Recent US Citizen, upcoming India travel. How quickly can I get US passport and Indian visa?

S

seadull

Registered Users (C)
Hello -

I recently became a US citizen and haven't applied for a US passport. I need to travel to India within a month's time. I think I can get a US passport in time, but I don't know what is the procedure to get Indian visa (visitor, OCI etc?). Do I need to surrender my Indian passport to get Indian visa?

any help is appreciated.

thanks.
 
Get a US passport by going to a passport agency. This will take care of the passport within 1-3 days.
Then apply for surrender certificate.
Then apply for Indian visa. Given that you are a former Indian citizen, you will take Entry visa. OCI will take a couple of months (depends though). PIO will probably be faster but given that you have a travel in a month, don't risk it.
To be safe, you need to get on the fedex truck now.
 
If Travisa handles both renunciation and visa in your area, read up on how you can send for both at the same time. Contact them about timeframes.
 
Thank you cafeconleche ! I just made appointment at passport agency. I need to submit a proof that has travel date within next 14 days. But I am flying out end of April and really I need US PP urgently because I want to give enough time for Indian visa processing. Do you know what kind of proof I can produce? I don't have air-tickets yet.

Also thanks for confirming that I can use "Entry visa" and that other options will take longer than a month. Any idea how quickly can I expect entry visa after I have mailed it to Indian consulate in SF? Ballpark?
 
The travista website says that a prior Indian citizen can apply for tourist visa if they wont want to apply for entry visa. Which one will you get faster? The tourist visa is cheaper too.
 
I'm in kind of the same situation. Just had an interview and waiting for oath date in Indianapolis. Need to go in May, but since my wife's name is changing with citizenship, we have not booked tickets yet. Can anyone tell me what is a entry visa for India and what is the difference bet that and visitor visa. We plan to do OCI after we get back from the summer trip to India.

Also, do I need to go to an agency for US passport in 1-3 days or can get it done at the post office.

Any response is much appreciated. Thanks.
 
tgupte1 said:
I'm in kind of the same situation. Just had an interview and waiting for oath date in Indianapolis. Need to go in May, but since my wife's name is changing with citizenship, we have not booked tickets yet. Can anyone tell me what is a entry visa for India and what is the difference bet that and visitor visa. We plan to do OCI after we get back from the summer trip to India.

Also, do I need to go to an agency for US passport in 1-3 days or can get it done at the post office.

Any response is much appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...

An entry visa is a multiple visit visa to India, where as if you're on a tourist visa, then there HAS to be a 2 month gap between your two trips to India, even if the tourist visa is valid for 6 months. Entry visa is about 113 bucks for 6 months, where as tourist visa is about 73 bucks. (If you cross Indian border to or from any other nation on a tourist visa, then they will deny you entry to India if it's within 2 months.)

Get done with the oath ceremony, have the naturalization certificate in your hand. Then book your ticket to India, if the visit to India is within 2 weeks, then you need the travel initiatory and your Naturalization Certificate at a passport acceptance facility and you could probably get the passport within a few hours or 2 days (depends on how busy they are) The passport will cost you $135.00 plus a $60.00 of rush fee.

After you get a passport, visit the Indian Travisa or Consulate and get the tourist or the Entry level visa. The visa takes longer if you're a former Indian National. Don't ask me why, that's how they roll in San Francisco. Don't know your state!
 
Thanks very much for your suggestions ! I'll look for a passport acceptance facility in Indianapolis and find out the details in advance. Will try to submit on the day of the oath if possible.
 
just in case someone reading gets misled ... it could have been a typo in the last 2 posts.
i think you need to be looking for a passport agency, not a passport acceptance facility.
passport agency gives the passport in 1-3 days subject to proof of travel etc. take an appointment in advance, you can always cancel it.
any place which accepts passport application is called passport acceptance facility ... even if you expedite, they will take a week, more if non-expedited.
 
And, though it says you need an appointment, people show up without one and as long as they have proof of travel, they are let in (at least in NY). Check out Yelp and see if they have reviews of your passport agency.
 
Pardon my ignorance. The passport agency is a private organization, correct? I looked up Indianapolis and did not find any coming up int he search. My wife told me that she checked at the local post office and they told here that it is $60 extra for processing in 3 days. Did not mention that she has to go to an agency.

Am I missing something.
 
No, the agency is part of the State Department. There are only some in certain cities, as I said in my previous post. The post office will NOT process in 3 days.
 
passport agency is from dept of state. they will charge the same 60 dollars extra, so whether you go to post office or the agency, the cost is same. however, post office will not deliver in 3 days, as cafe said. there are only about 13-15 agencies in the whole country so you will need to find your nearest one and go there.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
just in case someone reading gets misled ... it could have been a typo in the last 2 posts.
i think you need to be looking for a passport agency, not a passport acceptance facility.
passport agency gives the passport in 1-3 days subject to proof of travel etc. take an appointment in advance, you can always cancel it.
any place which accepts passport application is called passport acceptance facility ... even if you expedite, they will take a week, more if non-expedited.
Click to expand...

oops my bad. i meant to say passport agency like the big one in san francisco or other states. not a passport acceptance facility.
 
speakamericano said:
After you get a passport, visit the Indian Travisa or Consulate and get the tourist or the Entry level visa. The visa takes longer if you're a former Indian National. Don't ask me why, that's how they roll in San Francisco. Don't know your state!
Click to expand...

Any former Indian National current US citizen who recently got their Indian Visa (including surrender certificate), how long did it take to get VISA. I will be taking my Oath next week.
Already have appointment (just in case) at SFO for US passport following my oath. Want to get Indian VISA as quick as possible, will applying in person. Any thoughts.

Thanks much.
MM
 
bumping this up as I am looking for the same info !

mmaker said:
Any former Indian National current US citizen who recently got their Indian Visa (including surrender certificate), how long did it take to get VISA. I will be taking my Oath next week.
Already have appointment (just in case) at SFO for US passport following my oath. Want to get Indian VISA as quick as possible, will applying in person. Any thoughts.

Thanks much.
MM
Click to expand...
 
I had my Renunciation at the SF Travisa Agency. It took them 10 days to process the complete paperwork. If you're looking for a fast service, go apply in person, it's much faster than doing it by mail. And you could talk to the bald guy (since he's the only one accepting renunciation/OCI/PIO paperwork). After reading the posts and the reviews, it shows travisa can take up to a 5 to 7 days to issue a visa. You need a minimum of 3 weeks for the process to go smoothly. They're just as bad as the consulate if you request them to rush the process. They'll forget some paper and screw you over.

Here's my time line for renunciation:
03/29/2011 1:28pm PST Service order form completed online
04/01/2011 9:55am PST Order form and supporting documents received, payment processed
04/04/2011 8:45am PST Documents prepared to go to Embassy.
04/04/2011 9:08am PST Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
04/05/2011 9:13am PST Renunciation documents are pending submission to Embassy by Outsourcing Office.
04/05/2011 9:16am PST Documents prepared to go to Embassy.
04/05/2011 9:24am PST Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
04/08/2011 11:08am PST Outsourcing office has verified the Renunciation is processed correctly. Ready for pickup between 4:30pm and 6:00pm. If mail back, waiting for FedEx pick up and is likely to be mailed out tomorrow. I went there to pick up my documents on the 8th as instructed by the Online tool, but the bald guy said I've to come back on monday, GOD KNOWS WHY, but they need extra day to bring paperwork down to the first floor from the 3rd floor.
04/11/2011 4:34pm PST Renunciation documents picked up in person
 
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