Mumbai Consulate

[sachinky 465]

Two questions:

--Is the USC petitioner allowed for the interview?

--Is the visa issued on the same day or do they mail it to your home address?

Thanks.

[inzango 0]

Two questions:

--Is the USC petitioner allowed for the interview?

--Is the visa issued on the same day or do they mail it to your home address?

Thanks.

Congratulations on I-130 approval.

I'm sure u have already started working on getting the rest of the paperwork done.

I don't think Mumbai Embassy allows USC or anyone to accompany the beneficiery. But you can call to double check.

They told my wife that they will mail the passport in couple of days when she went to VFS to pick it up.

It might be just because it was MLK holiday the previous day so they might have been backed up.

Sometimes you do get visa same day, sometimes not. It all depends on them. But they are pretty punctual with their courier system. My wife recieved her visa in couple of days.

Good luck and let's hope for the speedy rest of the process.

[sachinky 465]

Thanks for answering my questions. I really appreciate it, man.

[trinket 30]

Congratulations on I-130 approval.

I'm sure u have already started working on getting the rest of the paperwork done.

I don't think Mumbai Embassy allows USC or anyone to accompany the beneficiery. But you can call to double check.

They told my wife that they will mail the passport in couple of days when she went to VFS to pick it up.

It might be just because it was MLK holiday the previous day so they might have been backed up.

Sometimes you do get visa same day, sometimes not. It all depends on them. But they are pretty punctual with their courier system. My wife recieved her visa in couple of days.

Good luck and let's hope for the speedy rest of the process.

True that, Mumbai doesn't allow anyone other than the visa applicant to enter the consulate. We did email them prior to the interview and they did say USC can come along, but when it was time for the interview, they didn't allow my USC husband to enter.

But like any case, if your husband can come and can wait outside that too helps, just to show them he is there. You can have his passport with you while you are in the consulate.

About getting the passport back, we got it back the next day from VFS, on the day of the interview CO did say they were having some technical problem so I might not get my passport the same day from VFS. So I had to make another trip but it was worth it.

[inzango 0]

Thanks for answering my questions. I really appreciate it, man.

U welcome, np.

[gundas 1]

I didn't go with my wife to the interview so can't answer the question about if USC is allowed in or not. As for the visa questions, after my wife got approved they told her the visa will be mailed to her within 2 days but I insisted she stay and pick up the visa the same day from the VFS office. She was able to pick up her passport with the visa in it the same day, don't remember the time frame you are allowed to pick up the visa but its listed on the VFS site.

[sachinky 465]

Ok, cool. Thanks, fellas.

[sachinky 465]

Were your original documents returned to you at the interview?

[dhruvron 0]

THEY KEPT ORGINAL BIRTH CERFICATE AND PCC THATS IT. GAVE ALL OTHER PAPERS BACK.

DHRUV-RON

Were your original documents returned to you at the interview?

[Darnell 8,478]

Were your original documents returned to you at the interview?

Don't forget - you can ASK for them at the end of the interview

[inzango 0]

Were your original documents returned to you at the interview?

They gave the originals back to my wife at the time of interview. I'll double check with her to make sure.

[sachinky 465]

Ok, thanks for your replies. I'm only worried about my BC and Marriage Certificate. Everything else they can keep.

[Baltar 0]

My wife did her K3 interview in Mumbai in December. VFS is pretty much a cartel there, wired only to make money.

My wife submitted her documents, consulate fees and whatever to VFS an pay their courier fees (you have to pay their fees, whether you intend to pick up the visa at vfs or actually wait for them to courier it.) there is a 3 day window to do this - it needs to be submitted no earlier than 10 days and no later than 7 days before interview. If I remember correctly, they took her medical, birth cert, passport with PCC, and marriage certificate, vfs courier fee and consulate fee (for consulate they have to be bank draft, while courier fee can be paid in cash). When we got our marriage certificate back, the top was wrinkled with a rip and had fingerprint smudges all over it from people who don't know how to wash their hands. Since it's not the consulate officer's marriage and birth certificate, they really don't care.

With that said, I heard afterwards from other people that you can take the docs with you to interview and not submit anything to VFS, but I didn't hear this from anyone official, and no matter what you ask vfs, they will just dodge the question and say to submit it with them so they can make money so I am not sure if this is actually true.

On the day of the interview, you can either go to VFS before your interview and wait in their lounge until they get a bus ready and ferry people to the consulate, or you can wait in the line outside the consulate to get in. You have to pay some fee to get in their lounge and buy dog food to eat (masala sandwiches and stale coffee), and they will send everyone to the bus just 15 minutes before the interview. Me and my wife paid the 500 some rupees and waited in the lounge together, then we both went on the bus. The only advantage to this is that they let bus people skip the line that everyone else waits to get in the consulate, which means you get to AC quicker and then just wait in there until they call you.

They do not allow the US citizen in there for the interview. USC would either have to wait outside or wait in their lounge. Also, they do not allow backpacks or hand-bags in the consulate - the only thing the beneficiary is allowed to carry to the consulate is a plastic bag with all the documents. This is something that none of them will tell you or have written down anywhere on their bulletin boards or their rules unless you try to walk in there. Cellphones, purses, electronics, metals, anything that can be used to record anything is not allowed.

When my wife went in the consulate, I waited outside the consulate for 5 hours so carry your PSP. There's no place to sit, there's guards around that just harass people and the typical mumbai people just everywhere. At first we waited outside the door, then they tell us to move to the sidewalk, then about a hour later, they tell us to go across the street, then a hour later they will push you further away.. The only real advantage to waiting outside is so my wife can tell them that i am waiting out side, and when my wife said that, the consulate officer wrote it down and we think that made a huge difference in the interview since she approved the visa.

Once the visa is approved, the consulate will keep your passport to put the visa sticker in it. Consulate will then give the mysterious yellow envelope that stays sealed until beneficiary get to POE and the beneficiary's passport to VFS. You then go to VFs around 4pm to stand in another long line to get your documents. The beneficiary is the only person allowed to go in VFS to pick everything up, and they wont allow metal objects, cellphones, bags, etc in there. They will ask for her ID, so the beneficiary will either need to bring a second ID (since VFS has their passport) or present a photocopy of the passport to establish ID.

Hope this helps..

[Baltar 0]

I almost forgot, they took her DS230 part 1, and they wanted passport pics. When my wife submitted her passport pic, they claimed it was photoshopped. That was a complete lie since she had those pics done beforehand by a photographer and printed out there. Of course VFS, like the crooks they are, will do passport pictures for 200 rupees and submit those. My wife had no choice but to just get it done.

[sachinky 465]

Wow, Baltar. That was amazing and very detailed. Thankyou for taking the time to write it out. It is very helpful!