Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Asia: South	passport renewal and name change	QUOTE (whitel @ Oct 16 2009, 02:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi all, does anyone have any idea how long will it take to renew ur indian passport from the U.S. and how long before it expires should i renew it.what do i need to do incase if i want to change my last name(maiden to married) and do i need to change my fathers name to my spouses name even if my spouse is an american...how does this work? i read that i need to advertise a name chage in the local newspaper here and in india.i have my G.C.in my new name and my passport expires on 2011.should i wait until 2011 for name change and renewal or should i change my name first and then renew my passpost in 2011 again...any ideas I am not sure how long will it take for the passport to renew, you can renew your passport one year in advance of the expiry date entered in the passport You might want to email Consulate General of India, San-Francisco (as I see you are from California). About changing your Father's name to your spouse name....No, you don't have to. At least in my passport's biographic page both my parent's name are listed along with my spouse's name. So they will add your spouse's name along with your parent's name. You can change your name any time you want to, look into forms and affidavits of the site I gave you, it has forms for Changing names. Personally I would suggest you to change your name before you apply for your 10 year GC, that's because you can apply for 10 year GC with new name and won't have to pay extra $400 if you want to change your last name once you have received your 10 year GC. Hope all this helps.	trinket	Female	India	10/16/2009 17:07
Asia: South	Medical from India	QUOTE (sachinky @ Oct 18 2009, 12:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey guys, as I wait for the NOA2, I'd like to have a clear idea of what to expect in the near future. I'm wondering about the medical. What would I need to get done, and is there anything I can do in the meantime? Any vaccinations and such? Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it. You might start taking Gardasil vaccination, since your are under the age of 26, that will be one vaccine they will have you take. Even if you don't take it won't matter much. Gardasil is taken in doses, so 1 dose today, next dose a few months later and then the third one, total time frame is 6 months. During medical, they take your blood test and keeping your age in factor they decide what all vaccinations you are required to get. Say you didn't take any Gardasil before the medical, they will give you your first dose on that day and will instruct you to get the other doses once you are in USA, given you do receive your VISA in timely manner. Medical is easy peasy, and I would suggest you to wait after NVC is done, its only 1 day work and you can do it in Calcutta itself.	trinket	Female	India	10/18/2009 16:09
Asia: South	PCC from Calcutta India	I hope someone from Calcutta lets you know the detail. As far as what I have seen in the forums so far, the time really depends upon where you are from, someone from Chandigarh gets it within 2-3 days, while for someone like me who is from Andaman Islands, it took 1 month's time.	trinket	Female	India	10/16/2009 18:23
Asia: South	Karva Chauth	PattuRani, A lot of Hindus in India also celebrate Teej, especially with Bihari community. I think the difference is in Nepal both married and unmarried women do the fasting along with the rituals but in India only the married women take part in it.	trinket	Female	India	10/9/2009 20:14
Asia: South	Karva Chauth	I wish I could help you but Bengalis don't celebrate Karva Chaut, and even if they did, most probably I still would have been the ignorant one	trinket	Female	India	10/4/2009 21:11
Asia: South	Happy Diwali!	aww to the mithai packet I was really down last night, diwali is the only festival which I would really take part in and enjoy thoroughly. I was going through my temper tantrum, melt down and everything all together. Hubster tried to cheer me up but nothing really worked. Then he grabbed some candles and me and we light some outside our home, it was fun trying to light candles in the cold weather, we both were shivering and laughing at the same time	trinket	Female	India	10/18/2009 11:15
Asia: South	Happy Diwali!	Happy Diwali everyone I just realized last night that its going to be Diwali on 17th, I think I will light some candles in front of our apartment, can't do anything else. Diwali is one celebration I loved the most, bursting crackers and all those sweets; my grandma calls me Phoolen Devi during Diwali Edited by trinket, 16 October 2009 - 09:33 AM.	trinket	Female	India	10/16/2009 9:33
Asia: South	mumbai and nvc	QUOTE (Baltar @ Oct 21 2009, 08:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No idea with mumbai.. I checked the tracking number on dhl and they received the k3 yesterday. she did say that she usually uses her school papers to verify her age everywhere since she has no birth certificate, and when i asked her about the 10th certificate she said she definatley has it. nvc still wants originals of everything I called them. They should know better especially since in china they can electronic process everything. I guess the best plan for me is to just pursue the k3 visa. Cost of adj of status doesn't matter to me, just getting my wife out of that hole is all that matters now. To think about electronic processing, if my memory serves me right, I did read one of the Indians sending scanned copies of PCC to NVC and then submitting all the originals at VFS prior to the interview. I don't think I can find that exact thread anymore because I don't remember the name of that Member but I do remember he was from Gujurat. You might want to call NVC and talk to a supervisor and convey your concerns to them about the postal matter, see if they can work with the scanned documents or not. I didn't know it was this bad in Sikkim with postal department. I send things to Andaman and my people get them within 15 days or so and also the things my dad send me from there, I get in 10 days time.	trinket	Female	India	10/21/2009 10:03
Asia: South	mumbai and nvc	QUOTE (Baltar @ Oct 20 2009, 02:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> damn, they dont make this easy at all, do they... next to impossible to get anything original from india without having to go all the way there. If its just Birth Certificate you are worried about being original, you can actually send 10th pass certificate as an alternative. NVC knows that a lot of Indians don't have original BC, so they do accept 10th pass certificate, but if you are using that you will have to make an affidavit stating why you are submitting 10th pass certificate instead of BC.	trinket	Female	India	10/20/2009 14:49
Asia: South	mumbai and nvc	Its either original or certified. As for the checklist, I never submitted anything of that sort. But it says Packet 3, and at the bottom it says Applicant. Applicant in this case is the beneficiary. And Packet 3 is submitted at VFS. May be the rules have changed from what it used to be when I was going through the process. But do remember that that checklist is for every one, that is all other Immigrant visas too, and they have to submit a lot more at VFS compared to CR-1 applicant. Do ask your wife to keep a copy of it and all but I doubt it will be asked at VFS.	trinket	Female	India	10/20/2009 14:20
Asia: South	mumbai and nvc	QUOTE (sachinky @ Oct 19 2009, 02:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Certified copies, from what I understand, is a certificate that is authorized by the SAME ISSUING AGENCY. Thus, making it different from a notarized copy. So, say I got my birth certificate from the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. I would need to go to them and have them issue a certified copy against the original. Kind of like a duplicate original. An oxymoron if there was was one. true that. About signature, I am assuming you are talking about DS-230 forms and that checklist, if so, the signature will be by the beneficiary. DS-230 part 1 signed Part-2 unsigned by the beneficiary, along with other documents -- Marriage, Birth certificate, PCC need to be submitted at NVC. Also your spouse might have to submit another copy of DS-230 form part 1 signed and part 2 unsigned at VFS India before his/her interview. Mumbai VFS needs it but I have seen Gujurat VFS not requiring it, so just make sure your spouse keeps a copy of it, so if they do ask for it, he/she will have it to submit. Edited by trinket, 19 October 2009 - 06:16 PM.	trinket	Female	India	10/19/2009 18:16
Asia: South	mumbai and nvc	QUOTE (Baltar @ Oct 16 2009, 06:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm reading over the ds230 forms for a I130 visa. It says I need to submit police certificates, marriage certificates, etc to NVC. does mumbai consulate require originals only or will they be ok with me submitting certified copies to NVC to forward with the DS230? Also, The checklist on here http://travel.state..../info_3830.html when I select bombay on it, it's a checklist, does that need to get signed by beneficiary and submitted to NVC, or is that for the consulate only??? I assume you are going through CR-1, if so then don't worry about submitting originals to NVC. Once you have submitted police certificate and all, NVC will forward those to Consulate once your case gets complete and an interview date is reserved. You will get all your documents back at the day of interview. You can also submit certified copies to NVC, in that case you will have to take the originals at the interview and they might want to see it again. I submitted my certified BC at NVC but they never asked to see the original at the consulate. The link you have provided is for Mumbai consulate, but mind you don't have to resubmit any of the things which you have already submitted at NVC. The list is for all kinds of Immigrant visa, CR-1 is spousal visa and most of the paper work is done at NVC level, all you have to take for interview would be passport, 2x2 size photograph, medical, relationship proof and/or any other documents which you didn't submit at NVC.	trinket	Female	India	10/17/2009 22:44
Asia: South	VFS	QUOTE (gundas @ Oct 22 2009, 09:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> So my wife went to VFS and they told her that they need my bank statements. There is no place on the application that requires bank statements. They aren't going by the book for sure. She should have demanded to speak with a supervisor and showed them the NVC letter. You would think, working at VFS they would be thorough about different VISA rules. What are you going to do about it though? Send the bank statements or call VFS personally and see what excuse do they give regarding bank statement?	trinket	Female	India	10/22/2009 9:38
Asia: South	VFS	QUOTE (gundas @ Oct 21 2009, 12:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> So my wife visited VFS today to ask some questions since she was in the neighborhood and had time after her medical was completed and they told her that she needs to submit copies of DS230 package and I864 package when she goes to the VFS tomorrow to submit PCC and medical. Is this normal? Did anyone else have to submit copies of everything again? My wife has copies with her so its not an issue but wanted to be sure. Regards Who did your wife talk to? She doesn't need to submit any i-864 copy, she might want to take photocopies of her DS-230 also make sure she takes NVC interview letter, which clearly states that an applicant doesn't have to submit things which they have submitted already. Here is the thing, VFS deals with all kind of immigrant visa, and most of those VISA applicants have to submit AOS and DS-230 package at VFS. But its not the case with CR-1 applicant, as their AOS processing is done at NVC level. Anyways the same thing happened with me too, I did talk to them and that day they said I need all the stuff, I said I don't have the originals since I submitted them at NVC, they demanded for the NVC letter, which I didn't have that time, so I made another trip with NVC interview letter and also the interview letter from Mumbai consulate, and just had to submit another copy of DS-230.	trinket	Female	India	10/21/2009 13:38
Asia: South	Affidavits from India	QUOTE (Bobby_K1 @ Oct 24 2009, 12:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I would like to get an affidavit while in New Delhi, India from a few sources to serve as secondary evidence for my K1 Visa application. I would like to have an affidavit for certain pieces of evidence - such as an Indian priest attesting to our engagement or the family of the fiance attesting to the engagement. As an affidavit in India - would it suffice to simply write an honest statement, and have it signed by the author AND A NOTARY? Or does it need some other type of signature such as someone more powerful than a Notary - someone higher up in the Court system? Notary would work just fine	trinket	Female	India	10/24/2009 0:57
Asia: South	Govi is here, everything is great, I'm still alive	congratulations on Govi's job, you must be so glad that he didn't have to wait at all to get a job. Doesn't matter what the pay is, this sure will give him confidence and will give him a chance to make friends. Oh technical question, since Govi's POE was after your 2 year anniversary, did he receive 10 year GC without any hassle?	trinket	Female	India	10/9/2009 20:11
Asia: South	Govi is here, everything is great, I'm still alive	Best wishes and hope he gets a job soon	trinket	Female	India	9/20/2009 23:40
Asia: South	VFS Details	QUOTE (sachinky @ Nov 3 2009, 06:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for replying! That's rubbish that VFS needs everything that was submitted to the NVC. So basically, all I take to the embassy (when my time comes, that is) evidence of relationship or do I need MORE copies of everything? Sorry, I'm just trying to stay on top of everything. Keep one thing in mind given that you will be submitting your copies at VFS Calcutta, make sure you submit 15 working days before the interview. Here is the list of VFS holidays, so do count your days accordingly whenever you do get your interview date.	trinket	Female	India	11/4/2009 11:09
Asia: South	VFS Details	QUOTE (k.loveh @ Sep 28 2009, 10:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The medical report will be submitted at the interview itself. Though you 'can' submit all other doc's at time of interview, it would not be advisable. No. 1-You will still be required to pay the fee's and No. 2- The embassy will have more opportunity to 'review' them if you submit them at VFS whereas, it is hit and miss if you take them to the interview because the CO may or may have the time to look at them. VFS is most definately the better route! Agree Also I submitted my medical at VFS, they don't take the x-ray report, actually they don't take the X-ray report anywhere, just the medical report. Your wife should only take photocopies of DS-230 package, not the i-864 for VFS. But on the interview date, let her take photocopies of everything, from i-130, i-864 and ds-230, because you never know what they might question for and its good if she has things handy. Also all the relationship proofs should be saved for the interview, VFS won't take any of those.	trinket	Female	India	9/28/2009 13:41
Asia: South	VFS Details	QUOTE (CTRL+ALT+DEL @ Sep 26 2009, 11:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> please click 'review: embassy/uscis' (http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/) at top of the page. top right. and then select india - and you'll find all the details about embassy visits. she asked for VFS not embassy/consulate. Anyways OP, from what I can tell you about my experience, no one other than the applicant is allowed to enter VFS office. -- Immigrant visa holders and non-immigrant visa holders are separated. --There are only 3 IV windows at least at Mumbai VFS. --They double check every document the applicant has submitted, sometimes the applicant might be asked to take photocopy of certain document, there is a photocopier machine within the building. -- They spoke with me in English, but I did see the gentleman next to me was conversed in Hindi. -- How much time it takes? It takes time, because they go through all the documents of the IV applicant, I went through IR-1 visa, so took me only 15 minutes but I had to wait for around 2 hours before I got a call to come to the window. Since your fiance is going through K-1, it will take around half an hour or more is my assumption. How long will he have to wait before his call.......well that will depend upon how many people came to VFS before him. --Ask him to be relaxed, this isn't the actual interview, VFS Mumbai people were really cool, they don't interview you, their job is to verify all the documents have been submitted correctly or not. --Yes they will give your fiance a receipt, make sure he keeps it safely because he will need to show that same receipt on the day of his interview, also if he wishes to collect his VISA approved passport from VFS, he will have to show that receipt again.	trinket	Female	India	9/27/2009 1:11
Asia: South	Medical?	QUOTE (Baltar @ Nov 10 2009, 03:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Do they do a full physical? Xrays? Is anesthesia involved? Is it just a titre test and shots only? what exactly is the doctor supposed to be doing in the medical check? Yes they do full physical, x-ray, vision and blood test. Doctor does the physical test and ask all kind of questions, doctor also gives the shots. For female its a female doctor and for male its male doctor. I went to Breach Candy hospital for my test, this is a brief synopsis of whatever I remember from that day --Arrived at 7:30 am --Asked to fill up a form and gave 3 passport size photographs --Nurse took my height, weight measurement, did a vision check, took blood sample --At around 9:30 am, they gave a break and asked everyone to get back at 10:30 am, asked us to get something to eat. --Got back, was taken to X-ray room in a different building. --Got back fro that x-ray room to the initial building, a female elderly doctor took my case --Did full physical, she asked a list of questions, regarding drug, alcohol usage or any previous mental problem --During physical she asked about all the small scars and how they were caused --After physical, we were taken back to another building and they gave us shots, I got 2 shots. I think one was MMR and don't remember the other one. --After that was asked to come back at 4 pm and collect the medical report from the reception area. So that's about it, hope this helps.	trinket	Female	India	11/10/2009 23:28
Asia: South	Medical?	You have to go through the medical before the VISA interview, once you get your interview date book an appointment with the desired Medical affiliated with the US consulate. Number of shots and other things will depend upon gender, age and previous vaccination records. There is no need to have vaccination records, they will do a blood test of the applicant and will determine what all vaccinations are required. Shouldn't cost more than Rs. 6000 or 7000. One should get the medical report the same day given there are no problems with your medical.	trinket	Female	India	11/7/2009 22:52
Asia: South	Bhangra Pics...of mani and i	Ahh how did I miss this thread. Thanks for sharing, great pics	trinket	Female	India	11/13/2009 19:41
Asia: South	Joint Sponsor	I assume it was because of me that you asked this question. Every case is different, so every case is seen differently by the CO. Having a relative as a co-sponsor shouldn't be an issue but surely they might ask you who the co-sponsor is and why he/she decided to be a co-sponsor. Don't compare your case with others or you sure will stress yourself out without any reason. Do read, do research, do see all the cases, be an observer but don't put every situation you read as your own. As a young couple look at the questions which might be asked to you by the CO --why did you marry so young --why did you get yourself into an inter-racial marriage --do your parents agree to that I do see your case as a clear cut one except it doesn't stand with standard cultural norm, that is inter-racial marriage. But you will find a number of Indians in inter-racial marriages in these forums who have been through breezy interview; including myself. To be honest I see a few similarities between your case and mine, I got married at 22 too, though we did the VISA thingie after 4 years. Anyways best wishes and don't be so stressed out	trinket	Female	India	11/10/2009 23:16
Asia: South	Submitting Documents to VFS office in 7-10 days prior?	I am not sure about it totally but as a IR-1 applicant I had a choice to submit medical at VFS or take it to consulate on the interview date. May be call up VFS and ask if he can submit everything else without the medical or not, I would assume he can but still do call and be sure of it.	trinket	Female	India	11/24/2009 21:55
Asia: South	What is a "Notice of Intent to Marry". and A vaccination question	QUOTE (Penguin_ie @ Dec 11 2009, 02:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Notice of Intent to Marry is for K1 (fiancee visa), not K3. You are already married If you cannot find the vaccination records, she will need to get them done again (well, those age and gender appropriate for her); it could cost quiyte a bit but should not add any time to the proccess if you start getting them soon. I am not familiar with India, but maybe your wife can check with the doctor who looked after her in childhood and/ or the local health department if they have a record? In India its not a problem even if you don't have vaccination records. When she goes for her medical they will take a blood test and will determine which vaccines are needed according to her age and the test result.	trinket	Female	India	12/11/2009 17:16
Asia: South	K3 or CR-1	QUOTE (kaus&Sanu @ Dec 17 2009, 11:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ok, so my I-864, I'll have it completed today. IRS Transcripts, had those since I filed. PCC, she does'nt have it yet, but I would imagine she can get it soon, I hope. Bonafides, ready. Thanks for your input everyone. So, if it's only a month, we'd rather save the $1000.00 + and take a little get away when she comes here. good choice	trinket	Female	India	12/17/2009 14:50
Asia: South	K3 or CR-1	If you have everything ready, all the PCC, tax information, i-864 then its a matter of weeks only. It surely is better to go with CR-1 on long run. Indian consulates are good with giving interview dates. It will also depend upon when your case gets completed at NVC. Say your gets completed at around 18th of the Dec, then most probably you will get an interview date of February which will be assigned to you in January.	trinket	Female	India	12/16/2009 15:37
Asia: South	Mumbai Embassy	Don't take anything which has zip in it. Not an iota of metal is allowed, don't even wear metallic belts. Use plastic bags and plastic or paper folders. Don't take any C.D or any digital material.	trinket	Female	India	11/7/2009 22:54
Asia: South	a question regarding mumbai consulate	You can't do medical till the time you don't get interview letter, as you have to show the interview letter during medical exam. About PCC it will really depend upon the district you are at, for me it wasn't important to show any papers regarding interview, but it took me 1 month's time to get the PCC, but I have heard from others (especially people from Gujurat) how they have to show NOA-2 before getting the PCC. PCC is valid for 1 year, so if you think you can get it now and you will have your interview within that time frame then go for it. Edited by trinket, 23 December 2009 - 02:09 PM.	trinket	Female	India	12/23/2009 14:07
Asia: South	a question regarding mumbai consulate	Mumbai consulate doesn't allow the USC petitioner to enter inside the building, so technically there is no need for the USC to be at the interview, but the more visits you have made to see each other the more stronger the case is, it is always is a good idea for the USC to be near by, if by chance something happens you can always get inside the consulate for a second interview and get things sorted out. About PCC, your SO will need 2 PCC, one from passport office and another one from district police office, go to visajourney's PCC galary and I have posted both my PCC there, you will get an idea of what a PCC looks like.	trinket	Female	India	12/23/2009 12:59
Asia: South	221g for K-1 at Mumbai Consulate-Any additional advice?	I really don't have much ideas about k-1 but I think I have read somewhere that you can extend your dates, might be good if you contact DOS on how to extend the expiry date? Wish you best you guys still will have around a month's time before it expires, so not everything is lost.	trinket	Female	India	12/24/2009 11:19
Asia: South	Missing original document for interview	Want to add, when I said consulate in India needs only 1 PCC, I meant 1 Police PCC, they do need another one from Passport office too.	trinket	Female	India	1/1/2010 17:06
Asia: South	Missing original document for interview	Since you are going through CR-1, I assume you did send all the documents at NVC right? So NVC will forward those documents at Islamabad consulate. What I am wondering is did you send NVC original PCC from SWAT or a photocopy of it? Do send your husband the original if you have it with you, if anything at the interview they will ask for the original and VISA will be on hold till the time he doesn't send the original. I am not sure about Pakistan but in India consulate needs only 1 PCC and that is from the present address. I hope everything will turn out for you.	trinket	Female	India	1/1/2010 16:46
Asia: South	K3 Interview on Jan 22. at Chennai	Any postal letters with stamps if she got, more affidavits from her side of the family, parents, friends. Chats if possible, hotel receipts of you two together, any honeymoon reservations and things like that. Your list looks good, so you do got everything covered.	trinket	Female	India	1/4/2010 14:03
Asia: South	Passport.	--double post Edited by trinket, 18 October 2009 - 04:02 PM.	trinket	Female	India	10/18/2009 16:02
Asia: South	Passport.	QUOTE (sachinky @ Oct 18 2009, 02:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hello, I recently got married in India and filed for IR/CR-1. I have a question: I don't plan to take my husband's last name so I am retaining my maiden name. I also didn't apply for addition of spouse's name to the biographic page since I wasn't sure how long they would take and I wanted to get started on the paperwork ASAP. Is this going to be a problem anywhere? Any thoughts? Thanks! There is no requirement in taking your spouse's last name, however about the biographic page if your passport was issued before your marriage then its cool, but if your passport was issued after your marriage I would suggest to upgrade your biographic page. Also it takes only a week or so time to have your spouse's name in your biographic page. I never took my husband's last name but I did have his name on my passport, never had to deal with any questions regarding taking his last name. On a totally different subject, I still think its stupid and totally out of line how women from Gujurat are being made to take spouse's last name at Indian Passport office, officers flat out deny issuing passport if they don't take up their SO's last name.	trinket	Female	India	10/18/2009 16:02
Asia: South	Mother's Family Name at Birth .......	It doesn't matter that your mother's maiden name hasn't been documented anywhere, you still have to put Radha instead of Rani for question 24. I just checked my DS-230 form, it was question #17 in my form, may be the forms have changed now, but anyways I did put her maiden name.	trinket	Female	India	1/9/2010 9:03
Asia: South	applying for indian visa	sorry, i dont know wht is I-751.......... why should i get it?? where can i get tht? I-751 is for removing condition, which you will have to file at 90 days mark before your 2 year GC expires. So you don't need it now, you have time for it, relax and enjoy your holidays for 2 weeks in India.	trinket	Female	India	1/11/2010 23:41
Asia: South	applying for indian visa	sorry to intrupt, but i hv one que.. i'm indian citizen and here on 2 year conditional green card cr-1 visa... i wana go back to india in june.. do i need visa or any other paperwork done?? for how long i can stay in india?? No, you don't need any visa, you are an Indian national. For how long you can stay, India won't stop you for however long you want to stay but since you are a Green Card holder, you might have problem entering US if you stay in India for more than 6 months. Being a GC holder of US, you will have to satisfy the residency requirement of US govt.	trinket	Female	India	1/10/2010 19:13