Hi folks!

I write this in thanks to the wonderful people at immigrationportal and cptracker. The information on these websites was invaluable to me during my preparation for the CP process. In particular, thanks to srifx for the detailed write-up about his experiences. However, I do point out that the information on srifx's post is slightly dated, so I thought I could help fellow CP'ers by relating my own experiences, which happened recently, so the information should be a little more up to date. Also, I believe I have a couple of insights that may add value.

As always, "caveat emptor".

Forgive me if this posting is a little verbose, I don't have anything else to do at the moment.

Here's a link to srifx's post, just so that it is handy.

I received Packet 4 from Chennai, at my dad's home in India. I had my dad scan the OF-171 and email it to me.

Basically I had two 1.5 inch folders, one for the documents actually listed in the Packet 4, the second for supporting documents. I used a transparent plastic "protector sheet" to hold each document. These are available in your local office supply store: Staples, Office Depot, etc. I used yellow sticky notes to list the status of "unfinished" documents, to indicate whether I needed to get it, copy it, sign it, etc. Once a document was ready, I removed the sticky note. The protector sheets help keep the docs in pristine condition.

Marriage and birth certificates are important documents, so I made copies and appended 1 copy to each original.

After all the documents in this folder were ready, I made a second set of copies and stored them separately, so that I would have an "exact image" of the documents that we would present at the interview.

Our medical reports were not sealed. So I copied the medical reports after we got them in Chennai.

We took the overnight train to Chennai, a/c 2-tier sleeper. My wife, parents, baby, and self. So we had 4 berths, which can be curtained off to create a nice private area. The gentle rocking of the train helped me to the best sleep I had had in weeks.

We stayed at the 3 star "Days Inn Shan" in "Koyambeedu". The 25% luxury tax is atrocious, but the hotel staff gave us a discount. We ended up paying Rs. 1600 total for an "executive room". We took 2 rooms. Decent. Overall, my rating is "very good value for money", clean, very comfortable, good service. Of course you can pay through your nose to stay near the consulate, at a 4 or 5 star hotel.

By the way: autorickshaws in Chennai practice daylight robbery. The moment they see you depart from a "fancy" hotel, their fare-meters will fail. Then they quote atrociously high prices. And our lack of fluency in Tamil seemed to be like a large "Sucker" signboard stuck on our chests.

These pictures were probably the toughest step in my whole CP process.

My recommendation is to bite the bullet, and go to Camera Citi, near the consulate. Some other posters say that these people understand how the IV pictures must be taken. The location is mentioned in another post in this forum. If you go to a studio other than Camera Citi, show them the picture format, the one that shows the photogenic hispanic looking girl in 3/4 frontal face pose. Make sure that the photographer understands the pose, and that the picture must end up at 1.5" x 1.5" (40 mm x 38 mm). Get at least 4, preferably 8 copies.

We used a standard ball-point pen to write our name and case number on the back of 3 of the pics. We signed on the front of 2 of these, making sure that the signature does not go across the face. We stored the remaining pictures as backup.

You will need 1 passport-style full-frontal picture here. You will also need to take the Packet 4 with the medical form.

We hired a "non-ac" taxi, an Ambassador, for "full day/10 hours/100 km" for Rs. 700. Went to Lister labs at around 9:30 a.m. Walked into the reception area, and showed our appointment letter and passports. They gave us 2 sets of forms to fill. Then they gave us a glue stick to fix our passport-style picture on the form supplied in Packet 4. We paid the Rs. 300 each for the lab work. Then we stepped out of the reception and joined the group of about 8-10 people who were seated in the corridor.

My name was called, and the med-tech drew blood for the HIV test. Same for my wife. I returned to the corridor-seat. I was called in again, for the X-ray. The X-ray tech gave us a receipt each. We were done by about 11:00 a.m.

We returned to Lister at 4:30 p.m., showed this receipt, and collected our medical reports. This is a sealed package that contains the X-ray.

You will need 1 passport-style full-frontal picture for this step. You will need the Lister Lab report. You will also need to take your passports. And it won't hurt to carry along the packet 4 docs.

We had set up an appointment with Dr. Rajkumar as soon as we had our interview date. My wife chose him, because he seemed to be very genial and communicative. He answered some questions that my wife had, and seemed to be very cooperative.

Around 9:00 a.m., we took an autorickshaw to Chetpet, and located his office with the help of the auto-driver. Dr. Rajkumar's office is an old-style independent house. We identified ourselves to the medical assistant lady at the desk, and showed our sealed lab reports. She looked up her appointments and found us on the list. She asked us to be seated in the waiting area.

My wife and I were called to the front desk. The lady is very nice and chatty. She took our height, weight, BP, pulse, and checked our vision. She asked us for our immunization records. I had none. My wife had a lab report from our doctor in the US, that showed the presence of MMR antigens. (she had this done in 1999 because she needed proof of immunization to enroll in college in the US). The lady looked at this report, and attached it to the Lister lab report, ready to be reviewed by Dr. Rajkumar. She cut our passport pictures to size, and pasted it on to the medical exam form. We went back to the waiting area.

We were called in for the checkup by Dr. Rajkumar. He is very genial, chatty and communicative. We talked about my work, the goriness of the details that he has to fill out in his reports, my wife's post-partum weight-gain, the US economy, his competence and qualifications in comparison with our doctor in the US, Chinese economic competitiveness, etc. In general, a very nice guy. I wouldn't mind having him for our regular family doctor.

Dr. Rajkumar reviewed my wife's US lab reports, which verified the presence of the MMR antibodies, and waived the MMR vaccinations for her. I did not have any immunization records, so he ordered the MMR shot for me. We paid Rs. 1050 for my shots, no charge for my wife. We waited in his office while the vaccine arrived, and the nurse lady injected the vaccine into my arm. "You may have mild fever for a day or two", she said. Dr. Rajkumar had meanwhile completed filling out our medical report, and handed us an envelope each. We remarked that the envelopes were not sealed. "I don't have anything to hide from you", he replied.

We were done by 10:30 a.m.

We sent my parents off in a taxi, to tour the local attractions, while we tried to catch up on sleep.

In the evening, I removed my documents from my Folder 1, and made a neat pile of papers. I appended my passport, inserted the IV-style 2 signed pics + 1 unsigned pic into the passport, and clipped them all together using a large black clip. Repeated this for my wife's docs, passport and pics.

So we now had 2 sets of (docs + passport + pics), one each for my wife and me. We put the 2 sets and Folder 2 into a large Raymonds plastic cover. (We had gone shopping earlier).

We were ready for the big day.

We set off in an auto at around 7:15 a.m. Arrived at the consulate at around 8, and got into the line. A shady type of character inquired whether we had our DD's, our appointment letter etc. He seemed to be peddling his services in case we had any last-moment problems. We avoided him and got into the line waiting to enter the consulate. There were about 20 people. As the line moved forward, we saw many people approaching the guard directly, and were waved in, pre-empting the queue. Later we realized that immigrant-visa applicants don't have to wait in the same line as non-immigrant visa applicants.

We showed our passports and appointment letters, and entered the consulate. Our Raymonds plastic cover was briefly examined, and we walked through the metal-detector.

"Any cellphones, keys, coins?".
"No".

Lots of construction going on, guards at each corner directed us to the consulate office, probably making sure that we did not stray. I observed that there was no asbestos-roofed waiting area. Entered the building, walked through another metal detector. We walked into an air-conditioned hall with about a 100 seats, facing 8 glass-fronted counters. We later observed that the seats in one half of the hall were generally occupied by immigrant visa applicants, and the remaining were for non-immigrant visas.

The guard tells us that only the primary applicant must approach the counter when instructed, and begins calling people from the seats. When my turn came, I approached the designated counter, and handed over our documents. The officer scans through them quickly, and returns originals that have copies, returns our wedding photos and tax returns. He gives us a label to write the address where we want our documents delivered. Then, "go to counter 1 and pay the fee". I go over to counter 1, pay the fee, collect the receipt and return to my seat.

We pass the time observing people, and speculating about their situations. "Look, there's a pretty girl", says my wife. "She's not pretty, she's sexy" I counter. Then I point out a coy couple, and say that they're probably newly married. She says no, they're not. I spot an older character in classic white cotton Nehru T-shirt with a towel around his neck. "Wow, I'd really like to know what he's going to do in the US", I offer. "I'd give a lot to eavesdrop on his interview". "I bet you would", my wife says.

A caucasian appears in front of the crowd. "I'm John Doe, I will be your Immigration Officer today. Some of you will get your visa today, some will not... these will be asked to produce further documentation, bla... bla... bla. Now I'd like to see how many people can speak English here. All who can speak English, raise your hands". Most of the hands go up. Doe walks down the aisle, pointing at people, saying "English?... English?..." at each one. They answer "yes". He asks us all to stand, and administers the oath. "Hold up your right hand and repeat after me... I swear that all the information stated in my immigrant visa application is the truth... etc... so help me God". Then he disappears into the building.

Now 2 Indian officers behind the counters start calling us by name. I am the third or the fourth or fifth one called. We walk up, and stand expectantly in front of the glass partition. It's somewhat hard to hear, with the crowd noise behind us. He makes no attempt to speak up. ".... Programmer Analyst on EB-1 !!?.... are you a manager?"

"No, I'm a software developer, I write software" I reply. I had been fearing some questions of this sort. This was taking a direction I did not like. I now have an MS, but the degree had not yet been awarded when the I-140 petition was filed.

He pulls out a large bundle of papers and flips the sheets through his thumb. I recognize my papers and reports that were filed with my I-140 petition. ".... file is very large.... have to hand-carry it." Maybe he's joking about having trouble moving the file through his office, because of the size of the file? I'm in no mood for jokes.

"Yes, it contains all my papers and reports", I said.

An Indian lady appears next to the officer behind the counter, and they seem to discuss my case. I'm thinking, dear God, they want to adjudicate my case again. Do I have to go through this again? "Show me your I-140 approval", he barks.

"I don't have it", I said. "My lawyer sent me a package of documents, and said that these are the documents that I will need".

The officer grimaces, he and the lady appear to discuss the lack of my lawyer's competence. Classic bureaucracy. Later on, as I reflected on the whole issue, they should have received notification of the I-140 approval from the NVC, right? If they needed to see it, why don't they list the I-140 approval copy as one of the required documents in the OF-171 list?

"Sign this". He slides the DS-230 Part 2 to me. I sign. Ditto for my wife.

Abruptly, he says, "give me the visa fee payment receipt, the courier DD, and the address label." I hand these under the glass. "Ok, thank you, we're done."

What!? done? I was not being given a chance to produce the I-140 approval? I had already been thinking of contacting my lawyer, and having him FAX the approval to the consulate. I would have to extend my stay or return to Chennai, I was thinking. "We're done!?" I stammer. "Is it approved?"

He didn't hear me clearly. He had left his chair, and was stepping away. He saw that I had said something, and said, "You can go home now". He left his desk, and disappeared into his bureaucrat's cube-farm.

My wife and I are shell-shocked. We step away from the counter and look around. "OK, I guess we're done, let's go", I said. Dumbly, my wife and I left.

The interview put a damper on our whole trip. I withdrew my emotions, locked them up in my shell, and prepared to review our plan of action. I would call my lawyer later that night, appraise him of the situation, and ask him to FAX the I-140 approval copy to the consulate. Then we would return to Bangalore on the night train. Thankfully, we had mundane logistical issues to keep us occupied, and our minds did not dwell. We had to check out of the hotel. We were to spend the the intervening time at a relative's non-airconditioned house, and wait for our train. And taking care of our baby gave us plenty to keep us occupied. Like cats after a failed mousehunt, planning thier next mousehunts, we returned home to Bangalore.

Back in Bangalore. Ahhh! The cool, dry air. Like being in an airconditioned room. Know the city, know the language, autos with meters that work.

We reasoned to ourselves that the consulate would have asked us to produce any document that they felt was lacking. So we resigned ourselves to hearing from the consulate. They did have our passports, they did ask for the fee receipt, and the address label, all these things seemed to point towards things being ok. They did have to return our passports, in any case. So we would know one way or another, when we got our passports back from the courier. Then we would call our attorney as needed.

Back home, wash, unpack our luggage, store consumables, discard junk, breakfast, bed. If only life were this simple. Simple pleasures.

Blue Dart courier delivery at 11:00 a.m. We take delivery of a slim brown box type package, from the Chennai consulate. We cut it open, inside are 2 brown packages sealed inside a flimsy plastic cover. All right! It looks like our green cards are approved. One package each for my wife and me. My package is rather slim, and my wife's is fatter. Stapled to the outside of each package, is a multicolored document "Optional Form 155B", with our IV picture stuck on it. The packages are marked, "To be opened only by the Immigration or Public Health Service Officer. This is your visa. It must be surrendered at a port of entry into the United States. Do not pack it. It must be hand carried."

Now I begin to understand what the consulate officer was saying. I speculate that they had detached my somewhat voluminous papers and reports from the I-140 petition, and included only the papers needed for submission to the INS officer at the point of entry. So that's what he had said, "This is a large package, you will have to hand carry it".

OF-230 / DS-230: Consulate sent us OF-230, which are clearly marked "expires on 09/30/1995". My lawyer sends us DS-230.

Application fee / Issuance fee: A sheet in Packet 4 states in bold: "Fee payable in equivalent local currency by way of 2 separate demand drafts... One draft for application fee, one draft for issuance fee...". However, the Chennai website states "One demand draft for the application fees will be required", and does not mention any issuance fee. I called the consulate before I purchased the DD's, and they verified that only a single DD was required. I guess the application fee and issuance fee have now been combined into a single non-refundable fee.

The requirement for police clearance certificate is not stated precisely, and leaves a lot of ambiguity for people working in the US.

PCC is present in one list, not mentioned in another list. Both these lists are contained in Packet 4.

Documentation requirements for employment based and family based petitions are stated together, causing ambiguity, and lead us through a circus-act to assemble the documents that we remotely perceive may be required. In my opinion, bank statements and tax returns are needed only from the sponsor of a family based immigrant, to provide evidence of the sponsor's ability to support the immigrant. Employment letters are needed only for employment-based applicants. I have similar suspicions about the I-134 for persons following to join the primary applicant of an employment-based petition. But, the guiding principle in this situation is "BETTER BE SAFE THAN SORRY", so we are forced to do our hoops in pursuit of the far more important goal of getting through the green card procedures.

But, the inner terrier in me wants to clarify and make this process more efficient, both for us petitioners and the INS (may they soon rest in peace). It doesn't take a major reshuffle of the US federal government to get these procedures down straight. Making a bureaucrat spend a few hours clarifying the written documentation requirements will save thousands of us petitioners' technical man-hours.

OK, that's all I have to say at this point. Later folks ...

vtcat