DCF in India

[agrawala 0]

Hello all:

My wife and I filed DCF (I-130) at US Embassy New Delhi on March 22.

It was a simple process - we were asked to show wedding photo album and submitted required things like marriage certificate, G-325A, petition, etc.

The officer asked us to pay $190 as fee for the I-130. I asked the officer what the next step would be and he replied that we will get a letter within 1 month.

So we paid the fee and that was it. So far, we haven't received any mail from Embassy.

This is different from other's experiences I have read in the past. Others said they were given packet 3 that same day and asked to pay the petition fee. Whereas we were NOT given any packet 3 or packet 4. None of the couples received it either.

Did the Embassy change its policy about packet 3?

Will my wife get a letter mentioning the interview date or will she first receive a packet 3?

Please help. I am confused.

Thanks.

[Candace 2]

Hello all:

My wife and I filed DCF (I-130) at US Embassy New Delhi on March 22.

It was a simple process - we were asked to show wedding photo album and submitted required things like marriage certificate, G-325A, petition, etc.

The officer asked us to pay $190 as fee for the I-130. I asked the officer what the next step would be and he replied that we will get a letter within 1 month.

So we paid the fee and that was it. So far, we haven't received any mail from Embassy.

This is different from other's experiences I have read in the past. Others said they were given packet 3 that same day and asked to pay the petition fee. Whereas we were NOT given any packet 3 or packet 4. None of the couples received it either.

Did the Embassy change its policy about packet 3?

Will my wife get a letter mentioning the interview date or will she first receive a packet 3?

Please help. I am confused.

Thanks.

You said the officer told you that you would hear within one month on March 22, and today is April 10. I don't think there's any need to worry yet?

I think the next stage is you will receive notification if the petition is approved by mail along with the packet formerly known as 3.

Hope this helps

~Candace

[alexis1 0]

I don't know if the embassy changed its policy but what i do know when we filed DCF in november we were given packet 3 and then received a duplicate packet in the mail. Now according to the embassy they do not accept courier we had to submit it in person. You really need to get your case number and the process going.

[meauxna 15]

It could depend on where (which Consulate) your wife will apply for the visa. Each post has their own process and potential backlog.

But give them that month, at least

[agrawala 0]

Hi Alexis1:

Thanks very much for your reply. I know from your previous posts, you had indicated your interview was on 01/17/2006. I was reading your posts around 01/12/2006 or so and was waiting to hear from you regarding how the interview went. But unfortunately I couldn't find your posts after that. Can you please post details from your interview on 01/17 (what questions they asked, etc.) (or a link to that post if you already posted your interview experiences).

Were you allowed to be present during your spouse's visa interview?

PLEASE advise on any pitfalls I should avoid.

Also, in your reply to this post of mine, you said I need to get the case number - but on the day we filed, all we were asked was to pay $190 fees. No case number was given.

Do you think the Delhi Embassy APPROVED our I-130 or did it merely ACCEPT our petition (by paying the fee, does it mean they approved it?)

In your case, when did you get a case number? After you got packet 3 or packet 4?

Thanks.

MEAUXNA:

Do you think our petition was APPROVED or merely ACCEPTED?

My wife will be appearing for visa interview at New Delhi Embassy itself. (hence I am hoping it will be a quicker process in our case) - I have already stayed in India for over 2 months and sincerely hoping to get the interview soon (though I don't have to be in India for the interview, I would like to - just in case they want to interview me as well, also, it would be wonderful to have my wife travel with me to the US).

Thanks.

[basanti 0]

Nobody gets packet 3 when they first go to file, all you get is your receipt...you should receive packet 3 in about 3 to 4 weeks...please see my timeline for more info.

[agrawala 0]

Hi Basanti,

Thanks for your reply.

Can you please post what questions were asked at your husband's interview?

(We were not asked much at all during our interview during our I-130 petition submission - just were asked to show wedding album, the marriage hall name where we were married, if we had applied for a visa in the past - that's it).

Also, is there another visa fees that they ask us to pay on the day of the interview?

Thanks.

[agrawala 0]

Hi Alexis1,

Thanks for sharing your experience (I finally did find your post regarding your interview experience).Though it wasn't a pleasant one, in the end, what matteres is that you and your husband are now in the US and are together!! That is what counts. I am really happy for both of you.

And CONGRATULATIONS on your first child - just less than 5 months to go!! Bless your family!

Regarding the domicile issue you faced at the Embassy during the interview, what is that they actually wanted? Did they have a problem that you were in India even after the wedding and after filing the I-130? Do they not want you to be in India but want you to be back in the US as soon as you file the I-130 petition? If this is the case, then I will be in trouble too - since it has been close to 3 months since I came to India and I am stll here in India now. Moreover, I am planning to be here in India until my wife's interview (so, add another 2 months maybe, a guess) - which makes it close to 5 months since my entry into India. Will the visa officer consider me as not having domicility in the US since I would have stayed in India for 5 mnths?

Sounds very strange that they have this beef against petitioner being away form the US for a long time (can't a US citizen be away in a foreign country with his wife until she gets her visa?)

[agrawala 0]

This "DOMICILE" issue really bothers me. I spent 6 months in India last year (when I came to India to meet my fiancee (now my wife) and get engaged).

I went back to the US and stayed there for 2 months and in the meantime we had fixed a date for our wedding.

I then came to India and we got married and finally filed I-130 on March 22 2006.

Now this year, I already spent 3 months in India again....so that is a total of almost 9 months in India in the past 12 months.

Will this be considered as a "not being a US domicile" issue by the visa officer? I am plannimg to stay in India till my wife's interview (that could be another 2 months from now).

So, make that a 10 month stay in India in the last 12 months.

Will I be considered as "abandoned" my US residence?

This is all confusing and scary.

[meauxna 15]

If you still have an address, mail delivery, banking etc in the US, I doubt very much if you have lost your US domicile.

Domicile is your principle place of residence. You are not "really" resident in India, IMO.

I was out of the US for nearly 3 years and did not abandon my domicile.

[basanti 0]

At my husband's interview he was pretty much asked things about me, where we honeymooned, what i liked to do in my free time and questions about my family. Things you should know. Don't worry, you'll do fine! Good luck!