Is Mumbai consulate scheduling interviews for IR5 (Parent of a U.S. citizen)

[AlienKanpur]

Members please help,
Our passport with Consulate over 10 days and status say Ready . What is that mean.? Officer approved visa on interview but passport not returned. Help

Dear Raj2022,
I can understand the dilemma you are currently in. This is the strangest case that has come up in this forum. Wonder, why you were told that the passport will be delivered in 10 days. Standard procedure has been 3 to 5 working days.
I had responded to your query and given two links in my post number 1931, two days ago. What is the message that you get when you click the first link. If it simply says ready, I wonder what it means. Ready generally means that the case is ready for interview. Though I cannot say this with certainty. When I click the link and put my case number, I get the message “issued”. In case you do not see this message then you must immediately contact the consulate, preferably through phone or an email. This is the weirdest case that we have come across in this forum. Please do not despair. If you have been told that your VISA is approved, it will happen for sure. Best wishes. Please keep the forum updated.

[Raj2022]

Dear Raj2022,
I can understand the dilemma you are currently in. This is the strangest case that has come up in this forum. Wonder, why you were told that the passport will be delivered in 10 days. Standard procedure has been 3 to 5 working days.
I had responded to your query and given two links in my post number 1931, two days ago. What is the message that you get when you click the first link. If it simply says ready, I wonder what it means. Ready generally means that the case is ready for interview. Though I cannot say this with certainty.

Yes ready for interview but interview is done all ready and officer approved it and keep the passport I don’t know what to do . I call and email them no response.

[tooolong]

Hello fam,

This forum has been super helpful in providing information for IR-5 visa. That said, I was unable to find details on the whole process if medical report came back negative for TB, and the parents had to undergo a sputum/TB test. I am detailing the steps and the process for the greater good of humanity and the readers.

• DQ: December 2020
• Fingerprint/Interview date: April 2022
• Rescheduled interview date: June 2022
• IR-5 visa issued

Fingerprints/Interview date:

• My mother was documentarily qualified in Dec 2020. In April 2022, she received a letter from NVC providing an interview date in mid-April 2022
• Prior to the interview, she had to give her fingerprints and medical test. Given a lot of posts have explained this process, I will not elaborate on it. We booked the fingerprints appointment on our own through CGI website in New Delhi. If you live close to Delhi or another consulate, you can schedule your fingerprints there instead of Mumbai
• We booked the medical appointment in Max New Delhi on the same date as fingerprints 4 days prior to the interview date in Mumbai. Unfortunately, the medical screening showed up a slight murmur, and my mother was asked to undergo a sputum test analysis
• Just as a fyi, my mother is a doctor and does not have any history of TB, so she asked the attending doctor to redo the test. But obviously they refused
• The sputum test involves going to the same facility 3 days in a row. You are supposed to spit in a bowl early in the morning without food or water intake. My mother took the appointment for the next 3 days and went daily to provide the sputum for the test
• Test results take ~6 weeks
• In the meantime, we were not sure whether our visa appointment in Mumbai had been canceled, because we did not receive any email notification from NVC. That said, the medical facility did mention that the interview would be canceled automatically and the medical results will be sent to the consulate directly. I would add that they weren't very helpful in providing details, and don't really pick up their phones to answer queries
• Our lawyer suggested (rather incorrectly) that we should still go for the visa appointment as it had not been canceled by NVC and the NVC website still showed the interview appointment as April 2022. So, my mother flew to Mumbai for her interview anyways

Initial interview - Mumbai consulate:

• My mother stayed at the Sofitel in Bandra-Kurla given the proximity to the consulate, and as suggested by several posters here. It was very convenient, and I will not belabor the point and recommend taking a room there only
• When she got to the embassy, there is an initial verification process. The person verifying the documents saw that her medical results had come back negative, and her appointment had been canceled automatically. That said, they checked all the other documents and mentioned that these were in perfect order. Therefore, my mother was returned back from the embassy without taking her interview

Sputum test results:

• 6 weeks after the sputum test, in early June, my mother received a call from Max facility that her sputum tests came back clean and she was cleared medically. The murmur on the initial screening was just a shadow. They also mentioned that the results would be sent automatically to the consulate
• We were not sure whether we would get an email from NVC to reschedule the interview appointment, or do we need to rebook it ourselves
• We did not want to take a chance waiting for the NVC to get back to us, so we booked an appointment for interview through the CGI website in late June. In one of the fields when booking the appointment, we just mentioned that we had received notification from NVC to reschedule the interview, although we did not receive any notification from them

Final interview - Mumbai consulate:

• A day prior to the interview, my mom again flew to Mumbai and stayed at Sofitel
• I recommend that people take the earliest appointment since the lines are shorter then
• This time the process went smoothly. The verification was fine. Given my mother's police clearance certificate (PCC) had expired, we had gotten a new PCC for her while she was awaiting the results for the sputum test. I am not sure whether that is needed or not, but we did it anyway
• The interviewer asked her a few questions about the kids and where she will stay. All in, the interview took about 30 mins to complete with the interviewer checking the documents and asking simple questions
• After the interview, my mom was handed a paper stating that her visa had been approved, and would be sent to her via post in 3-5 days. Before the green card is issued, she would have to pay an immigrant fee of $220 at the USCIS website once she receives her passport
• Just as a fyi, once she comes to the U.S., the green card would be mailed to the provided address within 45 days of entry. Additionally, she will receive the medical results and results of the sputum test in a sealed envelope, which she has to provide to the CBP officer at the port of entry

TL; DR:

• If your parents are asked to take a sputum test, the interview appointment is canceled automatically. You will not receive any notification from NVC
• Results of the sputum test are communicated via phone by the medical facility, and no notification is sent from the medical facility or NVC
• If the sputum test results come back clean, there will be no notification from NVC to reschedule appointment. You have to book an interview appointment yourself through the CGI website

This is amazingly detailed and thank you.

[Raj2022]

Yes ready for interview but interview is done all ready and officer approved it and keep the passport I don’t know what to do . I call and email them no response.

Thanks
I will update it for other for future if some one have this problem. But right now it is hadack. I don’t know how long it will take ?

[Raj2022]

Dear Raj2022
It is queer. I have not heard so far in this forum that somebody was given 10 days time. Also your passport has not been returned so far as you said. My suggestion is 1. Read the letter carefully and see what does it say. 2. There is phone number to contact in the bigger paper sheet. 3. There is email address too, to contact them in Mumbai.

lol

[GeoMac]

That makes sense i will try the same. Thank you so much... also the A# on the visa page just had numbers there was no Alphabet A prefixed, is this true in ur case?

Dear ramanans_27
A# is given in visa stamp, but it is named as Registration Number. We can confirm that by seeing visa appointment letter. At the end of the letter, there is A# ********

[GeoMac]

Hello everyone,Can anyone who has reached USA with a * or ** on annotation in the visa stamp, guide us that what is the role or meaning of this * at the time of entry to US. If it's just to ignore, even then please help all members. Thanks.

Dear Lobby57
What I have found out is -
One * in the annotation means one comment / footnote. Normally these days there is one comment “ IV Docs in CCD” which means that all required documents are online (for new immigrants)
If there are two ** , that means there are two comments.
I do not know the meaning of second comment “ COUPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551……….1 YEAR.”

[sapnaanagol]

Hello fam,

This forum has been super helpful in providing information for IR-5 visa. That said, I was unable to find details on the whole process if medical report came back negative for TB, and the parents had to undergo a sputum/TB test. I am detailing the steps and the process for the greater good of humanity and the readers.

• DQ: December 2020
• Fingerprint/Interview date: April 2022
• Rescheduled interview date: June 2022
• IR-5 visa issued

Fingerprints/Interview date:

• My mother was documentarily qualified in Dec 2020. In April 2022, she received a letter from NVC providing an interview date in mid-April 2022
• Prior to the interview, she had to give her fingerprints and medical test. Given a lot of posts have explained this process, I will not elaborate on it. We booked the fingerprints appointment on our own through CGI website in New Delhi. If you live close to Delhi or another consulate, you can schedule your fingerprints there instead of Mumbai
• We booked the medical appointment in Max New Delhi on the same date as fingerprints 4 days prior to the interview date in Mumbai. Unfortunately, the medical screening showed up a slight murmur, and my mother was asked to undergo a sputum test analysis
• Just as a fyi, my mother is a doctor and does not have any history of TB, so she asked the attending doctor to redo the test. But obviously they refused
• The sputum test involves going to the same facility 3 days in a row. You are supposed to spit in a bowl early in the morning without food or water intake. My mother took the appointment for the next 3 days and went daily to provide the sputum for the test
• Test results take ~6 weeks
• In the meantime, we were not sure whether our visa appointment in Mumbai had been canceled, because we did not receive any email notification from NVC. That said, the medical facility did mention that the interview would be canceled automatically and the medical results will be sent to the consulate directly. I would add that they weren't very helpful in providing details, and don't really pick up their phones to answer queries
• Our lawyer suggested (rather incorrectly) that we should still go for the visa appointment as it had not been canceled by NVC and the NVC website still showed the interview appointment as April 2022. So, my mother flew to Mumbai for her interview anyways

Initial interview - Mumbai consulate:

• My mother stayed at the Sofitel in Bandra-Kurla given the proximity to the consulate, and as suggested by several posters here. It was very convenient, and I will not belabor the point and recommend taking a room there only
• When she got to the embassy, there is an initial verification process. The person verifying the documents saw that her medical results had come back negative, and her appointment had been canceled automatically. That said, they checked all the other documents and mentioned that these were in perfect order. Therefore, my mother was returned back from the embassy without taking her interview

Sputum test results:

• 6 weeks after the sputum test, in early June, my mother received a call from Max facility that her sputum tests came back clean and she was cleared medically. The murmur on the initial screening was just a shadow. They also mentioned that the results would be sent automatically to the consulate
• We were not sure whether we would get an email from NVC to reschedule the interview appointment, or do we need to rebook it ourselves
• We did not want to take a chance waiting for the NVC to get back to us, so we booked an appointment for interview through the CGI website in late June. In one of the fields when booking the appointment, we just mentioned that we had received notification from NVC to reschedule the interview, although we did not receive any notification from them

Final interview - Mumbai consulate:

• A day prior to the interview, my mom again flew to Mumbai and stayed at Sofitel
• I recommend that people take the earliest appointment since the lines are shorter then
• This time the process went smoothly. The verification was fine. Given my mother's police clearance certificate (PCC) had expired, we had gotten a new PCC for her while she was awaiting the results for the sputum test. I am not sure whether that is needed or not, but we did it anyway
• The interviewer asked her a few questions about the kids and where she will stay. All in, the interview took about 30 mins to complete with the interviewer checking the documents and asking simple questions
• After the interview, my mom was handed a paper stating that her visa had been approved, and would be sent to her via post in 3-5 days. Before the green card is issued, she would have to pay an immigrant fee of $220 at the USCIS website once she receives her passport
• Just as a fyi, once she comes to the U.S., the green card would be mailed to the provided address within 45 days of entry. Additionally, she will receive the medical results and results of the sputum test in a sealed envelope, which she has to provide to the CBP officer at the port of entry

TL; DR:

• If your parents are asked to take a sputum test, the interview appointment is canceled automatically. You will not receive any notification from NVC
• Results of the sputum test are communicated via phone by the medical facility, and no notification is sent from the medical facility or NVC
• If the sputum test results come back clean, there will be no notification from NVC to reschedule appointment. You have to book an interview appointment yourself through the CGI website

Thank you very much.This information has given lots of solace to me.I am also doctor & they asked me to get sputum test.
They have said 8 weeks? not 6 weeks at our Ahmedabad Apollo hospital.Will get that clarified.You are truly very humane!God bless your family & you.

[GeoMac]

Dear GeoMac , start getting used to "weird" or "strange". In most countries, "queer" is primarily used in reference to gender identity.

Well Thank you dear nakubo for drawing my attention to my mistake. Actually, these days’ English has certain meaning practically for a certain word leading to misunderstanding. I have been living in different countries over the years and talking to people of different nationalities and age groups, but could never learn that this particular word is not acceptable in common practice, though I don’t remember using it in talks ever.

[Raj2022]

YOU CAN CHECK VISA STATUS : https://ceac.state.gov/ceacstattracker/status.aspx
This will tell you whether your visa was issued and printed.
Also check : http://staging2012.ustraveldocs.com/...sporttrack.asp
this will tell you if your passport is in transit.

1st link is Ready
2nd link is

Passport Status :

Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate

[AlienKanpur]

1st link is Ready
2nd link is

Passport Status :

Your passport is still with the US Embassy/Consulate

Dear Raj2022,
10 working days have now elapsed, I am very hopeful that there will be some movement in your status by India’s Monday evening. If this does not happen then you must immediately try to talk to some one in the consulate. There are two phone numbers, May be you can get across to someone responsible.
best wishes

[Raj2022]

Dear Raj2022,
10 working days have now elapsed, I am very hopeful that there will be some movement in your status by India’s Monday evening. If this does not happen then you must immediately try to talk to some one in the consulate. There are two phone numbers, May be you can get across to someone responsible.
best wishes

Thanks for positive answer form you I hope that happened Monday. I called that number they told me they escalated my case. Hope some answers Monday.

[maneeshsah]

What's the latest DQ date for which IL has been sent? Last I saw was for June 16th 2021. Any further progress?

[mumbaispecial]

Thanks a bunch for this detailed information. I agree, everyone is clueless what happens next after the Sputum Test. I hope they update the website with directions for steps to take after they spot something during the Medical Tests. Take Care!

Hello fam,

This forum has been super helpful in providing information for IR-5 visa. That said, I was unable to find details on the whole process if medical report came back negative for TB, and the parents had to undergo a sputum/TB test. I am detailing the steps and the process for the greater good of humanity and the readers.

• DQ: December 2020
• Fingerprint/Interview date: April 2022
• Rescheduled interview date: June 2022
• IR-5 visa issued

Fingerprints/Interview date:

• My mother was documentarily qualified in Dec 2020. In April 2022, she received a letter from NVC providing an interview date in mid-April 2022
• Prior to the interview, she had to give her fingerprints and medical test. Given a lot of posts have explained this process, I will not elaborate on it. We booked the fingerprints appointment on our own through CGI website in New Delhi. If you live close to Delhi or another consulate, you can schedule your fingerprints there instead of Mumbai
• We booked the medical appointment in Max New Delhi on the same date as fingerprints 4 days prior to the interview date in Mumbai. Unfortunately, the medical screening showed up a slight murmur, and my mother was asked to undergo a sputum test analysis
• Just as a fyi, my mother is a doctor and does not have any history of TB, so she asked the attending doctor to redo the test. But obviously they refused
• The sputum test involves going to the same facility 3 days in a row. You are supposed to spit in a bowl early in the morning without food or water intake. My mother took the appointment for the next 3 days and went daily to provide the sputum for the test
• Test results take ~6 weeks
• In the meantime, we were not sure whether our visa appointment in Mumbai had been canceled, because we did not receive any email notification from NVC. That said, the medical facility did mention that the interview would be canceled automatically and the medical results will be sent to the consulate directly. I would add that they weren't very helpful in providing details, and don't really pick up their phones to answer queries
• Our lawyer suggested (rather incorrectly) that we should still go for the visa appointment as it had not been canceled by NVC and the NVC website still showed the interview appointment as April 2022. So, my mother flew to Mumbai for her interview anyways

Initial interview - Mumbai consulate:

• My mother stayed at the Sofitel in Bandra-Kurla given the proximity to the consulate, and as suggested by several posters here. It was very convenient, and I will not belabor the point and recommend taking a room there only
• When she got to the embassy, there is an initial verification process. The person verifying the documents saw that her medical results had come back negative, and her appointment had been canceled automatically. That said, they checked all the other documents and mentioned that these were in perfect order. Therefore, my mother was returned back from the embassy without taking her interview

Sputum test results:

• 6 weeks after the sputum test, in early June, my mother received a call from Max facility that her sputum tests came back clean and she was cleared medically. The murmur on the initial screening was just a shadow. They also mentioned that the results would be sent automatically to the consulate
• We were not sure whether we would get an email from NVC to reschedule the interview appointment, or do we need to rebook it ourselves
• We did not want to take a chance waiting for the NVC to get back to us, so we booked an appointment for interview through the CGI website in late June. In one of the fields when booking the appointment, we just mentioned that we had received notification from NVC to reschedule the interview, although we did not receive any notification from them

Final interview - Mumbai consulate:

• A day prior to the interview, my mom again flew to Mumbai and stayed at Sofitel
• I recommend that people take the earliest appointment since the lines are shorter then
• This time the process went smoothly. The verification was fine. Given my mother's police clearance certificate (PCC) had expired, we had gotten a new PCC for her while she was awaiting the results for the sputum test. I am not sure whether that is needed or not, but we did it anyway
• The interviewer asked her a few questions about the kids and where she will stay. All in, the interview took about 30 mins to complete with the interviewer checking the documents and asking simple questions
• After the interview, my mom was handed a paper stating that her visa had been approved, and would be sent to her via post in 3-5 days. Before the green card is issued, she would have to pay an immigrant fee of $220 at the USCIS website once she receives her passport
• Just as a fyi, once she comes to the U.S., the green card would be mailed to the provided address within 45 days of entry. Additionally, she will receive the medical results and results of the sputum test in a sealed envelope, which she has to provide to the CBP officer at the port of entry

TL; DR:

• If your parents are asked to take a sputum test, the interview appointment is canceled automatically. You will not receive any notification from NVC
• Results of the sputum test are communicated via phone by the medical facility, and no notification is sent from the medical facility or NVC
• If the sputum test results come back clean, there will be no notification from NVC to reschedule appointment. You have to book an interview appointment yourself through the CGI website

[Varaprasad1959]

Hi
While trying to pay the immigration fee I am facing an issue wherein it says ' We could not find the A-Number and/or DOS case ID you entered'. Issuance of visa was on 14th June. Any one had faced this problem?
thanks
**** Update***
Issue is resolved since the confusion was on account of the number of digits in the CASE ID in Visa stamping and the number of digits required to be entered in the payment detials