Any new changes on H4 Visa processing

[happyfolks]

I'm a primary (H1) applicant and I got my petition (I-129) approved in Dec, 2012 time frame. My family is currently in India, and I am planning to get them to US in Feb. We have got DS-160 filled and Visa fee paid and also got the receipt. I also have all other supporting documents (such as my petition copy, employment letter, pay stub, etc..).

When I called Stanley (US Travel Dept/call center) to book an appointment for the Visa interview, I was asked to get new petitions (approved ones) for my wife and kid, and I should not use the principal applicant (i.e., my petition) petition number. Looks like this new change was implemented as of Jan 31st, 2013. It really surprised me. I was not happy because this is a long process and there is no proper intimation also about the same.

I informed Stanley people that there is no information on the site (us visa official site) about this new change. They said this was launched recently and will slowly be updated in the site. Is this true ???

I checked with my employer/company and they said that there is no such change, and if it was ever changed, they would have already known about this.

Can you please advise/help me with this issue? If anyone has similar experience can you please share the information.

Appreciate your response!

[romanb4u]

Hi, any response on this one. I am planning to go for visa stamping and H4 stamping as well along with my wife, in India. I have my I129, and other docs also have H4 employer letter. Aren't they enough? Kindly let me know if I have to file a new I129 for my wife (h4?)

[itsmeusa]

Wondering if you tried to book appointment directly online yourself. Is it require to call someone to help you book the appointment? If they really have this weird rule, it should pop up in online appt scheduling tool too.

[happyfolks]

Hi, I called them back again yesterday (IST) AM. I talked to one of the senior people and he confirmed that no petition is required for H4 dependents. I think some of the folks are new and not given proper training. If you want you can send an email to support-india AT ustraveldocs to confirm this.