Anirban

Here's our nightmare story:

after 9 months of going thru the k-3 process.. my wife finally gets an interview at
the mumbai consulate - she goes there at 8am.. has the interview at 10:30am and is
made to sit inside till 4:30pm - without any food the entire day.. at last someone
calls her up to the counter and tells her that the evidence she has presented is not
enough and that she needs to bring 4 other things - a FULL wedding album, copies of
each sheet of my US passport, her ration card, and correspondence between us. The
interview is rescheduled for April 11th - which sets us back another 6 weeks..

The problem is - we had taken extraordinary care in making sure that EVERYTHING that
was required as per the Packet 4 requirements were included in the evidence she took.
What the consulate is asking for the far beyond what is normally required.

Has anyone gone thru a similar experience?

What can I do now? I am more than willing to take a trip to Bombay and appear in
person with all the evidence that is required - but does the consulate accept that?
And can that April 11th date be moved? I'm trying to call tonight to see if anyone
can help at the consulate.

Please Please help - if anyone has gone thru anything like this - please email
directly or respond to the NG - I don't think I'll be sleeping anytime soon.

Desperately -

anirban [email protected]

Ranjini

This seems to be a matter of form at the Mumbai Consulate. You will soon be regaled
with various negative experiences of newsgroup members. But the up side is that they
get the visa in the end. Keep tuned!! Lol. Ranjini

"anirban" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Here's our nightmare story:
    >
    > after 9 months of going thru the k-3 process.. my wife finally gets an interview
    > at the mumbai consulate - she goes there at 8am.. has the interview at 10:30am and
    > is made to sit inside till 4:30pm - without any food the entire day.. at last
    > someone calls her up to the counter and tells her that the evidence she has
    > presented is not enough and that she needs to bring 4 other things - a FULL
    > wedding album, copies of each sheet of my US passport, her ration card, and
    > correspondence between us. The interview is rescheduled for April 11th - which
    > sets us back another 6 weeks..
    >
    > The problem is - we had taken extraordinary care in making sure that EVERYTHING
    > that was required as per the Packet 4 requirements were included in the evidence
    > she took. What the consulate is asking for the far beyond what is normally
    > required.
    >
    > Has anyone gone thru a similar experience?
    >
    > What can I do now? I am more than willing to take a trip to Bombay and appear in
    > person with all the evidence that is required - but does the consulate accept that?
    > And can that April 11th date be moved? I'm trying to call tonight to see if anyone
    > can help at the consulate.
    >
    > Please Please help - if anyone has gone thru anything like this - please email
    > directly or respond to the NG - I don't think I'll be sleeping anytime soon.
    >
    > Desperately -
    >
    > anirban [email protected]

Alpona

"Ranjini" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<Lmgf8.16580$Dv1.57768@rwcrnsc53>...
    > This seems to be a matter of form at the Mumbai Consulate. You will soon be regaled
    > with various negative experiences of newsgroup members. But the up side is that
    > they get the visa in the end. Keep tuned!! Lol. Ranjini
    >
    > "anirban" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Here's our nightmare story:
    > >
    > > after 9 months of going thru the k-3 process.. my wife finally gets an interview
    > > at the mumbai consulate - she goes there at 8am.. has the interview at 10:30am
    > > and is made to sit inside till 4:30pm - without any food the entire day.. at last
    > > someone calls her up to the counter and tells her that the evidence she has
    > > presented is not enough and that she needs to bring 4 other things - a FULL
    > > wedding album, copies of each sheet of my US passport, her ration card, and
    > > correspondence between us. The interview is rescheduled for April 11th - which
    > > sets us back another 6 weeks..
    > >
    > > The problem is - we had taken extraordinary care in making sure that EVERYTHING
    > > that was required as per the Packet 4 requirements were included in the evidence
    > > she took. What the consulate is asking for the far beyond what is normally
    > > required.
    > >
    > > Has anyone gone thru a similar experience?
    > >
    > > What can I do now? I am more than willing to take a trip to Bombay and appear in
    > > person with all the evidence that is required - but does the consulate accept
    > > that? And can that April 11th date be moved? I'm trying to call tonight to see if
    > > anyone can help at the consulate.
    > >
    > > Please Please help - if anyone has gone thru anything like this - please email
    > > directly or respond to the NG - I don't think I'll be sleeping anytime soon.
    > >
    > > Desperately -
    > >
    > > anirban [email protected]
    > >
    > >

Hi there, Ranjini was right....heres one of the Mumbai-tortured souls creeping out of
the woodwork!! I came here on a K1 visa and was interviewed in Mumbai. They asked me
for a list of stupid irrelevant things too...I was kept waiting too...2 whole days
and then after reducing me to a nervous wreck, they finally handed over the visa.
Hang in there....Tara's fiance also went through a similar experience and finaly he
got his visa too. What your wife needs to do is to meticulously get whatever they
have asked for ready and present herself with it on the date mentioned. The Mumbai
consulate is full of cruel peverse creatures who seem to take the carrying out of
their duties too far. It would help if you were there for the interview...it seems to
add credibility to the situation. I wish you all the best...I can imagine what you're
both going through. Regards alpona
p.s. you can check this group for mumbai consulate related threads....might help.

tara

We also were asked for "ridiculous" items. Do your best to produce the ridiculous and face the inquisitors with the calmest attitude you can muster.
My fiance's papers were meticulous also, but they have a way of thinking of the exact thing that you do not have and dragging you back with it.
My fiance's initial interview was October 6th. His 221(g) did not have a re-interview date marked on it so he just showed the security guard at the door his 221(g) and was told that 221(g)'s do not need an appointment.
He had to go about 5 times using this above tactic till they finially had enough of him. In the end, they did not even look at the irrelevant material that they held us up for NOR did they re-interview him. Just handed him a "pink token" and told him to come back the next day for his visa, which was on October 25th.

As for calling the Consulate...this is a joke. They had changed to a phone system that no longer had a real person on the other end but took you through a maze of pre-recorded messages.
You might try one of these numbers to see if they are still good:

3637407
3637408
3633611
to 3618

We also had good luck with my Congressional liason getting thru to them with messages. You might try them. The spouse/fiance cannot enter the Consulate, if you go you will be waiting outside.

My fiance had to spend full day in the consulate also. Have her take a protien bar with her, she may have to sit the full day again.

221(g)'s are handed out like candy at Mumbai. Seems they should just include them in the packet 4.

Please, try to relax, as hard as it is to do now. We also were shaken. But in the end, she will get the visa.

By the way what Consular Officer handled her case? If she does not know his/her name give us a description please.

Best wishes,

Anirban

"tara" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > We also were asked for "ridiculous" items. Do your best to produce the ridiculous
    > and face the inquisitors with the calmest attitude you can muster. My fiance's
    > papers were meticulous also, but they have a way of thinking of the exact thing
    > that you do not have and dragging you back with it. My fiance's initial interview
    > was October 6th. His 221(g) did not have a re-interview date marked on it so he
    > just showed the security guard at the door his 221(g) and was told that 221(g)'s do
    > not need an appointment. He had to go about 5 times using this above tactic till
    > they finially had enough of him. In the end, they did not even look at the
    > irrelevant material that they held us up for NOR did they re-interview him. Just
    > handed him a "pink token" and told him to come back the next day for his visa,
    > which was on October 25th.
    >
    > As for calling the Consulate...this is a joke. They had changed to a phone system
    > that no longer had a real person on the other end but took you through a maze of
    > pre-recorded messages. You might try one of these numbers to see if they are
    > still good:
    >
    > 3637407 3637408 3633611 to 3618
    >
    > We also had good luck with my Congressional liason getting thru to them with
    > messages. You might try them. The spouse/fiance cannot enter the Consulate, if you
    > go you will be waiting outside.
    >

TESTTEST I'm meeting with my Congressional liason tomorrow - hopefully they will be
able to do something - BUT.. you mean to tell me that if I were to go, and as a US
Citizen - I wouldn't be allowed to go into the consulate. What if I had a question
for the ACS? But Tara, what exactly did the Congressional liason do for you guys?

    > My fiance had to spend full day in the consulate also. Have her take a protien bar
    > with her, she may have to sit the full day again.
    >
    > 221(g)'s are handed out like candy at Mumbai. Seems they should just include them
    > in the packet 4.
    >
    > Please, try to relax, as hard as it is to do now. We also were shaken. But in the
    > end, she will get the visa.
    >
    > By the way what Consular Officer handled her case? If she does not know his/her
    > name give us a description please.
    >

-- The first time she was interviewed in the morning it was an American and an Indian
lady - the American lady asked all the questions and basically didn't wait for her to
respond. Then in the afternoon the Indian lady called her up and basically handed her
the paper with the list of evidence requirements. My wife had most of the documents
with her - but the Indian lady just basically showed her the door. Just walked away
from the counter.

    > Best wishes,
    >
    >
    >
    > --
    > tara
    >
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

tara

My Congressional liasion was with our case from our filing and they did a tremendous amount. i had heard of the potential for this happening in Mumbai beforehand and made friends with my Congressional office from the start.
When we found it IMPOSSIBLE to contact the Consulate, they did it for us. They even found it hard, and had to resort to posting Washington for us. So if you have true questions, route them through your Congressional liason. I also had Senator Strom Thurmond contact the Consulate on our behalf. And i know that he did, as he sent me a personal letter afterwards asking me if i liked the results [and yes i do ] along with a copy of Mumbai's response to him.
Inform them of your case but don't try to plead you case with them. They can do nothing to influence Mumbai's decision, but i do believe that having Mumbai know that a Congressional office would also have to be answered too helped to keep the harassment from Mumbai on a lower roar. They can be a conduit for communication.

You can start by having them ask if it is possible for you to be in the consulate for her interview. Make your communications with them professional and business like, not whining.
But you will see from the below quote on Mumbai's website that due to lack of chairs, ONLY applicants are admitted. You could say you are the "diversion" she brought instead of a crossword puzzle ;0
...........................

"Due to the volume of applications, this procedure lasts several hours. We regret the inconvenience and request the patience and understanding of the applicants. We suggest bringing books, crossword puzzles, or**** other diversions.**** The waiting room is air-conditioned, has toilets, and is a no smoking area. ****By limiting admittance to applicants only, we have just enough seats.**** The busiest days--ones that should be avoided if possible--are days after Americans holidays, the days before Indian holidays, and the first working day of each month.
............................

Now look at another quote from their site under the immigrant visa questions:
http://usembassy.state.gov/mumbai/wwwhimmi.html
............................
"Iwas refused but want my case to be reconsidered. How do I get a new interview to do that?

If we refused your immigrant visa under section 221(g) of the law because your application was documentarily incomplete or under section 212(a)(4) because we determined that you would be a public charge in the United States, then you may return with new information and request reconsideration on any business day at 7:45 a.m., except for the last business day of the month and holidays. Only one member of the family needs to return with the required information, unless we specifically request that everyone reappear.

If we refused your visa for more serious reasons, e.g., you were deported from the United States, we caught you trying to smuggle an unqualified person, we caught you making a material misrepresentation about your case, or because of any arrests or suspected criminal activity, then it is likely that your case will require a waiver from INS. You or your relatives should contact the nearest INS office for more information about obtaining a waiver.
.............................
You see what that says?
That you DO NOT need an appointment to submit the additional 221(g) information. My fiance said there was a whole line dedicated to 221(g) submissions. I would strongly suggest, if it is possible, that she goes to the consulate when she has her bag of "ridiculous" assembled and attempt to hand in the info. Have her take a copy of that page with her.

According to the FAM (Foreign Affairs Manual) the Conslulate MUST respond to Congressional inquiries within 3-5 days. You can read this at:
http://www.foia.state.gov/fam/fams.a...=2&id=10&fam=0
Go to Appendix E section (bottom of page).

You can also read about 221(g)s there *start* reading at document 40.201

But don't stay up all the night now.....you have a busy day ahead of you.
Everything will be fine.

Ranjini

Tara, that was a very informative post!! Like your previous ones. I forwarded your
earlier ones to my young friend in Calcutta who is waiting for her appointment for
the K1 in Mumbai. I have tried not to be too negative with her. Maybe I'll wait to
forward this one to her, only if she has a problem at her interview. I am doing the
research for her. As you may very well know, Internet connections are very slow in
India. Thank you so much!! Ranjini

"tara" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > My Congressional liasion was with our case from our filing and they did a
    > tremendous amount. i had heard of the potential for this happening in Mumbai
    > beforehand and made friends with my Congressional office from the start. When we
    > found it IMPOSSIBLE to contact the Consulate, they did it for us. They even found
    > it hard, and had to resort to posting Washington for us. So if you have true
    > questions, route them through your Congressional liason. I also had Senator Strom
    > Thurmond contact the Consulate on our behalf. And i know that he did, as he sent me
    > a personal letter afterwards asking me if i liked the results [and yes i do ]
    > along with a copy of Mumbai's response to him. Inform them of your case but don't
    > try to plead you case with them. They can do nothing to influence Mumbai's
    > decision, but i do believe that having Mumbai know that a Congressional office
    > would also have to be answered too helped to keep the harassment from Mumbai on a
    > lower roar. They can be a conduit for communication.
    >
    > You can start by having them ask if it is possible for you to be in the consulate
    > for her interview. Make your communications with them professional and business
    > like, not whining. But you will see from the below quote on Mumbai's website that
    > due to lack of chairs, ONLY applicants are admitted. You could say you are the
    > "diversion" she brought instead of a crossword puzzle ;0
    > ...........................
    >
    > "Due to the volume of applications, this procedure lasts several hours. We regret
    > the inconvenience and request the patience and understanding of the applicants. We
    > suggest bringing books, crossword puzzles, or**** other diversions.**** The waiting
    > room is air-conditioned, has toilets, and is a no smoking area. ****By limiting
    > admittance to applicants only, we have just enough seats.**** The busiest
    > days--ones that should be avoided if possible--are days after Americans holidays,
    > the days before Indian holidays, and the first working day of each month.
    > ...........................
    >
    > Now look at another quote from their site under the immigrant visa questions:
    > http://usembassy.state.gov/mumbai/wwwhimmi.html ...........................
    > "Iwas refused but want my case to be reconsidered. How do I get a new interview
    > to do that?
    >
    > If we refused your immigrant visa under section 221(g) of the law because your
    > application was documentarily incomplete or under section
    > 212(a)(4) because we determined that you would be a public charge in the United
    > States, then you may return with new information and request
    > reconsideration on any business day at 7:45 a.m., except for the last
    > business day of the month and holidays. Only one member of the family
    > needs to return with the required information, unless we specifically
    > request that everyone reappear.
    >
    > If we refused your visa for more serious reasons, e.g., you were deported from the
    > United States, we caught you trying to smuggle an unqualified person, we caught you
    > making a material misrepresentation about your case, or because of any arrests or
    > suspected criminal activity, then it is likely that your case will require a waiver
    > from INS. You or your relatives should contact the nearest INS office for more
    > information about obtaining a waiver. ............................. You see what
    > that says? That you DO NOT need an appointment to submit the additional 221(g)
    > information. My fiance said there was a whole line dedicated to 221(g) submissions.
    > I would strongly suggest, if it is possible, that she goes to the consulate when
    > she has her bag of "ridiculous" assembled and attempt to hand in the info. Have her
    > take a copy of that page with her.
    >
    > According to the FAM (Foreign Affairs Manual) the Conslulate MUST respond to
    > Congressional inquiries within 3-5 days. You can read this at:
    > http://www.foia.state.gov/fam/fams.a...=2&id=10&fam=0 Go to Appendix E section
    > (bottom of page).
    >
    > You can also read about 221(g)s there *start* reading at document 40.201
    >
    > But don't stay up all the night now.....you have a busy day ahead of you.
    > Everything will be fine.
    >
    >
    >
    > --
    > tara
    >
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

mdmd101

mdmd101

My wife went in for interview with the standard packet 4 stuff. She was questioned for 1.5 hour by the cosul and sent back with a long list of 221(g) stuff and an appointment on August 22.

By August 22, we collected the most ridiculous stuff the consulate asked for and my wife went there again. The evidence was collected from her at 8.00 am in the morning and at 5.30 pm, someone told her to come back after 2 days--she waited hungry and sick without meeting a consul for 8.5 hrs.

When she went back after 2 days, she was again asked to sit around and then given the standard 221(g) letter that now says "your case is under administrative processing," we will contact you.

Question: What does "administrative processing" mean ?

Also, the consulate broke into or sealed e-mail accounts that we had used to communicate with each other--she uses a rediffmail account, I use a yahoo account. Neither one of us can access our accounts since the date the consulate knew about the e-mail account ids on the August 22, 2002 at the time of the second interview. -- does the consulate have the right to "break into" or "seal" people's e-mail id?

Please help, I'm so tired and anxious that I'm falling sick and my wife is emotionally worst-off then me. Thank you

MD

Kyle Kepley

It sounds like you are the victim of some corrupt, third-world government slackers
who take personal pleasrue in screwing up other people's lives. I don't think
there's any way people here can help you. I feel bad for your situation and thank
God I don't have to deal with the Bombay counsel of invasive control-freaks.

-Kyle

"mdmd101" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > My wife went in for interview with the standard packet 4 stuff. She was questioned
    > for 1.5 hour by the cosul and sent back with a long list of
    > 221(g) stuff and an appointment on August 22.
    > By August 22, we collected the most ridiculous stuff the consulate asked for and my
    > wife went there again. The evidence was collected from her at 8.00 am in the
    > morning and at 5.30 pm, someone told her to come back after 2 days--she waited
    > hungry and sick without meeting a consul for 8.5 hrs.
    > When she went back after 2 days, she was again asked to sit around and then given
    > the standard 221(g) letter that now says "your case is under administrative
    > processing," we will contact you.
    > Question: What does "administrative processing" mean ?
    > Also, the consulate broke into or sealed e-mail accounts that we had used to
    > communicate with each other--she uses a rediffmail account, I use a yahoo account.
    > Neither one of us can access our accounts since the date the consulate knew about
    > the e-mail account ids on the August 22, 2002 at the time of the second interview.
    > -- does the consulate have the right to "break into" or "seal" people's e-mail id?
    > Please help, I'm so tired and anxious that I'm falling sick and my wife is
    > emotionally worst-off then me. Thank you
    > MD
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

shali

Does any one know why indian people work at US consulates. I think they are the root cause of all the harassment that people go thru.

L D Jones

shali wrote:
    > Does any one know why indian people work at US consulates. I think they are the
    > root cause of all the harassment that people go thru.

It seems to me that the INS always hires local residents at their consulates abroad
where possible. As to why, there are probably many obvious reasons. US companies that
operate in foreign countries are not all staffed by Americans.

mdmd101

The consular officers who make the final decision on the application are US citizens and the clerical people are the Local people.

tara

.................................................. .

Also note this thread is "minus" one very bigoted response from some character "news rnc"~~~~~POOF ~~~~gone and good ridance.

Best wishes,

Marge

... those corrupt, third-world government slackers are AMERICANS. Don't forget that.

I have the great pleasure of dealing with them. I am a USC and I have never
seen such an unprofessional or brutal govt facility in my life. I am shocked at
the barbaric attitude and harassment of interviewees. Its a nightmare for
everyone involved.

Kyle Kepley wrote:
    > It sounds like you are the victim of some corrupt, third-world government slackers
    > who take personal pleasrue in screwing up other people's lives. I don't think
    > there's any way people here can help you. I feel bad for your situation and thank
    > God I don't have to deal with the Bombay counsel of invasive control-freaks.
    > -Kyle