Is Mumbai consulate scheduling interviews for IR5 (Parent of a U.S. citizen)

[AlienKanpur]

Nothing has changed in doing the medical. It is just logical that you do the medical 15 days before your Interview date as the IR5 visa is valid for only 6 months from the date of completing your medical successfully.

Dear asg1957,
Medical must be done at least one week prior to the Interview. Generally 3 to 4 weeks prior is acceptable. My interview was on June 10 and I completed my medical at Delhi on May 11 and Biometrics on May 13. best wishes

[resurgentindia]

resurgentindia thanks for the detailed post.
1. were your parents interviewed together?
2. can the USCIS fees ($220 x 2) be paid in INR?

1) Yes, together.
2) I don't think that is an option unless there is an Indian credit card that allows international currency transactions.

[resurgentindia]

Dear resurgentindia,

Congratulations on successful completion of the IR5 process. Thank You so much for sharing the details, immensely helpful for future IR5 applicants like my mother. I have one follow-up question. You mentioned that, since your mother did not have birth certificate available, you wrote an one-line explanation with the pre-1970 born argument. I was curious if you formally created a .pdf (addressing NVC/consulate, stated that one-line argument on pre-1970 thing, and finally you/your mother signed it) and uploaded the letter to NVC? Or, was it done in a more informal way? I am guessing we will do the same for my mother, so wanted to do it in the proper way. Best wishes.

Thanks.

We did it as an explanation in the comments section of the document (Aadhaar card) and as a separate word file.

[RAboo]

my mother's Visa got approved on August 3rd but no notification received. does anyone know what is the next step? I tried number given on the letter and so many emails to suppor-india email but got only automatic reply.

[ironv]

Timeline:
DQed: Dec 2022
Interview scheduled: mid-June 2023

resurgentindia thanks for the detailed post.
1. were your parents interviewed together?
2. can the USCIS fees ($220 x 2) be paid in INR?

[thabuash05]

a) I had the same doubt while booking for Fingerprint but thats OK.. Not giving waiver and you can continue. You will be able to add your Mom once your account is set up for Dad. You need to click on Manage applicants. If you dont see your Mom added right away or see any message like "we are working on it" , wait for sometime..

b) Personally me, I see only Locations of India to select to Biometric so not sure if you can do outside india.

Lot of people have experience and they will comment if any information is wrong.

Jee_mo - Thanks for that pointer, have you been able to confirm this is right course of action?, asg1957 - cgifederal links all seem to be broken.

[Aviask2]

Timeline:


DQed: Dec 2022

Interview scheduled: mid-June 2023

Interview date: Second week of August



Birth certificate (BC):

• Available for father
• Not available for mother
  • She was born before 1970. We had uploaded an Aadhaar card to NVC and a one line explanation that BC was considered unavailable in view of her birth year.
  • “Applicant was born on …, in India. As per country-specific guidelines on travel.state.gov, for persons born in India prior to April 1, 1970, birth certificates are considered unavailable.”
  • Both were approved by the NVC
  • For the interview, we had obtained an affidavit from my maternal grandmother, which was accepted without any issue at the document verification step of the interview.

IT returns:

• I had uploaded tax transcripts and W2 for years 2019, 2020 and 2021 prior to the DQ step
• We had sought extension to file 2022 returns as a few required documents from third-parties for our tax returns were pending.
• Based on the experiences noted on this forum, on the eve of the interview, I uploaded the following additional documents on the NVC/CEAC website -
  • IRS approval of the extension to file 2022 tax return
  • IRS letter stating that 2022 taxes had not been filed
  • 2022 W2
  • Employment verification letter
  • Payslips of 3-months from 2023 (July, June, May)
  • Proof of assets (brokerage & retirement account statements)
• I was eligible and had filed 864-EZ for both. Nevertheless, I also prepared & uploaded the 864 (longer version/non-EZ) on the eve of the interview. I remember that someone in this forum had received 221g for that document.
• My parents carried print outs of all with them.
• They also carried an album with about 25 photos from over the years including from their time in the US

Medical exam at Rele Clinic:

• I had gotten their chest x-rays prior to scheduling the interview to evaluate whether they had anything in the lungs, which could lead to sputum test. Fortunately, both were negative. This gave me confidence that medical exam would go through without any issue.
• I had scheduled the medical on Friday, VAC on subsequent Sunday, and the interview was on the following Tuesday. So, around a 2-day gap between each of the appointments. This allowed them enough time to rest and recuperate in between the appointments.
• Documents from Rele Clinic (info sheet and vaccination sheet) were received on Saturday evening by email.
• If you were to ask me, I’d recommend that medical be scheduled sooner and, ideally, using the time gap advised on DoS website to have a buffer for unknowns.

Interview preparation:

• I had used the questions from this forum, typed out answers to them, translated them to Hindi and provided printouts to parents for practice and to address their doubts.
• I explained to them that the officer is interested in verifying a few items -1) That parent-son relationship is genuine, 2) That sponsor (son) has adequate financial resources, 3) That there are no grounds for inadmissibility.
• That helped them gain an insight into officer’s psyche to effectively address the questions
• My parents had been twice to the US previously on B1/B2 visa. During their second visit, they had stayed for 10-months after we had filed and received extension of their non-immigrant stay (B1/B2)
• I was certain that officer would bring this up (which she did). So, I had printed the extension approval notice and had them carry their old passports that had their entry/exit immigration stamps to demonstrate to officers that they had complied with the terms of the extension.
• We practiced in the hotel a few times to ensure that they could pronounce the terms and knew the context of each document and when it needed to be presented.

Interview day:

• Mom is wheelchair bound. Dad has elbow arthritis. Neither of them speak English.
• I requested embassy staff to allow me to enter & push the wheelchair for their interview.
• They got clearance from higher ups for it & I was allowed to push the wheelchair through the entire process.
  • During the time when they (embassy staff) were seeking the clearance, I did not rush them at all nor enquired with them. They appreciated it.
• In addition to the physical help, my presence during the process substantially calmed the nerves of my parents.
• During the actual interview, the officer requested that I be seated in the hall while they were getting interviewed. I found that to be fair and reasonable.

Document verificaiton step:

• Done by an Indian staff. She was okay with my presenting the documents on behalf of my parents.
• As stated above, she had no issues with lack of BC for Mom. She accepted the affidavit from my maternal grandmother and did not need the Aadhaar card.
• She did not need my marriage certificate, only that of parents.
• Other regular documents: Passports, confirmation page, PCC, my BC
• Asked us to keep the tax documents ready for the interview.

Interview:

• Female American officer of Asian descent
• Very pleasant Indian translator. She ensured that every translated question was slowly articulated in the microphone so that parents could hear it well.
• Who is the sponsor? Where does he live? What kind of professional is he? When did he first go to the US? Who had sponsored his H1b visa? How did he get the green card? Who are his family members? When did they last meet with him?
• How many times had they gone to the US? Did they ever stay longer than 6-months? Had they received approval for a longer stay? Did they have a copy of the extension notice? Then, officer examined the older passports for the entry/exit stamps to verify their answers
• Finally, the golden words: Your visa is approved and you will receive the passports in a few days.

I used this DoS website to check the status of visa printing by the embassy: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx


Passports:

• Got text message and email notification that passports were ready the very next day (Wednesday) around 12 noon
• Picked up the day after (Thursday) and USCIS fees ($440) paid on the same day
• Flight to US on Thursday night (early morning of Friday)
• Of note, we had booked a two-way ticket for them because they wish to spend 4-months of winter in India. No issues at the POE in view of it.

Many thanks to this awesome & generous community.

Dear resurgentindia,

Congratulations on successful completion of the IR5 process. Thank You so much for sharing the details, immensely helpful for future IR5 applicants like my mother. I have one follow-up question. You mentioned that, since your mother did not have birth certificate available, you wrote an one-line explanation with the pre-1970 born argument. I was curious if you formally created a .pdf (addressing NVC/consulate, stated that one-line argument on pre-1970 thing, and finally you/your mother signed it) and uploaded the letter to NVC? Or, was it done in a more informal way? I am guessing we will do the same for my mother, so wanted to do it in the proper way. Best wishes.

[vapIR5]

Guys, just for information, myself &my wife landed in US (Houston) on 3rd July, 23. We received our Green Card by 10th Aug 23.

Thanks to all group members for providing timely useful information, when ever required 🙏

[asg1957]

Guys - sorry in panic here: Just realized I didnt schedule biometric for my parents VI on 9/11.
a) what is the application portal - its only giving me option to select"interview waiver"
b) Can you take biometric say in oman or dubai?.

sorry scouered forum here: but not being able to make out my next move here

No; you will have to take an appointment in any VAC/OFC in India on the cgifederal site for the Biometrics; also you will have to get their Medicals done in one of the US Embassy registered doctors/hospitals in India. Best of luck for their adjudication.

[asg1957]

Hi all, My parents have interview scheduled this week and plan to travel to USA next month. Can folks kindly provide insights into which insurance plans/options they have purchased in the past for their parents when coming into USA on a green card? I understand that they do not quality for Medicare since they have not been 5+ years in the US.

Thanks a ton.

Just search for "Healthcare Insurance Marketplace" on your mobile/PC/tablet and select the insurance plan suiting you and your pocket. This is a shopping and enrollment service for medical insurance created by the Affordable Care Act in 2010. This is run by the Federal government for the individuals/families living in USA. Hope this will be helpful to you and others frequently inquiring about health insurance in USA.

[Jee_mo]

Guys - sorry in panic here: Just realized I didnt schedule biometric for my parents VI on 9/11.
a) what is the application portal - its only giving me option to select"interview waiver"
b) Can you take biometric say in oman or dubai?.

sorry scouered forum here: but not being able to make out my next move here

a) I had the same doubt while booking for Fingerprint but thats OK.. Not giving waiver and you can continue. You will be able to add your Mom once your account is set up for Dad. You need to click on Manage applicants. If you dont see your Mom added right away or see any message like "we are working on it" , wait for sometime..

b) Personally me, I see only Locations of India to select to Biometric so not sure if you can do outside india.

Lot of people have experience and they will comment if any information is wrong.

[thabuash05]

Guys - sorry in panic here: Just realized I didnt schedule biometric for my parents VI on 9/11.
a) what is the application portal - its only giving me option to select"interview waiver"
b) Can you take biometric say in oman or dubai?.

sorry scouered forum here: but not being able to make out my next move here

[resurgentindia]

Timeline:


DQed: Dec 2022

Interview scheduled: mid-June 2023

Interview date: Second week of August



Birth certificate (BC):

• Available for father
• Not available for mother
  • She was born before 1970. We had uploaded an Aadhaar card to NVC and a one line explanation that BC was considered unavailable in view of her birth year.
  • “Applicant was born on …, in India. As per country-specific guidelines on travel.state.gov, for persons born in India prior to April 1, 1970, birth certificates are considered unavailable.”
  • Both were approved by the NVC
  • For the interview, we had obtained an affidavit from my maternal grandmother, which was accepted without any issue at the document verification step of the interview.

IT returns:

• I had uploaded tax transcripts and W2 for years 2019, 2020 and 2021 prior to the DQ step
• We had sought extension to file 2022 returns as a few required documents from third-parties for our tax returns were pending.
• Based on the experiences noted on this forum, on the eve of the interview, I uploaded the following additional documents on the NVC/CEAC website -
  • IRS approval of the extension to file 2022 tax return
  • IRS letter stating that 2022 taxes had not been filed
  • 2022 W2
  • Employment verification letter
  • Payslips of 3-months from 2023 (July, June, May)
  • Proof of assets (brokerage & retirement account statements)
• I was eligible and had filed 864-EZ for both. Nevertheless, I also prepared & uploaded the 864 (longer version/non-EZ) on the eve of the interview. I remember that someone in this forum had received 221g for that document.
• My parents carried print outs of all with them.
• They also carried an album with about 25 photos from over the years including from their time in the US

Medical exam at Rele Clinic:

• I had gotten their chest x-rays prior to scheduling the interview to evaluate whether they had anything in the lungs, which could lead to sputum test. Fortunately, both were negative. This gave me confidence that medical exam would go through without any issue.
• I had scheduled the medical on Friday, VAC on subsequent Sunday, and the interview was on the following Tuesday. So, around a 2-day gap between each of the appointments. This allowed them enough time to rest and recuperate in between the appointments.
• Documents from Rele Clinic (info sheet and vaccination sheet) were received on Saturday evening by email.
• If you were to ask me, I’d recommend that medical be scheduled sooner and, ideally, using the time gap advised on DoS website to have a buffer for unknowns.

Interview preparation:

• I had used the questions from this forum, typed out answers to them, translated them to Hindi and provided printouts to parents for practice and to address their doubts.
• I explained to them that the officer is interested in verifying a few items -1) That parent-son relationship is genuine, 2) That sponsor (son) has adequate financial resources, 3) That there are no grounds for inadmissibility.
• That helped them gain an insight into officer’s psyche to effectively address the questions
• My parents had been twice to the US previously on B1/B2 visa. During their second visit, they had stayed for 10-months after we had filed and received extension of their non-immigrant stay (B1/B2)
• I was certain that officer would bring this up (which she did). So, I had printed the extension approval notice and had them carry their old passports that had their entry/exit immigration stamps to demonstrate to officers that they had complied with the terms of the extension.
• We practiced in the hotel a few times to ensure that they could pronounce the terms and knew the context of each document and when it needed to be presented.

Interview day:

• Mom is wheelchair bound. Dad has elbow arthritis. Neither of them speak English.
• I requested embassy staff to allow me to enter & push the wheelchair for their interview.
• They got clearance from higher ups for it & I was allowed to push the wheelchair through the entire process.
  • During the time when they (embassy staff) were seeking the clearance, I did not rush them at all nor enquired with them. They appreciated it.
• In addition to the physical help, my presence during the process substantially calmed the nerves of my parents.
• During the actual interview, the officer requested that I be seated in the hall while they were getting interviewed. I found that to be fair and reasonable.

Document verificaiton step:

• Done by an Indian staff. She was okay with my presenting the documents on behalf of my parents.
• As stated above, she had no issues with lack of BC for Mom. She accepted the affidavit from my maternal grandmother and did not need the Aadhaar card.
• She did not need my marriage certificate, only that of parents.
• Other regular documents: Passports, confirmation page, PCC, my BC
• Asked us to keep the tax documents ready for the interview.

Interview:

• Female American officer of Asian descent
• Very pleasant Indian translator. She ensured that every translated question was slowly articulated in the microphone so that parents could hear it well.
• Who is the sponsor? Where does he live? What kind of professional is he? When did he first go to the US? Who had sponsored his H1b visa? How did he get the green card? Who are his family members? When did they last meet with him?
• How many times had they gone to the US? Did they ever stay longer than 6-months? Had they received approval for a longer stay? Did they have a copy of the extension notice? Then, officer examined the older passports for the entry/exit stamps to verify their answers
• Finally, the golden words: Your visa is approved and you will receive the passports in a few days.

I used this DoS website to check the status of visa printing by the embassy: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx


Passports:

• Got text message and email notification that passports were ready the very next day (Wednesday) around 12 noon
• Picked up the day after (Thursday) and USCIS fees ($440) paid on the same day
• Flight to US on Thursday night (early morning of Friday)
• Of note, we had booked a two-way ticket for them because they wish to spend 4-months of winter in India. No issues at the POE in view of it.

Many thanks to this awesome & generous community.

[Indiannyc]

Hi all, My parents have interview scheduled this week and plan to travel to USA next month. Can folks kindly provide insights into which insurance plans/options they have purchased in the past for their parents when coming into USA on a green card? I understand that they do not quality for Medicare since they have not been 5+ years in the US.

Thanks a ton.

[Jee_mo]

Nothing has changed in doing the medical. It is just logical that you do the medical 15 days before your Interview date as the IR5 visa is valid for only 6 months from the date of completing your medical successfully.

Thanks for response. But Apolo staff was not ready to give me appointment early and when I asked early they said if at the time of interview anything happens , they are not responsible. So i thought let me ask this forum. I know everyone schedules atleast month before.. I appreciate your time to response. I will schedule in Sept 1st week.