mdmd101

Dear members:

Some of you already know my case history. For others here it is--my wife is the beneficiary of IR-1. Her first interview was on July 31.

The consul was deliberately and repeatedly verbally abusive to my wife--I've been married in the past. The consul (white guy so obviously a US citizen) repeatedly asked my wife for her "number," i.e. wife number. My wife was so hurt that she began to cry and he didn't quit badgering her until she said the she was wife number 3.

Thereafter, he gave her a long list of items that included my ex-wives' wedding albums and original marriage ceriticates, her siblings' wedding albums, etc. etc. We gathered all this and went back on the second interview date of August 22. The entere the consulate at 7.30 am and at 5.30 pm, some fellow asked her to come back on Monday, my wife pleaded for an interview and he flatly refuse and walked away--my wife cried again. Furthermore, there were no sandwiches available that day and my wife sat around for 10 hours without any food.

On Monday, August 26, she was made to sit around for 6.5 hours and then give another 221(g) letter that stated that her case was in administrative processing. -- she again tried talking with the original asshole who made her cry the first time and he just walked away.

Bombay consulate treated my wife worst than a hardened criminal for marrying me (someone who's previously divorced). Some immigrant rights group needs to take some action against the consular officers in Bombay. -- What business is it of the Consulate if I'm married twcie or twenty-two times before I married my current wife--the law only looks at whether she and I were adult and legally able to marry.

My wife was called to the consulate three times, twice the Consul made her cry. -- I guess they get some sort of sadistic pleasure from making girls cry.--Do you guy know of any femal consuls making male applicatns cry?

I've challenged the Consul to talk to me, but they won't let me go in and meet them.

This is just human right abuse. Thanks for reading my furstrated babble about the bombay consulate. Once my wife gets here I'm going to allocate at least 8 hours a week to fight this abuse in any way I can. Now, I'm too busy and am at the mercy of the Consular gods and goddesses at Bombay so I don't think I can afford to create any problems for them.--It appears that even though the US consulate is US teritorry, the US citizens have no rights.--the assholes don't even let the US citizen petitione enter the consulate building for the interview of the spouse.

MD, Doc.

Ben Johnson

Write to your congressman and Senator's........

Copy Colin Powell, Secretary of State, Ambassador Robert Blackwell, US Ambassador to
India and to the supervisor of the visa section at the Mumbai Consulate.

Tell them the same story.

For good measure, I would write to a few editors of some Indian (English) newspapers
to see if they might be interested in the story. Here are some links http://in.dir.ya-
hoo.com/Regional/Countries/India/News_and_Media/Newspapers/ (this part I would
not do, until my wife had the visa, of course)

Ben


"mdmd101" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > Dear members:
    > Some of you already know my case history. For others here it is--my wife is the
    > beneficiary of IR-1. Her first interview was on July 31.
    > The consul was deliberately and repeatedly verbally abusive to my wife--I've been
    > married in the past. The consul (white guy so obviously a US citizen) repeatedly
    > asked my wife for her "number," i.e. wife number. My wife was so hurt that she
    > began to cry and he didn't quit badgering her until she said the she was wife
    > number 3.
    > Thereafter, he gave her a long list of items that included my ex-wives' wedding
    > albums and original marriage ceriticates, her siblings' wedding albums, etc. etc.
    > We gathered all this and went back on the second interview date of August 22. The
    > entere the consulate at 7.30 am and at
    > 5.30 pm, some fellow asked her to come back on Monday, my wife pleaded for an
    > interview and he flatly refuse and walked away--my wife cried again. Furthermore,
    > there were no sandwiches available that day and my wife sat around for 10 hours
    > without any food.
    > On Monday, August 26, she was made to sit around for 6.5 hours and then give
    > another 221(g) letter that stated that her case was in administrative processing.
    > -- she again tried talking with the original asshole who made her cry the first
    > time and he just walked away.
    > Bombay consulate treated my wife worst than a hardened criminal for marrying me
    > (someone who's previously divorced). Some immigrant rights group needs to take some
    > action against the consular officers in Bombay. -- What business is it of the
    > Consulate if I'm married twcie or twenty-two times before I married my current
    > wife--the law only looks at whether she and I were adult and legally able to marry.
    > My wife was called to the consulate three times, twice the Consul made her cry. --
    > I guess they get some sort of sadistic pleasure from making girls cry.--Do you guy
    > know of any femal consuls making male applicatns cry?
    > I've challenged the Consul to talk to me, but they won't let me go in and
    > meet them.
    > This is just human right abuse. Thanks for reading my furstrated babble about the
    > bombay consulate. Once my wife gets here I'm going to allocate at least 8 hours a
    > week to fight this abuse in any way I can. Now, I'm too busy and am at the mercy of
    > the Consular gods and goddesses at Bombay so I don't think I can afford to create
    > any problems for them.--It appears that even though the US consulate is US
    > teritorry, the US citizens have no rights.--the assholes don't even let the US
    > citizen petitione enter the consulate building for the interview of the spouse.
    > MD, Doc.
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Mrtravel

Ben Johnson wrote:
    > Write to your congressman and Senator's........
    > Copy Colin Powell, Secretary of State, Ambassador Robert Blackwell, US Ambassador
    > to India and to the supervisor of the visa section at the Mumbai Consulate.

The ambassador doesn't control the consular section. I suggest contacting the
Consulate General.

donahso

There is a site on the State Dept. main site to report incidents such as your's to the Inspector General. Sorry that I don't have it for you.

Also, TARA posted in the last day or so, a survey of folks in your situation who have been abused by the Indian consualte. Matt Udall is also taking some action for some clinent's of his.

I encourage you to seach for postings by TARA to fill out the survey, and to find the Inspector General's office page on the DOS website to report this.

Unfortunately, your story is not uncommon with this consulate. Eventually the visa will be issued - you have to hold onto that as a lifeline. You just have to do the dance to the tune they play to be successful. It is hard, but you and your wife will prevail.

Don H

tara

Hello MD,
i have read all of your posts and responses to them and commiserate with you. My husband went thru the humiliation offered by Mumbai Embassy. i see that you are not shy in stating your salary but don't count on that garnering any sympathy with the INS nor the responders here. BUT there is someone who may be swayed by this, more on that later.

Every week now when i check in with the site here, i see a new 221(g) from India. Time has tempered our wounds, but it still pains me to see the couples who are in the twilight zone with them.
i understand the paranoia you are feeling. After you have felt the brunt of their treatment, i know you feel they are capable of anything. My fiance went thru one of his days without food being available. When they saw him chewing something they approached him and asked what was in his mouth. He was chewing gum and they made him spit it out. No, we did not expect the Embassy to be a cafeteria, and taken as a separate event this does not seem like much, but the cumulative effect of how a person is treated there is hard to take. i asked an attorney what the beneficiary's rights were at the consulate, his response was "His rights are none, and if those rights are violated, his recourse is none."

i also asked what the differences were in the notations on the OF-194 (which is the form you were given).

{MY QUESTION QUOTE}
According to the FAM, "If an applicant is refused a visa under INA 221(g) resulting from post actions, posts should annotate the OF-194 to indicate that the case has been refused pending an investigation, an advisory opinion, or administrative processing, as appropriate."
There are three options, investigation opinion and processing. What are the differences?"

The answer was like this:
"investigation is just that.
advisory opinion is from Visa Office in Washington DC on a question of law. Most fraud findings are sent out for advisory opinion.
administrative processing -- most anything else.
The procedural notes ARE not binding law."

It seems there is something going on in Mumbai besides the typical 221(g) candy hand out. i have monitored this boards 221(g)'s for over a year now and it seems there is a change. Previously when they wanted to paddle the 221(g)'s more they gave them "administrative review" NOT "administrative processing". For this reason, i believe you are stuck in what is happening to many fiances/spouses right now. There is conjecture about what this additonal processing is but no one is sure.
There are no rules. Well, there are quidelines but none of this is binding....This is the link for reading the FAM (Foreign Affairs Manual) but it is so riddled with should's and maybe's it is hardly worth the bytes it is written with.

You can find the FAM at
http://www.foia.state.gov/fam/fams.asp level=2&id=10&fam=0
*start* reading at document 40.201

Post 9/11 the temperment of the Embassy has stiffened, and some are saying that contacting Legislators may bristle the hair on the Embassies neck even more. i am only a spectator to Mumbai now, my fiance passed thru the 221(g) grindmill two weeks after 9/11 so things may have changed, but i believe you should contact your representatives. By the way this is who "cares" about your salary/posistion in the community. i am also a physician and it still surprises/annoys me actually how much more i may be listened to by "politicians" when they know i am a dr. It may be their thinking that i have more influence on the community of voters that they depend on for their jobs.

You can find who they are at:
http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html

As you may have options of who you will choose, you can view your
Representative's stance on immigration at:
http://www.numbersusa.com/index

i was in contact with my Congressional office even before my fiance's interview. i knew that Congressional offices gave assistance regarding immigration even before i knew discussion boards did. On my first contact with my liason, i included the cover letters we had included with our 129 application. Both my fiance and i had cover letters and i sent both to the liason, so that she felt familiar with our case. our relationship.

Please write to Mr Theodore Andrews too.He is at the India desk with the DOS Bureau of South Asian Affairs under Christina Rocca www.state.gov/p/sa/ His first comment to me when i contacted him was that he was aware of "problems" with this Consulate, but thought they had been resolved. Let him know they are ongoing.
Mr.Andrews phone number is (one or both of these)
202-647-2140 202-647-1112
His email is [email protected]

Two questions for you:
1.Please tell us who her Consular Officer was for the interview. If she does not have the name give us the physical description.
2.How did you find out about the process of filing direct in New Delhi? i was aware of this but know that it is not "advertised" anywhere?

Best wishes,

mdmd101

Don and other members:

I can raise a lot of "hue and cry" about this situation, but don't you guys think that I'd be on the "shit list" of the Bombay Consulate? They wont' even let me in, how would I be able to deal with them if they're under investigtion or inquiry because of my complaints.

It appears that the Bombay Consulate is an autonomous body of the US government who doesnt' care to truthfully respond to EVEN congressional inquiries. I'm really scared of the consular guys.

I do have to give credit to the INS in New Delhi--my wife iand I interviewed there--they were extreme polite and professional and didn't ask for any extraneous piece of evidence except those listed on the I-130 instructions--wedding album, marriage certificate and passport.--that's it. They approved the petition in about 5 minutes.

I think I'm going to wait till my wife gets her visa and then have her make a sworn affidavit of her treatment and follow up with the inspector general.

MD

mdmd101

Tara:

Thank you for the profound reply. The phone numbers will help. I'm busy through next Tueday, but thereafter, I'm going to sit down and draft a fine letter which I'm going to fax to the inidividuals you mentioned as well as Mr. Colling Powells office.

In fact, I'm going to challenge him to send his wife to India and go through the sponsorship process to bring her here.

My wife doesn't know the name of the Consul, but has an accurate description--White, in early thirties, receding hair line, blonde hair, tall and thin.

I feel better now that a lot of beneficiaries have gone through smiliar experiences as my wife and the same time I'm outraged at the treatment they're getting.

Do you realize a felon arrrested for a SERIOUS crime is treated better than the treatment received by the beneficiaries in the Consulates in India.

Tara, thank you once more for your comprehensive reply. Both my attorneys don't know what exactly the consulate does during "admin. processing." -- Well, my attorneys don't care and so do othe attornes as they too busy milking the big corporations for H-1 filings. -- Cany you believe this--one of my attorney who's been in practice for over 20 years now only does H-1 filings for the silicone Vallley companies.

Any case, I have to get back to work. Bye.

MD

mdmd101

Tara:

As to INS office in New Delhi, my attorney (who didn't want to get involved in an I-130) told me about it so I did a search on a the internet/INS website and there I found it.

The website has the phone numbers, address, contact people, etc. They approve the I-130 on the same day, only condition is that both the petitioner and beneficiary have to be present at the inteview. No appointment is needed, all walk-ins are processed the same day--I saw this with my own eyes.

After the honeymoon, we both flew to Delhi, walked into the INS office along with our I-130 peitition and wedding album and requested to be interviewed.

An extremely polite INS officer interviewed us for about 5 mintues and told us that the petition was approved and will be shipped to the Bombay consulate after two days. Withing 21 days of the interview at INS, my wife got a letter from the Bombay consulate.--this was so cool. We didn't have to wait the 8 months for the Nebraska service center processing.

I'm hoping future filers go through the INS in New Delhi.

MD

thomas_cook

Please tell me : Does the US citizen spouse have to be a resident in India in order to file I-130 at INS New Delhi?

If yes then isn't this the same as DCF (direct consular filing)?
To the best of my knowledge DCF is not possible in India unless the UScitizen spouse is residing in India?

Thanks

tara

i wonder this too. i had read of the Indian "version" of DCF some time back. i have not personally heard of anyone doing it.
This link was published over a year ago.
http://www.murthy.com/UDnudelhi.html
Some of the article is as below~~~
..............
"***For a USC residing in India*** it is possible to file the petition at the INS office located within the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi (NOT the U.S. Department of State consular office). That office will accept petitions regardless of where in India the petitioner resides. Upon approval of the petition at the INS office in New Delhi, further processing for the Immigrant Visa (IV) takes place at the consulate nearest to the beneficiary's residence. There are three IV consular processing posts in India: New Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), and Chennai (Madras). (Calcutta processes nonimmigrant visas only. Residents of the Calcutta consular district must process their IVs at Mumbai. The New Delhi INS will attempt to process petitions in just one day.... "
..............

Note that it does say "for a US citizen residing in India. How one proves that they have residence in India is not explained fully, but it is possible. The article makes comments on how one person had US residence (to fulfill the 864) but maintained Indian residence also.

Another thing to remember is that for a person to be married without the 30 day notice wait required by registar offices they should choose to be married under either the Hindu or Christian marriage Acts (i am not sure of the Parsee and Muslim Acts). These allow a person to be married without the 30 day wait, and can be then registered, however you may be required to register the marriage in the district where the resident's ration card is issued from. With a bit of creativity and such this can all be achieved.

So MD, Please give us the link where you read about the way to do your filing in New Delhi? Do you maintiain Indian residence? What marriage act? Did you register it, and were you required to register it in the district your wife's card was issued from?

mdmd101

Tara and other members:

The website does say that USC living in India qualify; however, in reality all USC qualify. At the time of filing, I was living in Seattle and the I-130 petition as well as the biographic information contains my US address as my current and permanent address.

I also called the INS--took 3 days of trying in the evening before I got someone on the phone and they told me that I as a US citizen can file despite NOT having a residence in India.

We married in Bombay and registered our marriage in Bombay. We told the Court clerk about my limited vacation and the INS interview so he gave us the marriage certificate on the same day. I heard they also take bribes of Rs.5,000 for same day marriage certificate.

Hope this helps.

mdmd101

Tara:

P.S. I'm a Hindu and I did register our marriage in the Court district where my wife lives (Bombay area).

--marriage certificates shouldn't be a major problem. The current rate of same day marriage certificate bribe seems to be Rs.5,000 which is peanuts.

mdmd101

Tara and Thomas:

INS told me that the US citizen's India residence is interpreted as follows:

The US Citizen has to file the I-130 petition in PERSON at the INS office in New Delhi and has to be interviewed together with the Indian spouse at New Delhi.

In order to facilitate interviews for USC on a short visit for marriage, INS interviews all filers on the same day, i.e the day of filing.