Interviews for EB1 visa in mumbai consulate

[krishnanks]

I entered the US through my EB1A in September 2022, just wanted to share my 8 months experience and also give the group a quick run down on things to expect in the US.

1. It took 45 days to receive the green card from the time of entry in to the US.
2. Couple of weeks to receive your SSN. never share the SSN with anyone other than with banks.
3. You will need a state ID to open a bank account and for any government related transactions. State ID is the first thing to obtain after your green card and SSN.
4. To get the state ID you will need proof of address, you will need mails received at that address to get a state ID. So ask your friends to send you mails to your home address in the US.
5. Getting credit card is the biggest challenge, Discover Card is the most easiest to and it has the lowest credit limit ($1500), so go for Discover Card to start with.
6. Maintaining good Credit scores are very important to get loans, if you try to apply for multiple credit cards your scores will go down, if you use over 30% of your credit card limit then your scores will go down. It is very challenging and tricky to maintain your scores in the initial period.
7. All banks are able to access and track your SSN, so when you try to get additional credit cards that is were your credit score goes down.
8. If you have any friends with Amex card ask them to refer you, because Amex does not have any credit limit.
9. You can apply for your Drivers license after you receive your state ID, the first you will receive an Instruction permit after you pass the online test and then the road test to get your license.
10. If you plan to buy a house, you will need to find a realtor who will guide you through the process. I suggest going for a new construction, if it is a new construction then the realtor would share a percentage of his/her commission which will be 2%. Old houses have more formalities. By the way the mortgage rates are high right now.
11. I am not able to talk about schools since my kids are grown up and not in school anymore.
12. Every year you will have to file your tax returns on or before 18 April, Turbotax is the application used for filing taxes. Your employer will provide you with the W2 form to fill in the tax.

[whitewizard]

whitewizard this is my time line
DQ - Feb 27th 23, IL received on 31st march 23, interview scheduled on 8th may.
Things are moving almost every month. Except Chennai for biometrics dates are available on all other consulates.

Hope this helps to you.

Pri220

Hope your interview went well. Could you please share your experience?

[Pri220]

whitewizard Here is my interview experience.

We stayed at Treident BKC which is just opposite to the embassy main security gate.
our appointment was at 9.00 am 8th may we reached at 8.15 and we were directly let in. There is a small storage location after the main entry point where you can keep your phone and wallet. Can't store anything bigger than this, each locker is hardly a shoe box size. (I did see some ladies carrying hand bags as big as a laptop bags. Don't know how they were allowed. Note: no kids with them.) You can take a bottle of water inside.

All immigrant applicants were directly taken inside to the IV processing section (atleast 75 to 100 were inside, almost everyone is for family based).
we were give a token and made to wait. We waited almost an hour and half before we were called to check the documents. We were called to a counter 18 which was like a small room still with a protective window between the counselor and us. It was an Indian lady officer. She brought all the documents which we sent to uscis. She asked our pcc, birth certificate, marriage certificate to check and return it back. And 15 minutes american consular called us for interview, he just asked our jobs since we are already in the US and our current visa proof. Next he saw the big bundle of documents and asked us what is this with a laugh. When I said this my research He smiled and said oky, he didn't ask any more questions and said your visa is approved ( total interview time was not more than 2 min) and gave us all the documents and asked us to carry to the port of entry (By itself it weighs 4 to 5 kg). We sat there in the waiting hall for few minutes and arranged all our documents before we left.
On 10th May we got a message that our passport is ready to pick up. We got a gray poly sealed packet with the passport inside and a yellow sealed packet. You can open the gray poly bag to retrieve your passport.

Hope this helps.

All the best

[whitewizard]

Pri220

Thanks for responding. Congratulations!!!

[Dr_strange]

Thanks for keeping this thread active!
Any idea what the current waiting period is for IL after DQ? I see it being around 30-45 days most recently from this thread. Any one got IL recently?

My timeline: Eb (follow to join benefits for derivative); DQ: 10 May, 23

[whitewizard]

Thanks for keeping this thread active!
Any idea what the current waiting period is for IL after DQ? I see it being around 30-45 days most recently from this thread. Any one got IL recently?

My timeline: Eb (follow to join benefits for derivative); DQ: 10 May, 23

The wait time could go a bit longer this time around because of the student visa rush. Delay happened last year also. I am currently at 50 days post-DQ. I wouldn't be surprised if everything gets pushed by 30 days. Student rush starts easing in mid August.

[Dr_strange]

The wait time could go a bit longer this time around because of the student visa rush. Delay happened last year also. I am currently at 50 days post-DQ. I wouldn't be surprised if everything gets pushed by 30 days. Student rush starts easing in mid August.

Hoping that you got some good news about the interview dates this week. There were a bunch of ILs sent out for IR1 folks.
Do you know of groups on Watsapp or telegm with updates of EB Mumbai cases?

[whitewizard]

Hoping that you got some good news about the interview dates this week. There were a bunch of ILs sent out for IR1 folks.
Do you know of groups on Watsapp or telegm with updates of EB Mumbai cases?

Nothing so far. I will definitely update the forum when I do.

[jivan25]

Hello Guys, I am new to this forum. Lot's of great info out here. Thank you everyone for keeping this thread active.
My timeline: DQ: March 28th, 2023, Category: EB1C. I think you also have similar DQ dates. I guess we are in the same boat. BTW, what is your priority date?
Do keep us posted on any news from NVC related to IL's.

[mechy]

Hi all,

I am EB1A DQed Nov 2021 waiting for IL in UAE cosulate. Indian national live in UAE. Quite frustrated with delays. Mumbai seems to move fast. Is it worth transferring to Mumbai? if I transfer will my DQ date get reset?

Any insight will be appreciated
Thanks

[whitewizard]

Hi all,

I am EB1A DQed Nov 2021 waiting for IL in UAE cosulate. Indian national live in UAE. Quite frustrated with delays. Mumbai seems to move fast. Is it worth transferring to Mumbai? if I transfer will my DQ date get reset?

Any insight will be appreciated
Thanks

Based on current data and trends, I would recommend transferring to Mumbai. Bear in mind that I am just a fellow applicant, rather than an experienced immigration attorney. Majority of reliable sources that I have encountered suggest that the DQ date does not reset when you transfer consulates. However, some people disagree. I should tell you that the current wait time has gone up because of the student visa rush. I am at 61 day mark after DQ, but I have not yet received my interview letter. This delay was expected.

[mechy]

Based on current data and trends, I would recommend transferring to Mumbai. Bear in mind that I am just a fellow applicant, rather than an experienced immigration attorney. Majority of reliable sources that I have encountered suggest that the DQ date does not reset when you transfer consulates. However, some people disagree. I should tell you that the current wait time has gone up because of the student visa rush. I am at 61 day mark after DQ, but I have not yet received my interview letter. This delay was expected.

Thanks for reply.

Anyone has experience changing consulate. Please advise.

Moreover can we do part of visa process like medical and biometrics in Chennai and attend interview in Mumbai?

[Dr_strange]

Thanks for reply.

Anyone has experience changing consulate. Please advise.

Moreover can we do part of visa process like medical and biometrics in Chennai and attend interview in Mumbai?

Sorry, don’t have any experience with changing consulates.

But yes to the second part. Only the interview is restricted to Mumbai, you can get medical and biometrics at other locations (including Chennai).

[whitewizard]

Thanks for reply.

Anyone has experience changing consulate. Please advise.

Moreover can we do part of visa process like medical and biometrics in Chennai and attend interview in Mumbai?

It is up to the gaining consulate to approve the transfer. However, as a matter of policy in this case, the Mumbai consulate would be obliged to grant this request, because you are an Indian citizen. Begin by contacting NVC Public Inquiry. State that you are an Indian citizen and wish to transfer your interview location. Attach a copy of your Indian passport biometric page (even if they have it). NVC Public Inquiry responses are sometimes irrelevant and handled poorly. So, just send the request again if they respond poorly. They respond within a week. When accepted, you will receive a new NVC case number that begins with BMB******

Yes. You may do your medical and biometrics anywhere across India according to availability and convenience.

[jivan25]

Hello Everyone! Seeing posts about consulate transfer, I also have a quick query related to my case!

In my I-140 application, my employer had selected the visa consulate as VAC Hyderabad. But recently after reading few articles, I came to know that VAC Hyderabad does not hold any immigrant interviews. Should I transfer my case to VAC Mumbai? Or will it be done automatically by NVC as Hyderabad does not hold immigrant interviews. Any advise?