in case you have your name misspelled on the plastic card!
2. Verify your case status online
3. If your PC is to dispatched from Texas, you could call (214) 381 1423 to check your status.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ganesh CP Exp. Part II -- In Chennai!

Here is my GC timeline. Since I am a native Chennai resident, I don't have any notes on Hotel (for stay) and autorickshaw (for travel).

MEDICALS & PHOTOGRAPHS

5th July 3:00am: Reached India
5th July 8:15am: My wife & myself had gone to lister labs.
5th July 8:35am: Completed the forms with the photo.
5th July 8:50am: Got our X-ray and blood extracted.

Cost: Rs. 1200.00/-

Things required here:
1. Your GC appointment letter.
2. Medical form that is available with packet 4
3. Passport size photographs (one for each individual). (It could be ordinary passport size photograph and doesn't require immigration style)

(For people trying to locate this. Mention "GANPAT" hotel on NUNGAMBAKKAM HIGH ROAD as a reference. This street 'JAGANATHAN STREET' is just opposite to this hotel)

5th July 10:30am: Went to camera citi.
5th July 10:40am: Immigration style photographs taken for both myself and my wife.
5th July 11:00am: Waited for 15 minutes and collected the photographs.

Wife had to take off her ear-ring, bindi and I had to take of my spectacles.

Cost: Rs. 200.00 (for 10 copies each -- for myself & my wife. No negatives provided as this is done digitally)

Things required here:
NONE

5th July 4:30pm: Collected our x-rays and reports (sealed in an envelope with the medical form we had filled) from lister labs

Cost: None. As everything was pre-paid in the morning.

Things required here:
None.

5th July 5:03pm: Went to Dr. Vijayalakshmi's hospital. We had our appointment for 5:00pm.
5th July 5:30pm: Called in by the Dr.
5th July 5:45pm: General checkup completed. Dr. asked me whether I had got chicken pox. I said yes, when I was a kid. Hence no Chicken pox vaccine. Only MMR.
5th July 5:55pm: My wife's checkup completed and MMR admistered to her even though she had MMR when she was a kid.
5th July 6:10pm: Dr. V gave the reports in a sealed envelope. She mentioned everything was mentioned in the report and seem to be ok. (Just curious, did Dr. V give the reports sealed for everybody who had gone to her?)


Cost: Rs. 1500.00/- (Rs. 600.00 per person for the visit and Rs. 150.00 per person for the MMR)

Things required here:
1. Your GC appointment letter
2. Any past vaccination report with date (if available).

NOTE: Any vaccination older than 4 or 5 years would usually be discounted and may have to be readministered. The Dr. mentioned this. Also she wanted to post the info to the fourm that if you have any vaccination records, please make sure you bring it. Atleast get a letter from your family Doctor mentioning what vaccinations were administered to you and when.


A DAY BEFORE THE INTERVIEW
21st July:
Whole day, revisited the documents and arranged in 5 different transparent folders.

1. Original Documents for Myself
2. Original Documents for my wife
3. Just-in-case Documents for Myself
4. Just-in-case Documents for my wife
5. Other unexpected documents.

Revisited the documents again and relaxed.

ON THE DAY OF INTERVIEW
22nd July 9:25am: Reached Consulate. There were about 10 people standing in line.
22nd July 9:26am: Bypassed the queue and went to the counter directly and said that I am here for my 10:00am immigration interview. The security got my appointment letter and my passport. Checked my wife's passport and let us in.
22nd July 9:30am: Went inside the consulate. Took a right turn and went pass 5 or 6 counters and crossed the road to the adacent building and pushed open the Huuuuuge steel door and went inside.
22nd July 9:35am: Asked a consulate guy who was yelling out numbers whether we need to pick up some token or something. He asked us whether it was immigration or non-immigration visa. We told him that it was IV. He asked us to take chair and told that our names would be called.
22nd July 9:45am: Chose a corner spot among the chair laid out before the 8 counters.

22nd July 10:30am: Our names were called from counter # 7. An Indian guy collected all our documents and returned the originals. He seemed a nice and jovial guy. He gave two papers for me to fill up and one paper for my wife to fill up. (One doc for letting the consulate know if in case I lose my job before I leave India and the other one for issuing social security #) Here is the quick conversation between us.

Counter Guy: Do you have your payslip?
Myself: Yes sir. Here it is (I gave just the recent one and a photocopy).
Counter Guy: (Returns the original payslip and keeps the copy.) Your have organized the documents very neatly. (I had put a green sticky- tag for original documents and a red sticky-tay for photocopies and had organized the documents in a original-followed-by-photocopy for each document and held it together with the passport)
Counter Guy: Please take your seat and your names will be called at counter #6.

The document submission took about 7 minutes.

22nd July 10:50am: The officer called my name at counter #6.

Myself: Good Morning. How are you today?
Officer: Fine Thank you sir. How about yourself?
Myself: Fine. Thanks.
Officer: How long you had been in US?
Myself: Four years.
Officer: When did you first go to US?
Myself: xxx-1998 on a Business Visa
Officer: (looking at my passport) Where is your previous passport?
Myself: I lost it in a car burgulary last November.
Officer: Where did you loose it?
Myself: In Kansas.
Officer: Does Kasas have lot of crimes?
Myself: My places is usually crime-free.
Officer: Haa.. haa.. Crime-free place and you say somebody stole your passport.. haa.. haa... Do you have a police report?
Myself: Yes. Sir. (I open my just-in-case folder and had to flip thro the documents to find that....took me couple of minutes)
Officer: (Jokingly) Please give me my police report (walks away from his desk)
Myself: (still skimming thro the documents)
Officer: (Comes back).... still didn't find it... hmmm.. shall I get my breakfast and be back? haa.. haa.. (walks away and comes back with a cup of coffee)
Myself: Here you go!
Officer: (Looks at the report) What are things you lost.... (reads the list of things listed as stolen in the report)
Officer: Do you have your previous H1-B approvals or any other document to prove that you had been in status?
Myself: (Showed all my H1-B approval notices)
Officer: (Didn't cared to go through all of them). Ok that's fine.
Officer: When did you get married?
My Wife: (date)
Officer: Do you have kids?
My Wife: (after a little hesitation) No.
Officer: Hmm... you are hesitating.. ..haa.. haa..
Myself & My Wife: No. We are just planning.
Officer: Good. (Looks at medical report of my wife and asks) How are you doing after your operation? Did you have the cist removed for Thyroid? How are you doing now?
My Wife:Yes. I am doing fine.
Officer: How long had you been in the hospital?
My Wife: About 3 weeks.
Officer: My mom too had a similar surgery recently.
My Wife: Is it? How is she doing?
Officer: She is doing fine. Do you have any marriage photographs of yours?
My Wife: Here you go. (gives the photos)
Officer: Looks through few and comments (looking at me) poor guy... trying to put up a big smile before the crowd.. haa.. haa...
Myself: Hee. heee...
Officer: Your visa has been issued and you are free to leave the consulate. Your passports would be sent by courier in 2-3 days. Have a wonderful life in America.
Myself & My Wife: Thanks you. And you have a wonderful day!

22nd July 10:59am: Out of consulate and started back home!!


AFTER INTERVIEW & Before leaving INDIA

.................. "COMING SOON" .......................


Cheers,
Ganesh.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Successful CP !

Appointment on July 22nd at 9am,
got into the consulate at 9:05am,
called to submit documents at 9:15am,
called again by the consular officer at 9:35am,
after a few simple questions and document verification, heard :
"Your visa has been issued and you are free to leave the consulate. Your passports would be sent by courier in 2-3 days."

To my pleasant surprise, everything was completed before 9:45am - just within 45 minutes :)
CP is great, CP is the way to go !!!

Shall post the details soon ...

Cheers
Karthi
 
Immigration visa issued.

Hi Everyone ,

My immigration visa has been issued.

Appt was at 8 am. Went to the consulate at around 7:45 am.Was promptly ushered into the consulate by 8 am and directed to the section for immigrant visa interview.

Submitted the documents in the order specified in packet 4. Was called by the consulate officer at around 9:15 am.
The questions asked by the officer to me -

1. How long have you been in U.S ?
2. How long have you been with your company.
3. On what visa did you come to U.S.
4. How many people employed in your company
5. How long have you been on H1 visa.
6. Did you work outside U.S at any time.


Questions for my wife
1. How long have you been married.
2. Marriage date.
3. Are you employed.
4. Where were you employed.


That's it- a few simple questions and he asked us to sign the form and said that our immigrant visa has been issued and we are free to leave the consulate.

Thanks to Rajeev Khanna for providing this wonderful forum for everyone to share their experiences.

Special thanks to Raju595, Rajeev kumar and others who have answered my numerous questions.

Hoping to receive the passport tomorrow.

Good luck to everyone who are yet to attend the interview.

-Kant.
 
Re: Successful CP !

Originally posted by karthi_ram
Appointment on July 22nd at 9am,
got into the consulate at 9:05am,
called to submit documents at 9:15am,
called again by the consular officer at 9:35am,
after a few simple questions and document verification, heard :
"Your visa has been issued and you are free to leave the consulate. Your passports would be sent by courier in 2-3 days."

To my pleasant surprise, everything was completed before 9:45am - just within 45 minutes :)
CP is great, CP is the way to go !!!

Shall post the details soon ...

Cheers
Karthi
Click to expand...

Congrats, Karthi_ram.
 
Re: Ganesh CP Exp. Part II -- In Chennai!

Originally posted by bvganesh
Here is my GC timeline. Since I am a native Chennai resident, I don't have any notes on Hotel (for stay) and autorickshaw (for travel).

MEDICALS & PHOTOGRAPHS

5th July 3:00am: Reached India
5th July 8:15am: My wife & myself had gone to lister labs.
5th July 8:35am: Completed the forms with the photo.
5th July 8:50am: Got our X-ray and blood extracted.

Cost: Rs. 1200.00/-

Things required here:
1. Your GC appointment letter.
2. Medical form that is available with packet 4
3. Passport size photographs (one for each individual). (It could be ordinary passport size photograph and doesn't require immigration style)

(For people trying to locate this. Mention "GANPAT" hotel on NUNGAMBAKKAM HIGH ROAD as a reference. This street 'JAGANATHAN STREET' is just opposite to this hotel)

5th July 10:30am: Went to camera citi.
5th July 10:40am: Immigration style photographs taken for both myself and my wife.
5th July 11:00am: Waited for 15 minutes and collected the photographs.

Wife had to take off her ear-ring, bindi and I had to take of my spectacles.

Cost: Rs. 200.00 (for 10 copies each -- for myself & my wife. No negatives provided as this is done digitally)

Things required here:
NONE

5th July 4:30pm: Collected our x-rays and reports (sealed in an envelope with the medical form we had filled) from lister labs

Cost: None. As everything was pre-paid in the morning.

Things required here:
None.

5th July 5:03pm: Went to Dr. Vijayalakshmi's hospital. We had our appointment for 5:00pm.
5th July 5:30pm: Called in by the Dr.
5th July 5:45pm: General checkup completed. Dr. asked me whether I had got chicken pox. I said yes, when I was a kid. Hence no Chicken pox vaccine. Only MMR.
5th July 5:55pm: My wife's checkup completed and MMR admistered to her even though she had MMR when she was a kid.
5th July 6:10pm: Dr. V gave the reports in a sealed envelope. She mentioned everything was mentioned in the report and seem to be ok. (Just curious, did Dr. V give the reports sealed for everybody who had gone to her?)


Cost: Rs. 1500.00/- (Rs. 600.00 per person for the visit and Rs. 150.00 per person for the MMR)

Things required here:
1. Your GC appointment letter
2. Any past vaccination report with date (if available).

NOTE: Any vaccination older than 4 or 5 years would usually be discounted and may have to be readministered. The Dr. mentioned this. Also she wanted to post the info to the fourm that if you have any vaccination records, please make sure you bring it. Atleast get a letter from your family Doctor mentioning what vaccinations were administered to you and when.


A DAY BEFORE THE INTERVIEW
21st July:
Whole day, revisited the documents and arranged in 5 different transparent folders.

1. Original Documents for Myself
2. Original Documents for my wife
3. Just-in-case Documents for Myself
4. Just-in-case Documents for my wife
5. Other unexpected documents.

Revisited the documents again and relaxed.

ON THE DAY OF INTERVIEW
22nd July 9:25am: Reached Consulate. There were about 10 people standing in line.
22nd July 9:26am: Bypassed the queue and went to the counter directly and said that I am here for my 10:00am immigration interview. The security got my appointment letter and my passport. Checked my wife's passport and let us in.
22nd July 9:30am: Went inside the consulate. Took a right turn and went pass 5 or 6 counters and crossed the road to the adacent building and pushed open the Huuuuuge steel door and went inside.
22nd July 9:35am: Asked a consulate guy who was yelling out numbers whether we need to pick up some token or something. He asked us whether it was immigration or non-immigration visa. We told him that it was IV. He asked us to take chair and told that our names would be called.
22nd July 9:45am: Chose a corner spot among the chair laid out before the 8 counters.

22nd July 10:30am: Our names were called from counter # 7. An Indian guy collected all our documents and returned the originals. He seemed a nice and jovial guy. He gave two papers for me to fill up and one paper for my wife to fill up. (One doc for letting the consulate know if in case I lose my job before I leave India and the other one for issuing social security #) Here is the quick conversation between us.

Counter Guy: Do you have your payslip?
Myself: Yes sir. Here it is (I gave just the recent one and a photocopy).
Counter Guy: (Returns the original payslip and keeps the copy.) Your have organized the documents very neatly. (I had put a green sticky- tag for original documents and a red sticky-tay for photocopies and had organized the documents in a original-followed-by-photocopy for each document and held it together with the passport)
Counter Guy: Please take your seat and your names will be called at counter #6.

The document submission took about 7 minutes.

22nd July 10:50am: The officer called my name at counter #6.

Myself: Good Morning. How are you today?
Officer: Fine Thank you sir. How about yourself?
Myself: Fine. Thanks.
Officer: How long you had been in US?
Myself: Four years.
Officer: When did you first go to US?
Myself: xxx-1998 on a Business Visa
Officer: (looking at my passport) Where is your previous passport?
Myself: I lost it in a car burgulary last November.
Officer: Where did you loose it?
Myself: In Kansas.
Officer: Does Kasas have lot of crimes?
Myself: My places is usually crime-free.
Officer: Haa.. haa.. Crime-free place and you say somebody stole your passport.. haa.. haa... Do you have a police report?
Myself: Yes. Sir. (I open my just-in-case folder and had to flip thro the documents to find that....took me couple of minutes)
Officer: (Jokingly) Please give me my police report (walks away from his desk)
Myself: (still skimming thro the documents)
Officer: (Comes back).... still didn't find it... hmmm.. shall I get my breakfast and be back? haa.. haa.. (walks away and comes back with a cup of coffee)
Myself: Here you go!
Officer: (Looks at the report) What are things you lost.... (reads the list of things listed as stolen in the report)
Officer: Do you have your previous H1-B approvals or any other document to prove that you had been in status?
Myself: (Showed all my H1-B approval notices)
Officer: (Didn't cared to go through all of them). Ok that's fine.
Officer: When did you get married?
My Wife: (date)
Officer: Do you have kids?
My Wife: (after a little hesitation) No.
Officer: Hmm... you are hesitating.. ..haa.. haa..
Myself & My Wife: No. We are just planning.
Officer: Good. (Looks at medical report of my wife and asks) How are you doing after your operation? Did you have the cist removed for Thyroid? How are you doing now?
My Wife:Yes. I am doing fine.
Officer: How long had you been in the hospital?
My Wife: About 3 weeks.
Officer: My mom too had a similar surgery recently.
My Wife: Is it? How is she doing?
Officer: She is doing fine. Do you have any marriage photographs of yours?
My Wife: Here you go. (gives the photos)
Officer: Looks through few and comments (looking at me) poor guy... trying to put up a big smile before the crowd.. haa.. haa...
Myself: Hee. heee...
Officer: Your visa has been issued and you are free to leave the consulate. Your passports would be sent by courier in 2-3 days. Have a wonderful life in America.
Myself & My Wife: Thanks you. And you have a wonderful day!

22nd July 10:59am: Out of consulate and started back home!!


AFTER INTERVIEW & Before leaving INDIA

.................. "COMING SOON" .......................


Cheers,
Ganesh.
Click to expand...

Congrats, bvganesh !
 
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