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Seven months ago my parents went with my grandmother and got 214 (b).
Recently, my parents went without my grandmother and got 10-year visas.
Please see my eariler posts.
Here is what I learnt from several sources including immihelp of course. I am also describing the document set below. This way of arranging the documents proved very useful.
* Teach your parents exactly what each document means
* Arrange them with tabs so they can pull the right document quickly and while talking - post-its were helpful for my parents
* Documents are thematically separated into A, B, C, and D - this division helps in remembering and quickly locating a document
* In your's and parents' letters to the consulate list ties to India as bullets. The rest of the document set is just proof and details. Include your's and parents' passport numbers and H1 receipt number in each letter once. Give full address.
* Have your parents memorize your full address
* Practice questions and answers with your parents in exactly the same way as it happens in the consulate - ask them the same questions in different ways which will get them to talk more freely as well as memorize the answers better - this will be fun
* It is the talking and claiming that is more important than the documents
* Pray that they should not get that lady as their visa officer
Good luck.
____________________________________________________________ ____
DOCUMENT SET
VISITOR DOCUMENT ------- SET A
1. Passports
2. Photos
3. Web Appointment Receipt if TTS (if any typos circle them in red and mention it in the first counter where they take some of the documents - but better to have it corrected with TTS ahead of time)
4. Cover letter/visa request letter from visitors addressed to Consulate General - contents nearly same as cover letter from sponsor - list ties to India in bullets
5. (a) DS 156 forms and DS 157 forms; (b) DD; (c) TTS/VFS reciept
6. (a) No Objection Certificate from visitor's work; (b) Letter from visitor's employer stating expected date of resuming job
7. (a) Recent salary slip; (b) Pay Certificate
8. House and other property assessment - make sure property is in visitor's name
9. Title deeds of property
10. Property Tax Evidence
11. (a) Bank Statements; (b) Passbooks - if money is in several banks get all the passbooks - Fixed Deposits mean stronger ties
12. Proof of Employment (eg. Offer Letter) of sponsor's siblings in India
VISITOR DOCUMENT ------- SET B
1. Copy of visitors' passports - dont know why this is needed
2. Form 16 or Income Tax Forms from visitor's employment in India
3. Family photo with visitors and sponsor in it - the more the people in the photo, the stronger the ties
4. Badge from visitor's work
5. Election ID
6. Rejection Letter from previous time (if applicable)
SPONSOR DOCUMENT ------- SET C
1. Letter to Consulate from sponsor on official letterhead
2. Letter to Visitors inviting them, also on official letterhead
3. Letter from Supervisor and/or HR
4. Offer Letter
5. I-134 back-to-back for each visitor
6. Last 5-6 paychecks
7. Last 5-6 Bank Statements from all banks sponsor has accounts in
8. Letter from Banker (I didnt get this)
9. Information about company (eg. Annual Brochure, Printouts from company website showing annual revenue, number of employees, company's standing)
10. W2+Tax Return form copies for the last 3-4 years
SPONSOR DOCUMENT ------- SET D
1. A Tabular column explaining conitued legal status in the US (see sample below)
2. All I-20s
3. I-797C (OPT application reciept from INS) and copy of OPT card
4. Copies of ALL H1s (I797A)
5. Copy of all pages of Passport with copy of I-94 on a separate sheet
6. Proof of Employment from previous employers in the US (I didnt get any from school)
7. Dissertation and printouts of journal papers (if applicable)
8. PhD, MS, Bachelor's, 12th certificates as applicable
9. Original Birth Certificate of Sponsor
10. Business Cards
11. Print outs of any relevant E-mail communications with the consulate, TTS/VFS
12. Documents supporting sponsor's dependents in the US (I dont have any so decide for yourself)
____________________________________________________________ ___
TABULAR COLUMN SHOWING CONTINUITY OF STATUS
(see the six column headings: Date, Occupation, Employer, Visa Status, Receipt#, and Validity Period)
Proof of My Continued Legal Status in USA
Name: ____________
Passport Number: ____________
Current H1B Receipt Number: ____________
Current I-94 Number: ____________
Last Re-entry Visa Stamping: ____________- ____________
Date || Occupation || Employer || Visa Status || Receipt# || Validity Period
____________________________________________________________ ___
Recently, my parents went without my grandmother and got 10-year visas.
Please see my eariler posts.
Here is what I learnt from several sources including immihelp of course. I am also describing the document set below. This way of arranging the documents proved very useful.
* Teach your parents exactly what each document means
* Arrange them with tabs so they can pull the right document quickly and while talking - post-its were helpful for my parents
* Documents are thematically separated into A, B, C, and D - this division helps in remembering and quickly locating a document
* In your's and parents' letters to the consulate list ties to India as bullets. The rest of the document set is just proof and details. Include your's and parents' passport numbers and H1 receipt number in each letter once. Give full address.
* Have your parents memorize your full address
* Practice questions and answers with your parents in exactly the same way as it happens in the consulate - ask them the same questions in different ways which will get them to talk more freely as well as memorize the answers better - this will be fun
* It is the talking and claiming that is more important than the documents
* Pray that they should not get that lady as their visa officer
Good luck.
____________________________________________________________ ____
DOCUMENT SET
VISITOR DOCUMENT ------- SET A
1. Passports
2. Photos
3. Web Appointment Receipt if TTS (if any typos circle them in red and mention it in the first counter where they take some of the documents - but better to have it corrected with TTS ahead of time)
4. Cover letter/visa request letter from visitors addressed to Consulate General - contents nearly same as cover letter from sponsor - list ties to India in bullets
5. (a) DS 156 forms and DS 157 forms; (b) DD; (c) TTS/VFS reciept
6. (a) No Objection Certificate from visitor's work; (b) Letter from visitor's employer stating expected date of resuming job
7. (a) Recent salary slip; (b) Pay Certificate
8. House and other property assessment - make sure property is in visitor's name
9. Title deeds of property
10. Property Tax Evidence
11. (a) Bank Statements; (b) Passbooks - if money is in several banks get all the passbooks - Fixed Deposits mean stronger ties
12. Proof of Employment (eg. Offer Letter) of sponsor's siblings in India
VISITOR DOCUMENT ------- SET B
1. Copy of visitors' passports - dont know why this is needed
2. Form 16 or Income Tax Forms from visitor's employment in India
3. Family photo with visitors and sponsor in it - the more the people in the photo, the stronger the ties
4. Badge from visitor's work
5. Election ID
6. Rejection Letter from previous time (if applicable)
SPONSOR DOCUMENT ------- SET C
1. Letter to Consulate from sponsor on official letterhead
2. Letter to Visitors inviting them, also on official letterhead
3. Letter from Supervisor and/or HR
4. Offer Letter
5. I-134 back-to-back for each visitor
6. Last 5-6 paychecks
7. Last 5-6 Bank Statements from all banks sponsor has accounts in
8. Letter from Banker (I didnt get this)
9. Information about company (eg. Annual Brochure, Printouts from company website showing annual revenue, number of employees, company's standing)
10. W2+Tax Return form copies for the last 3-4 years
SPONSOR DOCUMENT ------- SET D
1. A Tabular column explaining conitued legal status in the US (see sample below)
2. All I-20s
3. I-797C (OPT application reciept from INS) and copy of OPT card
4. Copies of ALL H1s (I797A)
5. Copy of all pages of Passport with copy of I-94 on a separate sheet
6. Proof of Employment from previous employers in the US (I didnt get any from school)
7. Dissertation and printouts of journal papers (if applicable)
8. PhD, MS, Bachelor's, 12th certificates as applicable
9. Original Birth Certificate of Sponsor
10. Business Cards
11. Print outs of any relevant E-mail communications with the consulate, TTS/VFS
12. Documents supporting sponsor's dependents in the US (I dont have any so decide for yourself)
____________________________________________________________ ___
TABULAR COLUMN SHOWING CONTINUITY OF STATUS
(see the six column headings: Date, Occupation, Employer, Visa Status, Receipt#, and Validity Period)
Proof of My Continued Legal Status in USA
Name: ____________
Passport Number: ____________
Current H1B Receipt Number: ____________
Current I-94 Number: ____________
Last Re-entry Visa Stamping: ____________- ____________
Date || Occupation || Employer || Visa Status || Receipt# || Validity Period
____________________________________________________________ ___
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