H1B, H4 Visa

Hi Friends,
Successful stamping 13th Oct at 12:00 at Mumbai. I thank this web site and the user community for sharing their experiences which gave me confidence and an opportunity to prepare in advance. The following is my experience and some useful information.

There are 2 hotels that are very close to US Consulate (hardly 5 minutes drive) and VFS Office (hardly 10 minutes drive).
1. Hotel Royal Castle - Ph. 02223883888 – Rs.1500 for a double bed room.
2. Hotel Kemps Corner – Ph 23634646/4655 – Rs. 1500 for a single room.

    For Mumbai there is an option to take VFS service for Rs. 200. They will take us to consulate in a cab just before the interview time so that you need not wait in the hot sun. They offer complementary food and also provide an option to keep your luggage with them. They also allow family members inside but charge Rs. 200 per person. They also provide transport for going back to VFS office after Visa interview.
Take all the print outs and other documents before hand as the printing charges that I had to pay was Rs.10 per page. If you have to access internet then, they ask for id proof before letting you access internet.
    Many people expressed wonder that Consulate was working on a Saturday and asked me to cross check, but don’t worry they sometimes work on Saturday if they have more than one off in a week apart from normal weekends.
    My Visa Interview was scheduled on 13th Oct at 12:00 at Mumbai. I went to VFS office at 11.00. They called me for the 12.00 batch people at 11.45. The distance from VFS to Consulate is hardly 2 Kms but it took 45 min for the cab to reach there as it was the Navratri Period and rush in MahaLakshmi temple caused traffic jams. Once I got down at Consulate, I stood in the line and waited for my turn to go inside.
  1. There was initial security check and make sure you avoid taking any prohibited stuff like mobiles, chocolates etc with you.
  2. I went inside and stood in the VFS line to collect the DS156, 157 etc which are stapled to the Passport.
  3. Later I got into the line where they were taking finger prints and issuing tokens.
  4. It was 1.15.My token no. was W200; I sat beside the loud speaker and waited for my turn. Be quite and listen attentively, the calls are loud and clear. They call in Hindi by name if you have opted for Hindi language and by token number if you have opted for English Language.
  5. They sometimes call numbers in random and all those guys who came along with me had already left after their interviews. I was called at 2.15 (after token number 327)
  6. The interview was simple and asked me (a). Company Details – replied (b). No. of employees working there - replied (c). Why I was leaving for US. - replied (d). Why I was leaving my current organization (atleast 100 times bigger in revenue and 200 times bigger in employee strength) and joining the co in US. – replied that though it is small it offers me to work on complete SDLC and a challenging work. (e). what is SDLC and what are its phases – replied. (f). Why I was not taking my spouse with me – replied she will join later. (g) What will be the pay in US – replied. He did not ask me to show any documents.
  7. He kept the passport and said – OK SIR YOUR VISA IS APPROVED. This sentence is so small and so quick that I really found it hard to believe as I did not get all the documents required from my US Org. I was so happy that I almost banged out of the cubicle.
  8. In Mumbai it is possible to collect the Passport in evening between 5pm & 6pm on the day of the interview. They issue passport until the Queue is empty or until 6PM whichever is later. I collected the Passport the same day and left for Pune.
    
    Guys keep your cool and do all the home work. Follow up with your US organization and have all the documents ready in time, they normally try to delay it till the last minute. Don’t take chances. Go through the petition document, DS156, 157 and others. Read others experiences. Have faith in God and visit MahaLakshmi Mandir if possible.