OCI via Travisa - Need to send US passport at the beginning

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techid

Registered Users (C)
The new OCI approval process for DC is thru Travisa and they want you to send the US passport right at the beginning. Does that mean that my US passport will be stuck with them for 2 or 3 months and I cannot travel anywhere out of the country?

4. Original U.S. or Non-Indian Passport:
You must provide the valid original passport along with your application package at the beginning of the OCI request process. Your original US or non-Indian passport along with a copy of the information page and the last two amendment pages is required. You will need to provide your original passport so that the U-Visa (OCI) sticker can be affixed to a blank visa page.
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https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/oci/display-requirements
 
techid said:
The new OCI approval process for DC is thru Travisa and they want you to send the US passport right at the beginning. Does that mean that my US passport will be stuck with them for 2 or 3 months and I cannot travel anywhere out of the country?



https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/oci/display-requirements
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Read their section 15.

"Regular processing time is approximately 30 days from the time the application is sent from Travisa Outsourcing to the Indian Embassy or Consulate. If there is adverse information found against the applicant, the decision to grant or otherwise will be made in approximately 2 months (60 days). In some cases, the application can be delayed after OCI is granted if an improper photograph was provided.
Processing time for OCI Misc. services is approximately 30 days from the time the application is sent from Travisa Outsourcing to the Indian Embassy or Consulate.
Non-refundable tickets or reservations should not be purchased until all OCI cards and passports are secured and in your possession."

Mostly all ppl you will see on this forum (including myself) have applied directly to embassy before embassy at DC outsourced OCI service from early this month. It seems Travisa is committing to get OCI process done in one month except your application has some other issues. Yes, they are asking to get US PP from the beginning. For the sake of clarity, I would recommend to contact Travisa via phone to confirm. From my personal experience they are good at answering questions on phone.
 
It is not Travisa that can commit the 30 day processing time but rather the Indian Embassy/CGIs. There must be a service level agreement that was signed between Travisa and the Indian Embassy on this. Think about this: what is the biggest delay when you apply for OCI directly with the Embassy/CGIs? It was them opening your application and validating the submission docs and then acknowledging in the system. Once this happens, they scan the photo and signature and everything gets done very quickly. Travisa will take care of the application submission process and if everything looks good, then hopefully the hand off to the Indian Embassy/CGIs. Travisa will be way more efficient about this than the incompetent Embassy/CGI folks are.
 
Thanks guys. I tried calling Travisa last week before I posted this thread and it kept going to the voicemail. I sent out the application anyway with the hope that they might actually send it back in a months time. Will post any status changes.
 
Best of luck, I think we should expect some hiccups in the travisa process, but eventually it should run better than the old embassy driven process. It should also be more consistent in terms of document requirements.
 
Progress so far

02/05/2011 Order form and supporting documents received, payment processed
02/05/2011 Outsourcing office has received OCI application, but cannot process further. Application is on hold.
02/09/2011 Documents prepared to go to Embassy.
02/09/2011 Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
02/09/2011 Documents received by Consulate
02/14/2011 Pending approval of the Government of India

So far so good. Will have to see how long the GoI takes for approval.
 
Hi techid, Please keep us updated. I will be sending my application to Travisa on March 15, since HOUSTON is outsourcing the OCI to them from this date.

Not sure if anyone else has send their Original US passport to Travisa along with the application.

~ISM.
 
JPBoston said:
It is not Travisa that can commit the 30 day processing time but rather the Indian Embassy/CGIs. There must be a service level agreement that was signed between Travisa and the Indian Embassy on this. Think about this: what is the biggest delay when you apply for OCI directly with the Embassy/CGIs?
----- Embassy or Consulate Babu that dont open the Envelope for many days and even if opened then don't acknowledge for many days and then keep the files in box and then some other Babu have to scan the Photo. This is typical Indian Babu mentality.
It was them opening your application and validating the submission docs and then acknowledging in the system. Once this happens, they scan the photo and signature and everything gets done very quickly. Travisa will take care of the application submission process and if everything looks good, then hopefully the hand off to the Indian Embassy/CGIs. Travisa will be way more efficient about this than the incompetent Embassy/CGI folks are.
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if Travisa is only sending the application to Consulate after checking the eligibility then it goes to same Babu who was handling in past like acknowledging in the system and then Scanning it may not make a big diffrence. if Travisa acknowledge and Scan then it may be better but I dont know if Travisa is going to Scan.
 
I posted a couple of messages along with the status updates in the Washington DC tracker.

Thanks. I see that my registration was approved on Feb 10th but on the same day the photo was rejected. So its stuck at the consulate and Travisa kept showing the same message, Pending approval from GoI. Need to figure out how to resolve this issue.
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I called Travisa and looks like Travisa has no clue about the rejected photo. So the application is just sitting there with the rejected status at GoI while Travisa is waiting for a status change from consulate. What a screwed up process.
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I completed my online application for OCI only to find out that I now need to send the US Passport upfront with the application! I do not have a window of 6 weeks to stay without my passport as I need to travel oversees frequently. If everything goes well and I get my OCI in 5 weeks, I should be okay but any delay would mean that I can't make one of my trips.

I haven't been able to get through to Travisa on the phone. Its mostly busy and one time after many attempts it started ringing - I got really excited but it rang a few times and then disconnected. They respond to email in about 3-4 days and only said that nothing can be done about it. My only option is to apply for visa.

I really don't think outsourcing is making any difference. As such the procedure was frustrating enough, and now requiring that they hold our passports hostage for 2 months is insane. Is it even legal to hold someone's US passport for that long? I don't know, but it may actually be illegal to require this.

Any insights from the group will be appreciated.
 
OCI_frustrated said:
If everything goes well and I get my OCI in 5 weeks, I should be okay but any delay would mean that I can't make one of my trips.

Is it even legal to hold someone's US passport for that long? I don't know, but it may actually be illegal to require this.
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If you are traveling to Canada/Mexico apply for a "passport card" -- that will be sufficient for travel purposes while your original passport is with the Indian Consulate.

You always have the option of applying for a entry visa to India (up to 5 years validity) that will be processed faster than 6 weeks. I don't see what is illegal about requesting the passport for visa processing. Holding your passport for several months may be unreasonable, but not illegal. You are not being forced to apply for the visa.

If you are not traveling to Canada/Mexico but to a destination that will require your US Passport. To cover all angles, you should contact the US State Department and ask them if they have any recommendations -- do they issue a temporary passport with a shorter (2-3 months) validity, while your original passport is in the possession of the Indian Consulate. No matter what the answer, you can at least be certain that they will respond in a timely manner to your enquiry.

Be sure to do all of this soon (whether it is passport card or a temporary passport if the State Department does issues such a document). With a looming government shutdown, all of those activities will come to a stand still and then you will be out of all options.
 
doubter said:
If you are traveling to Canada/Mexico apply for a "passport card" -- that will be sufficient for travel purposes while your original passport is with the Indian Consulate.
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If you fly into Canada or Mexico, the passport card will not suffice! It can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda only at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry.
 
Also, see if you qualify for a second passport for times like this, though it'll cost you the same amount as a new passport.
 
thank you for your insights. I'll be traveling to Europe .. so can't use the passport card. and yes i can always apply for a visa for India, but it just adds up cost.

anyways, looks like there's no alternative. I am just unhappy with the way they're making it more and more difficult rather than making it simpler. let alone the entire issue of renunciation and another $175 for no reason!
 
Just found it out myself about sending the US Passport for 2-3 months to get the OCI. I'm in a similar situation were I need to travel frequently overseas. Is this an alternative? Can we appear in person at the Indian Consultate in NY so officials can verify whatever it is that they can't verify with a copy of the US passport and hand over the US passport on the same day? The whole process and the fees charged sounds insane. I also came to know that shipping passports outside of the country to which it belongs may really be illegal. Does the US Passport actually goes to India for getting OCI processed?
 
v_k_g said:
Just found it out myself about sending the US Passport for 2-3 months to get the OCI. I'm in a similar situation were I need to travel frequently overseas. Is this an alternative? Can we appear in person at the Indian Consultate in NY so officials can verify whatever it is that they can't verify with a copy of the US passport and hand over the US passport on the same day? The whole process and the fees charged sounds insane. I also came to know that shipping passports outside of the country to which it belongs may really be illegal. Does the US Passport actually goes to India for getting OCI processed?
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OCI is not possible without sending the original US passport. The passport remains in the Consulate's custody in New York, only your OCI Booklet gets printed in India. If you're frequent traveler, and can't let go of your passport for 2-3 months, then there's no option for you. Don't apply for OCI, get a 10 year visa instead.

The shipping passports outside of the country doesn't happen. and even if it did happen, there's nothing illegal about it since you're the one seeking the OCI service.
 
What does the consulate do with holding onto the US Passports for that long anyways? I don't think one can get the second passport without submitting the first one along with it.
 
You can get one at a passport agency BEFORE you apply for OCI. You can explain the situation (including with a letter) and they might give you a second passport.
 
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