Successful CP in Chennai - Nov 27th

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cp_bangalore

Registered Users (C)
Friends,
   We got our temporary GC at the port of entry. I followed the recommendations of Srifx, and it turned out to be very helpful. As part of this message, I will include Srifx\'s list of documents and write more about my experiences in Chennai and some of the preliminary ground work for the interview in my next messages ...

cp_bangalore
 
Groundwork for the Nov 27th interview ....

We felt that the word "interview" was a misnomer. Actually, it was only a formality (based on what we experienced and what others later recounted).
We started gathering the documents as suggested by Srifx (Please see the attachment). To avoid repetition (from what Srifx\'s has mentioned) I would like to stress a few things which I thought were important and a few additional stuff which I carried.
1. Request for tax transcripts (Federal as well as state) ASAP - do not postpone. It takes around 3 to 4 weeks for you to receive it.
2. The same thing holds good with Police Clearance certificate (if it holds good in your case).
3. Get recent pay stubs
4. Don\'t forget to take your ID/Badge to the interview (Though they did not ask me to produce one - but I still carried it).
5. As part of Folder 3 - I had mine and my wife\'s SSN cards.
6. DDs could be got from any nationalised bank.
7. Finally follow srifxfgcdocumentlist - you will realise that the entire process is a mere formality.
 
Experiences in Chennai ....

There are quite a few good hotels close to the consulate.

Moderately priced:
1. Hotel Ranjith - a block away from the consulate
2. Hotel Maris - adjacent to Chola Sheraton
3. Hotel Savera
4. Hotel Woodlands
5. Hotel Ramada Inn - this opened on Nov 21st (brand new) - and I realised that it was very reasonably priced. Incidentally. the lunch and dinner was awesome at this place. I would highly recommend it. This is on TTK road (close to the intersection of Cathedral and TTK roads).

Expensive Hotels
1. Chola Sheraton
2. Taj Cormandel
3. Aruna Inn
The above two hotels are closer to Lister Labs and Dr. Vijayalakshmi\'s clinic.

We were @ lister labs by 8 AM and we were done by 8:30 AM. There were a few people ahead of us. They took blood samples and xrays. We were told that the test reports would be handed to us @ 4:30 PM
Then we headed to the Konika labs - opposite to Chola Sheraton. The photographer is fully aware and is a pro by now in taking immigration photographs. In 20 minutes he gave us 8 copies (8*2 in all) of the Immigration photographs. By now, we realised that we had nothing else to do until 4:30 PM - so I tried reaching Dr. Vijayalakshmi to reschedule my appointment for the same day (I had an appointment for the following day). She was very accomidative - we took the reports from Lister labs in the evening and headed to Prabha clinic on Poonamalee High road.(If you are datum is US consulate - go on Nugambakam High road, you will pass Taj Cormandel Hotel and finally you will hit Poonamalle High road - here take a left and proceed straight. After a kilometer to 1.5 km to your right, you should see a board for Padma Nursing home. Because of the road divider - you would have to drive further and turn around).
Since my wife had already taken MMR shots an year and a half ago - she was not given MMR shots. She checked our weight, height, BP and went through the test reports of Lister Labs. Take with you passport photographs (NOT your immigration photograhs). I would recommend her to all of you.
In my next message, I will write about the Interview/Formality of getting an immigration visa.
 
I took them though ...

They did not ask for the state tax transripts at the time of the interview - however, I took all the transcripts (federal as well as state)
 
Hi cp_banglore

Can you please post the phone number of Hotel Ramada Inn and how much does a double room cost there? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.
 
Sorry I do not have the information ....

Nor can I recall the price - I was there for lunch/dinner and I asked them for the prices, and they sounded quite reasonable. A good guess/recollection would be ~ Rs2500 a day.
 
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