Urgent Help ! New Delhi Consulate H4 Rules - TOTALLY CONFUSED !

[devashishbhatt]

Dear Members,

My wife is scheduled for a July 14th appointment at the NEW DELHI US Consulate for the issue of her H4 Visa.

I have duly filled up the DS156 form, but I have MANY questions for the DS157 ! Every where, there is a different version for this form's requirement for a female/wife/female dependent.

Q 1. The New Delhi US Consulate website says that the DS157 is required ONLY for MALES aged 15-55.
The same can be seen here (Point No. 4 under 'Mandatory Documents'):

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/nivreqdocuments.html

I need to ask - Is this form actually needed for a wife who is simply joining her husband ? Is the New Delhi Consular site misleading ? Or is it actually ONLY for males, as mentioned there ?

Q 2. I have anyhow completed, and printed the DS157, but I need to make some amends to the form. It may kindly be noted that these are NOT corrections to already added values but FRESH ADDITIONS to fields left blank.
The fields left blank are:

a) Educational Institutions attended (No. 12)
b) Employment History (No. 17)

Ques 2.1) Is it necessary to add the schools my wife attended AND the places where she worked (She WAS working, but not anymore) ? Or can they be left BLANK ?

Ques 2.2) Will the VO ask my wife whether or not she has attended any school/college OR whether she ever was employed anywhere ? Or will they not bother asking about any field with NA written against it ?

Ques 2.3) Can she add the institutions/employment details that she attended anyhow with a PEN and take it along with her to the consulate ? Will this create ANY issues ? It may kindly be noted that she does NOT intend to work or study in the US, at least for now.

Ques 2.4) In case ADDITIONS are to be made to the DS157, should they be done on a FRESH form, or on the existing form ?

Q 3. A VERY important question:
NO WHERE on the New Delhi Consular site is it mentioned that you need to submit your docs (forms, photos, etc) 1,2,or 3 days before your interview to a VFS Centre. (She HAS NOT yet submitted, as it isnt mentioned anywhere that you need to do so.) Only for the Mumbai consulate do they tell you to submit 3-4 days in advance at a VFS Application Centre.

My question>
Q 3.1 - Is an applicant filing for an H4 at the New Delhi consulate need to submit her docs ANY number of days before the interview AT ALL to a VFS Centre ? Or can she directly go with the required docs, receipts, etc. to the New Delhi Consulate and attend her interview on the said date ?
I am VERY confused about this as NO WHERE do they have ANY information or mention about this. SO absurd !

Q 4. My wife wants to do a counter-collection of her passport from the VFS Centre at Nehru Place in Delhi.
Can someone please tell me as to WHEN can she go there exactly so that the VFS people do NOT courier the passport but hand it over to her instead ?
The site says between 1400 - 1600 hours. And thats it. They say it may take 2 days 3 days blah blah and if applicant does NOT show up then it will be couriered !
Sigh ! Why is everything America SO complicated ?


I believe my queries are extending by a lot, and so, I will keep it to this much for now.

May I re-iterate that I need URGENT help and I will be VERY VERY thankful to anyone who could assist me with these questions and queries. Her interview is scheduled for July 14th, only 4 days to go !

Thank you, thank you, thank you - SO much well in advance !

TX, Abhay - I have a LOT of expectations from you to PLEASE guide me !

Sincerely,

Devashish Bhatt

[Subramanya]

My wife is scheduled for a July 14th appointment at the NEW DELHI US Consulate for the issue of her H4 Visa.

I have duly filled up the DS156 form, but I have MANY questions for the DS157 ! Every where, there is a different version for this form's requirement for a female/wife/female dependent.

Q 1. The New Delhi US Consulate website says that the DS157 is required ONLY for MALES aged 15-55.
The same can be seen here (Point No. 4 under 'Mandatory Documents'):

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/nivreqdocuments.html

I need to ask - Is this form actually needed for a wife who is simply joining her husband ? Is the New Delhi Consular site misleading ? Or is it actually ONLY for males, as mentioned there ?

---- As there may be many versions of the same rule, it may be wise to complete the form and keep it handy, so that you can hand it over to the US Consulate if they request it. Else, you retain the form in your folder

Q 2. I have anyhow completed, and printed the DS157, but I need to make some amends to the form. It may kindly be noted that these are NOT corrections to already added values but FRESH ADDITIONS to fields left blank.
The fields left blank are:

a) Educational Institutions attended (No. 12)
b) Employment History (No. 17)

Ques 2.1) Is it necessary to add the schools my wife attended AND the places where she worked (She WAS working, but not anymore) ? Or can they be left BLANK ?

---- As above in Q.1 for oth 2.1 and 2.2

Ques 2.2) Will the VO ask my wife whether or not she has attended any school/college OR whether she ever was employed anywhere ? Or will they not bother asking about any field with NA written against it ?

---- Yes, they can ask (and most of the time they will)

Ques 2.3) Can she add the institutions/employment details that she attended anyhow with a PEN and take it along with her to the consulate ? Will this create ANY issues ? It may kindly be noted that she does NOT intend to work or study in the US, at least for now.

---- Be professional and print the information. She can have intentions to study in the US, although she may not legally work on H4 while in the US

Ques 2.4) In case ADDITIONS are to be made to the DS157, should they be done on a FRESH form, or on the existing form ?

---- If they can be done on the existing form, go ahead. Normally after additions are made the site will print a form with a new barcode. I am not aware if the system has changed now. A few years ago it was the practice

Q 3. A VERY important question:
NO WHERE on the New Delhi Consular site is it mentioned that you need to submit your docs (forms, photos, etc) 1,2,or 3 days before your interview to a VFS Centre. (She HAS NOT yet submitted, as it isnt mentioned anywhere that you need to do so.) Only for the Mumbai consulate do they tell you to submit 3-4 days in advance at a VFS Application Centre.

My question>
Q 3.1 - Is an applicant filing for an H4 at the New Delhi consulate need to submit her docs ANY number of days before the interview AT ALL to a VFS Centre ? Or can she directly go with the required docs, receipts, etc. to the New Delhi Consulate and attend her interview on the said date ?

---- If the site has not specified that you need to submit documents a few days ahead of time, then you need not worry about it. Another US Consulate is a different issue

I am VERY confused about this as NO WHERE do they have ANY information or mention about this. SO absurd !

---- Nothing is absurd. Restrain yourself from making these comments before having any authentic information

Q 4. My wife wants to do a counter-collection of her passport from the VFS Centre at Nehru Place in Delhi.
Can someone please tell me as to WHEN can she go there exactly so that the VFS people do NOT courier the passport but hand it over to her instead ?
The site says between 1400 - 1600 hours. And thats it. They say it may take 2 days 3 days blah blah and if applicant does NOT show up then it will be couriered !

---- Talk to the people at the VFS office where you intend collecting the Passport and the VO once the interview is completed. Members on the forum can only suggest you to follow rules and that is at best speculation

Sigh ! Why is everything America SO complicated ?

---- If you want a US visa, these are the rules (as given on the websites of the US Consulate or the VFS. If these rules need to be changed you may prefer writing to them. If it is your opinion, please use some other forum for hyperventilating issues

Subramanya

I believe my queries are extending by a lot, and so, I will keep it to this much for now.

May I re-iterate that I need URGENT help and I will be VERY VERY thankful to anyone who could assist me with these questions and queries. Her interview is scheduled for July 14th, only 4 days to go !

[txh1b]

I can see that you are over complicating simple things. Just fill out the DS157 with relevant information. If she has worked, mention it. If she has studied, mention it.

If Delhi consulate has no pre-requirements, why should the website mention it? Why do you want to apply rules on Mumbai consulate to Delhi and confuse yourself? Delhi consulate or VFS cannot list all the "not needed" requirements unnecessarily. They list what they need and ask people to follow it.

And yes, you can pick up visa from VFS office when they get it. You can check the status by SMS or calling and entering the VFS tracking number. It may not come the same day and could take 1-3 days if approved or more.

[devashishbhatt]

My wife is scheduled for a July 14th appointment at the NEW DELHI US Consulate for the issue of her H4 Visa.

I have duly filled up the DS156 form, but I have MANY questions for the DS157 ! Every where, there is a different version for this form's requirement for a female/wife/female dependent.

Q 1. The New Delhi US Consulate website says that the DS157 is required ONLY for MALES aged 15-55.
The same can be seen here (Point No. 4 under 'Mandatory Documents'):

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/nivreqdocuments.html

I need to ask - Is this form actually needed for a wife who is simply joining her husband ? Is the New Delhi Consular site misleading ? Or is it actually ONLY for males, as mentioned there ?

---- As there may be many versions of the same rule, it may be wise to complete the form and keep it handy, so that you can hand it over to the US Consulate if they request it. Else, you retain the form in your folder

Q 2. I have anyhow completed, and printed the DS157, but I need to make some amends to the form. It may kindly be noted that these are NOT corrections to already added values but FRESH ADDITIONS to fields left blank.
The fields left blank are:

a) Educational Institutions attended (No. 12)
b) Employment History (No. 17)

Ques 2.1) Is it necessary to add the schools my wife attended AND the places where she worked (She WAS working, but not anymore) ? Or can they be left BLANK ?

---- As above in Q.1 for oth 2.1 and 2.2

Ques 2.2) Will the VO ask my wife whether or not she has attended any school/college OR whether she ever was employed anywhere ? Or will they not bother asking about any field with NA written against it ?

---- Yes, they can ask (and most of the time they will)

Ques 2.3) Can she add the institutions/employment details that she attended anyhow with a PEN and take it along with her to the consulate ? Will this create ANY issues ? It may kindly be noted that she does NOT intend to work or study in the US, at least for now.

---- Be professional and print the information. She can have intentions to study in the US, although she may not legally work on H4 while in the US

Ques 2.4) In case ADDITIONS are to be made to the DS157, should they be done on a FRESH form, or on the existing form ?

---- If they can be done on the existing form, go ahead. Normally after additions are made the site will print a form with a new barcode. I am not aware if the system has changed now. A few years ago it was the practice

Q 3. A VERY important question:
NO WHERE on the New Delhi Consular site is it mentioned that you need to submit your docs (forms, photos, etc) 1,2,or 3 days before your interview to a VFS Centre. (She HAS NOT yet submitted, as it isnt mentioned anywhere that you need to do so.) Only for the Mumbai consulate do they tell you to submit 3-4 days in advance at a VFS Application Centre.

My question>
Q 3.1 - Is an applicant filing for an H4 at the New Delhi consulate need to submit her docs ANY number of days before the interview AT ALL to a VFS Centre ? Or can she directly go with the required docs, receipts, etc. to the New Delhi Consulate and attend her interview on the said date ?

---- If the site has not specified that you need to submit documents a few days ahead of time, then you need not worry about it. Another US Consulate is a different issue

I am VERY confused about this as NO WHERE do they have ANY information or mention about this. SO absurd !

---- Nothing is absurd. Restrain yourself from making these comments before having any authentic information

Q 4. My wife wants to do a counter-collection of her passport from the VFS Centre at Nehru Place in Delhi.
Can someone please tell me as to WHEN can she go there exactly so that the VFS people do NOT courier the passport but hand it over to her instead ?
The site says between 1400 - 1600 hours. And thats it. They say it may take 2 days 3 days blah blah and if applicant does NOT show up then it will be couriered !

---- Talk to the people at the VFS office where you intend collecting the Passport and the VO once the interview is completed. Members on the forum can only suggest you to follow rules and that is at best speculation

Sigh ! Why is everything America SO complicated ?

---- If you want a US visa, these are the rules (as given on the websites of the US Consulate or the VFS. If these rules need to be changed you may prefer writing to them. If it is your opinion, please use some other forum for hyperventilating issues

Subramanya

I believe my queries are extending by a lot, and so, I will keep it to this much for now.

May I re-iterate that I need URGENT help and I will be VERY VERY thankful to anyone who could assist me with these questions and queries. Her interview is scheduled for July 14th, only 4 days to go !

Dear Subu,

http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65924

Am so happy !!

Sincerely,

Dev