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

[Shanaya]

Thank you Shanaya. Really appreciate your response and mentioning the need of redoing VFC appointment. She got hers done January 30th prior to her original interview. I will schedule VFC as well. Question is, do I still select "YES" for question- Have you received instructions from US consulate? even though I have not received any correspondence from them. I read on the forms here that US consulate never notifies to re-schedule. The thing worries me is it has a disclaimer on their website when you select "Yes" to that question. "Selecting this option without notification from US consulate can result in extended longer delays".

Thank you

DearAbbyPatel99,

I personally did not go through this process for my parents, but I have saved this post from this forum.
But selecting yes should not affect since you already had received IL first time and NVC does not follow up after you go through sputum test for new IL.
So in my opinion you should select "yes" and schedule next interview appointment.

[Shanaya]

Hi - Thanks to everyone for posting their experiences through the medical/TB test. It has been helpful to learn from others' experiences. Sharing my mom's experience as well as questions at the end.

Sep 2022 - My mom had to go for additional TB test (at Lilavati hospital in Mumbai) after her medical exam.
Nov 2022 - Results came in 8 weeks. I scheduled her VAC appointment again after that in order to get a new interview date
Dec 2022 - Interview in Mumbai. easy as per others' experiences shared here. No major questions asked. She received a sealed envelope that he was instructed to give at port of entry
Jan 2023 - Submitted USCIS immigrant fee to get her social security card and green card mailed to her in the US once she arrives.
Jan 2023 - She arrived in San Francisco. No major questioning. Easy process. However USCIS office did not take the sealed envelope that she was instructed to give them. Said not needed.

Question - what do i do with the envelope? Will it cause any delays in getting her green card? Is there a number or website where I can contact someone from uscis to get clarity?

Question - Does she need to do any additional TB test/followup after arrival? She received a notice from the Public Health Department in california but when I spoke to them they said any follow up for TB is optional - only if she wants further confirmation of being clear.

Thanks in advance!

Dear mdhar,

You can just save that envelope, USCIS no longer care about that since they already received digital version of those.

[AS45]

FIRST OF ALL, SPECIAL THANKS TO SENIOR MEMBERS OF THIS FORUM –

1. ALIEN KANPUR
2. GEOMAC
3. AS45

I really appreciate their support and I am very grateful for their help.

They have answered every question quickly and in detail which helped me a lot in completing visa process for my parents.

I am sharing complete timeline and required documents for each step of this long journey, and I hope this post will help other members in this forum who are going through similar steps for their family members. Some of the documents are excessive but I do not want to take any chances so I have submitted them, but it will be up to you to decide which needs to be sent with forms submission.

I have also included complete cost as well, just for information.

	DOCUMENTS	DATE	DAYS
1	I-130 SUBMISSION - Online	JUNE 18, 2021	1
2	PRIORITY DATE	JUNE 19, 2021	1
3	I-130 APPROVAL	SEPTEMBER 30, 2021	103
4	NVC CONFIRMATION EMAIL	OCTOBER 3, 2021	4
5	DOCUMENTARILY QUALIFIED EMAIL	JANUARY 12, 2022	100
6	INTERVIEW LETTER NOTIFICATION EMAIL	NOVEMBER 21, 2022	313
7	VAC APPOINTMENT	DECEMBER 23, 2022	30
8	MEDICAL	JANUARY 5, 2023	14
9	IR5 VISA INTERVIEW	JANUARY 24, 2023	19
10	PASSPORT ARRIVAL	JANUARY 28, 2023	4
		TOTAL DAYS	594
1	I-130 FEE	$535
2	I-864 FEE	$120
3	DS-260 FEE	$325
4	MEDICAL FEE	$160
5	PASSPORT PICK UP	$8
6	GREENCARD FEE	$220
	TOTAL	$1368

DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED WITH I-130

1. I-130 Form
2. Petitioner – US Naturalization Certificate
3. Petitioner - Birth certificate
4. Beneficiary – Marriage Certificate
5. Beneficiary – Birth Certificates

DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED WITH I-864 & I-864A

1. I-864 Affidavit of Support Form
2. I-864-A Affidavit of Support – Household Member/Joint Sponsor
3. IRS Tax Return Transcripts – For Years 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 (Petitioner & Household Member)
4. W2 – For Years 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 (Petitioner & Household Member)
5. 2023 Employment Letter (Petitioner & Household Member)
6. 6 Months Paystubs Copy (Petitioner & Household Member)
7. Petitioner – Birth Certificate
8. Petitioner – Marriage Certificate
9. Petitioner – US Naturalization Certificate
10. Household Member – Birth Certificate
11. Household Member - US Naturalization Certificate

DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED WITH DS-260

1. DS-260 Form
2. Petitioner – Birth Certificate
3. Petitioner – Marriage Certificate
4. Petitioner – Naturalization Certificate
5. Petitioner – US Passport Biographic Pages
6. Beneficiary – Birth Certificates
7. Beneficiary – Marriage Certificate
8. Beneficiary – Police Clearance Certificates
9. Beneficiary – Passport Biographic Pages
10. Beneficiary – 2x2 Digital Photographs

DOCUMENTS CARRIED FOR VAC APPOINTMENT

1. Beneficiary Passport
2. VAC Appointment Confirmation Letter
3. DS-260 Confirmation page
4. Four 2x2 Photographs
5. Interview Letter

Address:
Mumbai VAC
Parinee Crescenzo 101, 1^st Floor, A Wing
G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex
Bandra East

DOCUMENTS CARRIED FOR MEDICAL APPOINTMENT

1. Beneficiary Passport
2. Interview Letter
3. DS-260 Confirmation page
4. Four 2x2 Photographs
5. Final Covid-19 Vaccine Record with Dates
6. All Prior Medical Records of Vaccination

Address:
Apollo Clinic
Mann Complex, Anand Mahal Road
Opposite Shree Ram Petrol Pump, Girinagar Society, Muktanand Nagar
Adajan, Surat
Phone# 0261-2790202

DOCUMENTS CARRIED FOR INTERVIEW APPOINTMENT

1. Beneficiary Passport
2. Four 2x2 Photographs
3. Interview Letter
4. DS-260 Confirmation Page with VAC Stamp & Stapled Photograph given @ VAC Appointment
5. Original Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)
6. Medical Exam Vaccination Report given at Medical Appointment
7. Petitioner – Original Birth Certificate & Copy
8. Beneficiary – Original Birth Certificate & Copy
9. Beneficiary – Original Marriage Certificate & Copy
10. Petitioner & Joint Sponsor - Original I-864 & I-864-A
11. Petitioner & Joint Sponsor - IRS Tax Return Transcripts for Years – 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018
12. Petitioner & Joint Sponsor - W2 for Years - 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018
13. Petitioner & Joint Sponsor - 2023 Employment Letters
14. Petitioner & Joint Sponsor - 6 Months Paystubs Copies

INTERVIEW DAY – JANUARY 24, 2023 @ 7:30 AM

Address:
U.S. Consulate General Mumbai
C-49, G-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex
Bandra East, Mumbai 400051

My parents had their interview on January 24, 2023@ 7:30 AM.

They entered the building at 7:00 AM and they were directly taken to window for document collection/verification where they were asked for following documents. (Completed in 20 Minutes)

1. Interview Letter for both
2. Original DS-260 Confirmation Page with VAC Stamps for both
3. Original PCC for both
4. Original Birth Certificate for both
5. Original marriage Certificate
6. Original Birth Certificate of Petitioner

Parents requested Gujarati Language Interpreter for their Interview right after above documents were verified.

Then they were given a token and were told to wait for their number to be called.

They were called on window at 7:40 AM for their interview, where American officer has asked following questions which can be answered by either person, so my mom answered some and my dad answered some.

First, parents were asked to take the oath before answering any questions.

1. What is your daughter’s address in USA?
2. Have you lived in any other country for more than a year?
3. In which state does your daughter live in USA?
4. When did the petitioner went to USA first time?
5. How many kids does your daughter have?
6. What is your son in law’s job position?
7. What does your daughter do?
8. How many members are there in their household?
9. Who are they?
10. Have you ever been denied a visa to any country?

At the end of the interview officer told them, your visa is approved, and you will receive your passports within 3-5 days and handed them two documents as below.

They were out of the building at 8:05 AM.

(1) English Version – “Your Visa is Approved” with instructions on how to pay your Green Card Fee $220 before departing for USA.

(2) ગુજરાતી આવૃત્તિ- યુએસએ જવા રવાના થતા પહેલા તમારી ગ્રીન કાર્ડ ફી $220 કેવી રીતે ભરવી તે અંગેની સૂચનાઓ સાથે "તમારા વિઝા મંજૂર છે".

Also, passport status can be checked on below websites while waiting for to arrive at home or pick up location of Blue Dart Service.

Apply for a U.S. Visa | Track My Passport - India (English) (ustraveldocs.com)

https://cgifederal.secure.force.com (Using Username & Password)

Passports arrived on January 28, 2023.

Website for $220 - Green Card Fee Payment – https://my.uscis.gov/uscis-immigrant-fee

A-Number

• Your A-Number is the letter “A” followed by 7, 8 or 9 numbers (such as A012345678). On a visa stamp, your A-Number is identified as a Registration Number and it does not have written “A” on the IR5 Visa, it just says Registration Number.
• If your A-Number is fewer than 9 digits, the system will automatically add zero(s) after the “A” and before the first digit so there is a total of 9 digits, for example: A-001234567.
• Enter “A” Number (Example: A-123456789, A-012345678, or A-001234567)

DOS Case ID

• Your DOS Case ID is 3 letters followed by 9 or 10 numbers (for example, BMB0123456789).
• On your visa stamp, your DOS Case ID is identified as the IV Case Number. The IV Case Number has two numbers at the end, such as 01 or 02.
• When entering the IV Case Number as the DOS Case ID, do not include the last two numbers. For example, if your IV Case Number is “BMB1234567801,” you would enter your DOS Case ID as “BMB12345678” (do not include the “01”).
• If you want to pay together for both parents then there is an option, click “Add Another Entry” and enter second person’s information.
• Enter email address and mailing address for payer.
• Click next for payment of USD 220. (For both $440)
• If paid in advance in India before leaving for US, process starts as soon as beneficiary is in US.

I hope above details will help someone in this forum who is going through similar process or planning to do same for their family members.

WISH YOU ALL THE BEST IN COMPLETING SIMILAR JOURNEY FOR YOUR LOVED ONES.

Regards,

Shanaya Patel
New Jersey, USA

During this entire journey I have been very anxious about which questions will be asked at the interview, so I started collecting questions from this forum’s reviews by others & similar websites and compiled a list of questions as below. Some of the questions are repeated in the list but has similar answers. I am sure this list will help lot of members in this forum.

IR 5 VISA – SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Who is sponsoring?
2. Where does he/she live?
3. Have you lived in any other country for more than a year?
4. What is the marriage date for your daughter?
5. Where do you plan to live in the USA?
6. How long has your daughter been in the USA?
7. Have you ever been to USA?
8. Have you ever been denied a visa to any country?
9. What is your daughter’s phone number/email address?
10. How often/how do you communicate with your daughter?
11. How old is your daughter?
12. Which state does your daughter live in?
13. Where is your daughter/sponsor working and what position?
14. Where does your son-in-law work?
15. How old are your daughter’s kids?
16. When did you meet your daughter last time?
17. What is your son in law doing? Where does he work?
18. Who are you going to stay with?
19. Where does your daughter work?
20. How many times you have been to USA before? When was the longest stay?
21. Who called you to USA?
22. How is petitioner known to you?
23. What is petitioner doing?
24. In which place the petitioner lives?
25. Where did the petitioner earlier live in USA?
26. Is petitioner married? If yes when?
27. When did you last meet the petitioner?
28. Has petitioner visited India?
29. How many times did you go to USA?
30. How many children does the petitioner have?
31. Who is sponsoring you?
32. Where does she work?
33. Which place in the USA?
34. Who is the joint sponsor?
35. Is your daughter married?
36. When did you last see your daughter?
37. Have you been to USA before?
38. Who is the petitioner?
39. When did petitioner moved to USA?
40. How many kids does petitioner have?
41. What is your grand daughter’s name?
42. What kind of activities your granddaughter like?
43. Who is sponsoring your green card?
44. What do they do?
45. When did they come to USA?
46. Are they married?
47. Where do they live?
48. When was the last time you were in USA?
49. How many kids do they have?
50. What is the cutest thing your granddaughter did that, you remember?
51. Which company does your son in law works for?
52. How many times your daughter came to India after entering USA? When?
53. How many members in their house in USA?
54. Who are they?
55. Have you lived in any other country for more than a year?
56. Who is calling you?
57. Is she married?
58. How many kids?
59. Where is she working and as what?
60. What is her husband’s name? And where is he working?
61. Who are you going to stay with?
62. Where does your daughter work?
63. Who does she live with?
64. How many members in their household?
65. How old are her kids?
66. How many times you have been to USA before? When was the longest stay?
67. What is your son in law doing? Where does he work?
68. How old are your daughter’s kids?
69. When did you meet your daughter last time?
70. What is your daughter’s address in USA?
71. Have you lived in any other country for more than a year?
72. In which state does your daughter live in USA?
73. When did the petitioner went to USA first time?
74. How many kids does your daughter have?
75. What is your son in law’s job position?
76. What does your daughter do?
77. How many members are there in their household?
78. Who are they?
79. Have you ever been denied a visa to any country?
80. Which company does your son in law works for?

Dear Shanaya

Heartiest congratulations for smooth completion of IR5 visa process. As AlienKanpur and Geomac have already commented, your post with minute details of the interview along with your own inputs about the entire process, is just mind blowing and unprecedented. It is certainly a well written guide for all current and future IR5 applicants. On a lighter note, I can say that this post will reduce burden on seniors like AlienKanpur, Geomac and others. You have returned to this forum much more than what we could help. Best wishes to your mother for a long and happy life in USA.

[Shanaya]

Dear Shanaya

Heartiest congratulations for smooth completion of IR5 visa process. As AlienKanpur and Geomac have already commented, your post with minute details of the interview along with your own inputs about the entire process, is just mind blowing and unprecedented. It is certainly a well written guide for all current and future IR5 applicants. On a lighter note, I can say that this post will reduce burden on seniors like AlienKanpur, Geomac and others. You have returned to this forum much more than what we could help. Best wishes to your mother for a long and happy life in USA.

Dear AS45, Alien Kanpur, GeoMac

I really appreciated your comments.

Thank you for your positive feedback on the post and hope to help others in this forum as much as I can.

[AlienKanpur]

Dear AS45, Alien Kanpur, GeoMac

I really appreciated your comments.

Thank you for your positive feedback on the post and hope to help others in this forum as much as I can.

Dear Shanaya,
You are simply outstanding. I guess that it is time for me to phase out. We now have a very competent and meticulous mentor in you. This forum is a very vibrant place because of persons like you. Best wishes.

[AdiY]

Hi friends,

Thank you all for sharing valuable information in this blog.

This is for my mom for whom I am in the process of getting her a green card so that she can come over and stay with me. Her documents were qualified last week and we are waiting on the next step.

She is battling a rare cancer and is currently under treatment in India. Is anyone familiar with a good medical insurance that I can purchase for mom once she get's here that could help us with her medical treatment for advanced cancer? How soon can we get one since she should be on some form of treatment as soon as she gets here?

Any advice/suggestion would be greatly appreciated. My mom lives alone in India since I lost my dad many years back and all I want is to give her the family support she deserves as she walk through a rough path.

Thanks!

Sorry for your mom's condition. I think, Obamacare might be a good option in the US, that's what I am thinking to get for my parents. Parents won't have any income in the US, so might be eligible for some subsidies as well. There is still 6-9 months wait from DQ date to interview date. May be you can try to prioritize your case on medical grounds by asking NVC, not sure if they will prioritize though.

[GeoMac]

Dear Shanaya, You seem to be a great and meticulous data keeper and a very careful and considerate person which is seen in the way you arranged the details and the way you cared for others in the line. This should be taken note of, by everyone and make printout of it for refering whenever there is a confusion. I would rather go to the extent of advising IMMIHELP to put this as a guideline on their forum. Thanks are also deserved by you dear Shanaya for appreciating some of us for doing a little help in this journey. Thank you once again

Dear Shanaya, please make it clear that the fees paid were for one person only or was that for both of your parents?

[Jasmeetkben]

Hello everyone ,

Any new round of IL’s ? My moms dq is on Dec 3 but I like to follow the group and keep myself updated/ try to anticipate interview month .

thanks !!

[Shanaya]

Dear Shanaya, please make it clear that the fees paid were for one person only or was that for both of your parents?

Dear GeoMac,

It is for one person. $1368/Person and Medical cost can vary since it depends on number of vaccinations required and medical condition.

[Aviask2]

Hi All,

My Mother (widow) does not have certificates for her birth or marriage. So, she will submit supporting documents including affidavits from older relatives. Should she do a self-affidavit for her birth/marriage as well? Or, is that completely redundant?

Thanks.

[spreadpositivty]

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your reply. NVC has approved our request to expedite my mom's case on medical grounds.

We are now moving on to the next step of scheduling our interview by the grace of God.

I was wondering when will be get our Original appointment letter? What does it look like? Will we get it after taking the interview date or before? Also, how soon can we take the medical? They say it should be at least 7 days before the interview but how early can it be?

Thanks!

[aquafatz]

Sputum test update:
Providing my updates for others with the same issues. Sputum test results came back negative. But my mom had to follow up with the hospital and Rele Clinic Mumbai to get the results sent to Consular ASAP. There was a small delay on their end.
As soon as Rele Clinic said the results have been uploaded, I went online to book appointments. Surprisingly, appointments were now easily available. I had been checking everyday for appointments while waiting for the results to arrive. A few days after, received the standard email to schedule appointment.

[aquafatz]

Question about I-864 at interview.
Is this needed at the interview? If yes, do I need to mail my parents the original copy signed by me? As of now, they have a scanned and printed copy with my signature on it. Thanks!

[Shanaya]

Question about I-864 at interview.
Is this needed at the interview? If yes, do I need to mail my parents the original copy signed by me? As of now, they have a scanned and printed copy with my signature on it. Thanks!

Dear Aquafatz,

They require originals. But so far, I have not seen that they asked for it at interview. So I believe scanned copies should work. But if you are able to send original in time then do so.

[AS45]

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your reply. NVC has approved our request to expedite my mom's case on medical grounds.

We are now moving on to the next step of scheduling our interview by the grace of God.

I was wondering when will be get our Original appointment letter? What does it look like? Will we get it after taking the interview date or before? Also, how soon can we take the medical? They say it should be at least 7 days before the interview but how early can it be?

Thanks!

Dear Spreadpositivty,

NVC will schedule the appointment date and send email to you as well as to your mother. This mail will be treated as appointment letter which is normally 15 days to 60 days prior to the appointment. You need to schedule medical appointment which can be any earlier date but only after receiving the appointment letter. You should inform the medical agency about the condition and current treatment about your mother so any co- relation of their tests or results can be factored. As the visa expiry date to travel to USA is 6 months from the date of medicals, people do not normally go for medicals immediately. Best wishes to your mother for her health as well as interview.