Mumbai (India) Consulate’s Processing of EB Immigrant Visas
Posted Feb 05, 2000

As outlined in previous editions of the Law Bulletin of The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C., the usual procedure for employment-based immigrant visa processing through a consulate or Embassy involves certain steps. If at the time of filing the I-140 Immigrant Visa Petition the beneficiary indicates the intention to consular process, then a cable will be sent to the National Visa Center (the U.S. Department of State processing facility in New Hampshire). If the I-140 does not indicate the intention to consular process, but the beneficiary later decides to do so, the INS generally requires the Company to file Form I-824 to request a cable notification to be sent to the consulate. INS sends the cable to the consulate, and generally the file is sent to NVC. NVC then generates a package known as "Packet 3."

Some consulates prefer to generate their own Packet 3 upon receipt of a cable notice. A few, including Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India, will even issue the Packet 3 without awaiting the cable or the original package from the INS, if they are sent the original Approval Notice and attorney-certified copies of the I-140 petition.

In an e-mail to the Law Office of Sheela Murthy, an official from Mumbai outlined the criteria for accepting cases under this expedited procedure. Their policy is to accept certain employment based immigrant visa cases, on a discretionary case-by-case basis, if all of the following apply:

a. I-140 approved in EB1 or EB2 categories and the visa applicant has an original Approval Notice.
 
b. The applicant is a resident of the consular districts served by Mumbai or Calcutta.

c. There is a showing that waiting for adjudication of an I-485 (adjustment of status) application would cause hardship to the employee or family members.

d. The applicant has attorney-certified copies of all documents submitted with the I-140 Petition that were submitted to INS.

e. There is no indication of fraud by any party involved.

f. The consulate is able, based on workload considerations, to accept the case and process it to completion.

If Mumbai consulate accepts the case, they will open the case file and inform the applicant or the attorney, via letter or e-mail, of the case number and instruct regarding procedures to complete the case.

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C.