DustyTraveller

Hey you guys!!

We just opened the package containing my husbands Indian passport with a lovely US VISA inside! Wahooo! We're now working on booking tickets, so we'll be on our way home sooooon!

Here's our experience::

We broke down on the way to Chennai, but that's really irrelevant... except that we had to get all the medical checks done just the day before our interview, which made me nervous but we got it ALL done without any problems! They took blood and x-rays at about 9am, and then Sunil drove me to the consulate where I had my I-864 notarized (they were so nice, and it was free!) They asked me if I'd like to have my passport amended to add my new married name, and gave me the forms. It only took a few minutes.

In the evening we picked up the lab reports and headed for the doctor (for anyone else who goes through Chennai, the Lister lab and doctors are not close together) The doctor we went to was REALLY nice! I think his name was Dr. Rajkumar. The exam took only a few minutes, but we had to go get xerox copies of the paperwork and bring a copy back to the doctor. No medical problems, so we were ready for our morning appointment!

You can't park near the entrance to the consulate, so we had to walk a long way but we were too excited to care! Our appointment letter was for 8am, but we stood outside in a long line until 9. You're not allowed to bring any bottles (lotion, lipstick, makeup, water bottles, etc.) or cell phones, etc. inside. Also, no sealed envelopes! After checking all our paperwork to make sure we didn't have any of these things, they directed us through to another building where we sat down facing about 5 bank-teller style windows.

There were probably 60 or so others who came for family-based visas. I really don't know how many went away with their visas, but there was one consular officer who was really loud and intimidating and we could all hear him grill his victims. We sat only 10 minutes before Sunil's name was called, so we grabbed all our documents and went to the window. The indian lady that greeted us smiled and was friendly. She pointed at me and asked if I was the 'petitioner' and when we figured out she meant 'spouse' we said "yes" at the same time. She laughed and asked for all the documents and looked over all of them, noticing that my sister (joint sponsor for I-864) had only submitted the W2's for 2001 but not for 2002 or 2003! I'm not sure if Sunil and I misplaced them, or if my sister never sent them at all, but the lady didn't really seem concerned and just stapled together what we gave her and put it in the file.

Then she asked Sunil how he met me, and he told her I'd first visited India Jan. '02 and we'd become friends. In '03 we were engaged, and in '04, married. She asked when we had gotten married, and he told her Sept. 9th and she asked how long I'd been in India. When he told her I had been in India ever since the wedding, she said "ahh!" and smiled at us. She seemed to enjoy our 'love story' and asked if we'd brought wedding photos. I showed her the album but she didn't asked to see it, she just wrote down that I'd brought it along. She asked Sunil about the tourist visa he had applied for in Dec. '03 and he told her they wouldn't grant one since he was engaged to me at the time. She agreed and said he would have needed the k-1 visa.

We had forgotten to bring the Demand Draft for the courior fee but she said we could bring that later. She said we could sit and would be called again.

So we sat... and sat... and sat.... it was more than 2-1/2 hours before they called Sunil's name again, so we were EXCITED when it was finally our turn! I think the immigration officer was amused by our giddy faces as we came up to his window. He smiled and said good morning to Sunil, and asked him if I was his wife. Sunil grinned and said yes, and he said good morning to me too. This guy was an American and was very pleasant and friendly. He pulled out our folder, flipped through it a little, and then asked Sunil
"Where are you planning to live in the US?"
Sunil told him "Arizona".
"what city in arizona?"
"Green Valley"
"What do you know about Arizona?"
"Not very much, only the things my wife has told me"
"What has your wife told you?"
"Mostly about her family. I'm really excited about meeting the rest of her family. Only a few of them were able to come to the wedding so I really can't wait to meet the rest"
"Well, you'll have plenty of time to learn more about Arizona now, won't you?"
Sunil smiled and agreed.
"What do you plan on doing in the US?"
"My wife's church has offered me a job helping as their youth pastor"
"Pastor, ahhh. What is the name of your wife's church?"
Sunil told him.
"How did you meet your wife?"
Same story he told the first girl.
"Your wife is a medical missionary? What medical work does she do?"
Sunil gave him some details and he asked a few more questions about my training, etc. He seemed more genuinely interested than anything else. It was really pleasant and friendly, and I think he honestly had as much fun as we did with the interview. I was totally SHOCKED at how pleasant it was! I was prepared for the worst, but came away in a daze at how smoothly it went! I kept telling Sunil that it didn't seem correct! I'm afraid they're going to call us and say "Oops, we made a mistake, you can't have the visa after all!"

Anyway, at the end of the interview, the guy said, "Well, congratulations your visa has been approved and will be delivered in 2-3 days!" I grabbed Sunil and gave him a big hug, and we left completely elated.

Ok, sorry this is so long, but I'm a details person and thought this narrative might be helpful to anyone following in our footsteps. I genuinely wish everyone has a similar experience! It went amazingly well, and the Visa arrived this morning as promised!

Let me know if you have any specific questions that I haven't answered!

*Happy Dance*

p.s. We were at the consulate from 8:00am - 12:30 for those of you interested in knowing how long it could take.

Noorah101

Heyyyyy, Congratulations Dusty and Sunil!! That's great news!

My sister and her hubby just bought property and are planning to build a house near Green Valley. Her hubby's mother lives in Green Valley. Hey, when I come down to visit them, we'll have to get together, eh?

Best Wishes!
Rene

ian-mstm

Congratulations! This is wonderful news.

Ian

DustyTraveller

That would be SO FUN! We should definitely hook up if you're out visiting GV! I bet your sisters MIL knows my family in GV too, it's such a tiny little community and they're among the sparse few 'whippersnappers' in town! We'll definitely keep in touch alright? I'd love to meet others like us who've made this journey!

Noorah101

Absolutely! Now that he's got the visa, any idea when you're coming "home"?

Rene

OzzyOsbourne

Thanks a lot and Congrats!!

My question is

In the 2 hours or so that you wait, is that when the folks in the background
evaluate the I864,PCC's,Heath records etc ?

Enjoy and take care

Ozzy

Hypertweeky

WOOOO CONGRATULATIONS!!!

DustyTraveller

I didn't ask, but my guess is yes? I noticed that there were a few people that were called up a number of times as though they had questions about their files, and after a quick minute, they would return to their seats to wait again. The second time they called us up to the window, he didn't go through the folder much, just asked the questions (he opened up my I-864 to see where my home address was, when he asked Sunil about Arizona).

I was surprised that they didn't make an issue about any of the things that I thought would be a problem: my lack of money, tax returns and my 'own' residence in the US (I still live at home with my parents in a room that was built on to the existing house). Even my joint sponsors missing W2's weren't a problem.

I wonder if my being there with Sunil helped? They seemed to like seeing us together.

carpdiem

Congratulations!!!

USA & Pakistan

Yaaayyy!!! Congratulations!!!

Marnee

meauxna

Belated congratulations, DT & Sunil! I'm glad to read your good news
Happy travels,
meauxna