Cancelling Indian passport

M

mario123

Registered Users (C)
Please comment on the 2 ways of getting this done:

1) OCI/PIO:
If pursuing an OCI/PIO application, when/how does the passport get cancelled, ie. when does one have to mail it in - during the initial form A submission or at the end when getting the visa stamped on the U.S. passport?

2) Regular Method:
If not applying for OCI/PIO does one have to simply mail it to the CGI?

In both instances, is the passport returned to the holder?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
1.Before/during the application submission.OCI/PIO cannot be processed unless the Indian passport is cancelled.
2.Yes but with a covering letter and a copy of your naturalisation certificate and/or US passport

Yes you will get the passport back.
 
Houston CGI is at it again

I've sent my Indian Passport to get it cancelled. Its almost 3 weeks now. No response to voicemail, email or fax. God only knows how these people work.
 
I hate to say....

mpanati said:
I've sent my Indian Passport to get it cancelled. Its almost 3 weeks now. No response to voicemail, email or fax. God only knows how these people work.
Click to expand...

I told you so (because I didn't tell you directly), but boy! what a misfit organization the CGI-Houston is :mad:. Now you know why I would NEVER mail anything to them. They simply SUCK! And worse still, they are absolutely atrocious at customer service.

I hope you get your passport soon though! Good luck
 
I've learnt my lesson Mario!! :) Next time, I will be a bit careful. Like someone did, I will use a Visa Services organization. I will spend some money and have peace of mind rather than dealing with these people.
 
Come on, give this bureaucracy a break. Did you not suck up the over 6-10 year wait from the time you came to this country and jumped through the hurdles to get your US citizenship, what is 3 weeks and never got on phone with any live person at INS, or waited in line outside INS at 3 AM in the morning. They are all the same every where :)
 
N2201, Wonderful comparison!! US Immigration and Indian immigration. I suggest when you try to compare these two, use something called Common sense.

USCIS deals with Millions(YES, MILLIONS) of applicants every year and I would say they do a pretty good job. I am sure there are mistakes. But on the grand scale they do well.

Last time I checked, no one is desperate to go to India to settle and live. So that leaves Indian consulates to deal with a very limited type of applicants like PP Renewal, VISA, OCI, PIO etc. And we all know how well HOUSON CGI functions! Lost Passports, lost VISA Applications, not answering the phone, not answering email, not clearing the voice mail.

If you want more proof, go to one of those Consular Visa Camps that run by these jokers. Trying to backdoor people in, letting people cut lines, carrying 100 visa applications when there are about 1000 applicants waiting in line, the list is endless. Well, you be happy with the service you get. Rest of us, normal folks will keep demanding some accountability.

All I am asking is an Acknowledgment saying, we have your passport. Looking at the curent timelines, it will take(4 weeks, 7 weeks, 10 weeks, whatever) time to cancel and return your passport. Is that too much to expect?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow

mpanati said:
N2201, Wonderful comparison!! US Immigration and Indian immigration. I suggest when you try to compare these two, use something called Common sense.

USCIS deals with Millions(YES, MILLIONS) of applicants every year and I would say they do a pretty good job. I am sure there are mistakes. But on the grand scale they do well.

Last time I checked, no one is desperate to go to India to settle and live. So that leaves Indian consulates to deal with a very limited type of applicants like PP Renewal, VISA, OCI, PIO etc. And we all know how well HOUSON CGI functions! Lost Passports, lost VISA Applications, not answering the phone, not answering email, not clearing the voice mail.

If you want more proof, go to one of those Consular Visa Camps that run by these jokers. Trying to backdoor people in, letting people cut lines, carrying 100 visa applications when there are about 1000 applicants waiting in line, the list is endless. Well, you be happy with the service you get. Rest of us, normal folks will keep demanding some accountability.

All I am asking is an Acknowledgment saying, we have your passport. Looking at the curent timelines, it will take(4 weeks, 7 weeks, 10 weeks, whatever) time to cancel and return your passport. Is that too much to expect?
Click to expand...

Wow mpanati! easy there dude :D I think you scared n2201 away ;)

That being said, I do agree with you - it's like comparing apples and oranges. Atleast with the USCIS you can call the 800# and speak to a human or you can take an InfoPass and get somewhere - you don't get treated like a dog looking for a used bone. Try calling the CGI-Houston. Yeah, that's what I thought.... Just look at the instructions for filing an OCI - confusing as heck. If you follow the links it takes you to a word doc. for form A. But ofcourse we all know that you have to fill it online. All we ask is for these Indian consulates to function with some degree of accountability and treat Indians (who are shelling out $275-$300 for a silly OCI sticker) with a little more courtesy. And..... ANSWER THAT GOD DAMNED PHONE!

Oh well, I digress...
 
mario123 said:
Wow mpanati! easy there dude :D I think you scared n2201 away ;)

That being said, I do agree with you - it's like comparing apples and oranges. Atleast with the USCIS you can call the 800# and speak to a human or you can take an InfoPass and get somewhere - you don't get treated like a dog looking for a used bone. Try calling the CGI-Houston. Yeah, that's what I thought.... Just look at the instructions for filing an OCI - confusing as heck. If you follow the links it takes you to a word doc. for form A. But ofcourse we all know that you have to fill it online. All we ask is for these Indian consulates to function with some degree of accountability and treat Indians (who are shelling out $275-$300 for a silly OCI sticker) with a little more courtesy. And..... ANSWER THAT GOD DAMNED PHONE!

Oh well, I digress...
Click to expand...

Mario123,

Just for that silly sticker are u shelling out 300 dollars ??, why ? go to some
shop they will give you for One dollar, you do not apply and get that
silly sticker?.

I agree that we cannot compare INS and Indian embassy, but at the
same time, the timelines are also so so different to get a GC here it
takes more than 10,000 dollars and 4 to 5 years, whereas the same
GC ( OCI ) gives you a the facility the life long visa ( no renewal required every 10 years like GC or visa and gives you the permit to live and work in
India, And to get that only all of us here are posting info and exchanging
info and trying to get it done in a right way, And you call that as silly sticker?

I would say, better retract your statement or yr OCI application if u c onsider
that as silly.

Finally do not degrade yr home where u came from .
 
what

sterling_2001 said:
Mario123,

Just for that silly sticker are u shelling out 300 dollars ??, why ? go to some
shop they will give you for One dollar, you do not apply and get that
silly sticker?.

I agree that we cannot compare INS and Indian embassy, but at the
same time, the timelines are also so so different to get a GC here it
takes more than 10,000 dollars and 4 to 5 years, whereas the same
GC ( OCI ) gives you a the facility the life long visa ( no renewal required every 10 years like GC or visa and gives you the permit to live and work in
India, And to get that only all of us here are posting info and exchanging
info and trying to get it done in a right way, And you call that as silly sticker?

I would say, better retract your statement or yr OCI application if u c onsider
that as silly.

Finally do not degrade yr home where u came from .
Click to expand...

I think you should read a little carefully next time before you post something. I did NOT degrade India! Not even close. I slammed the CGI - the clowns who work there. The goofs who lose passports (like mine) and then act like it's no big deal. The unmotivated people who work there and can't even pick up the phone and help an "Indian". Yes, the same Indian that you accuse me of "degrading". Big difference. So be careful about what you post too and get the facts straight.

Now lets get to your next issue with my post - GC vs OCI. OCI is mainly for people of Indian origin. GC is for any Tom, Dick and Harry who qualifies. So, I would expect that the OCI not be a big complicated process. Have you looked at the qualifications for an OCI if you are not an Indian? Could you even qualify? India is NOT a place were 90% of the planet wants to be. The U.S. on the other hand is that magnet - eveyone wants to be here. So, yes, the GC process HAS TO BE a lot more stringent and selective. $10,000 for a GC? Wow. Are you sure? I didn't know that. If it's true then it's basically the laws of demand and supply - more people want to live in the U.S. vs. India. Simple as that.

Finally, other than calling the sticker "silly" my whole post was about CGI's service! Not about India. So please put your crack pipe down and chill out :p. I love and respect my Indian heritage more than you probably....... and I wasn't even born in India!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This forum is not about India Vs US. Don't drag Countries into the discussions.

Most of the Federal Employees across the world are useless. It takes such a lazy person to take up thos jobs.

Most of our GC's took 2-7 yrs. and then upto 1 yr. for citizenship. That's the way it is. Why do you guys complain about wks?

Prasad applied for citizenship one month later and done one month earlier than me?. Who want to explain the delays caused by USCIS? They all have variations. Let's all stop complaining and help each other to have smother processes if we can. Otherwise, please SHUT UP.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Dude you need to relax!!

No one is doing US vs India. We are just expressing our concerns about the way CGI Houston Functions. Ask any passport/visa processing agency. They say CGI Houston is the least efficient consulate/Embassy they've dealt with.

Its not question of who applied when and who got what!

Mario and myself are only concerned about lack of response we have from this organization. I know you are in Atlanta. Try going to one of those Visa camps run by these guys. Lets see what your opinion after that. Or if you want be enlightened, go to this page http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=216263&page=8
and read SJAMES experience.

Bottom line is you need to chill and have a beer! :) And not worry about US vs India. There are politicans for that.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Good rhetort

mpanati said:
No one is doing US vs India. We are just expressing our concerns about the way CGI Houston Functions. Ask any passport/visa processing agency. They say CGI Houston is the least efficient consulate/Embassy they've dealt with.

Its not question of who applied when and who got what!

Mario and myself are only concerned about lack of response we have from this organization. I know you are in Atlanta. Try going to one of those Visa camps run by these guys. Lets see what your opinion after that. Or if you want be enlightened, go to this page http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=216263&page=8
and read SJAMES experience.

Bottom line is you need to chill and have a beer! :) And not worry about US vs India. There are politicans for that.
Click to expand...

mpanati - I won't waste my time answering to those 2 goons. It's obvious they didn't even read my entire response..... sigh.

Anyway, I was stunned at reading that link and SJAMES' and the others experiences. I knew CGIH was bad, but not this bad.

Let us know how your experience with them goes.... I think you should just drive down there :mad:
 
mario123 said:
mpanati - I won't waste my time answering to those 2 goons. It's obvious they didn't even read my entire response..... sigh.

Anyway, I was stunned at reading that link and SJAMES' and the others experiences. I knew CGIH was bad, but not this bad.

Let us know how your experience with them goes.... I think you should just drive down there :mad:
Click to expand...

Who cares what some one says ho did not even born in India and did not become an US Citizen yet. I hope you have a better life Mario.
 
Mr.tuffgong, while we search for the room, there is a physical task that you can perform on yourself. :)

sidenote: Received my Passport from CGI Houston after 4 weeks.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Cool it...

This portal is about people's experiences and not meant to bad mouth our country. Differenct people have different experiences and by sharing you learn and try to be careful.

Like Superman pointed out he applied for N400 before me but was unfortunately delayed in the process...

Prasad, I got my Indian passports cancelled at the Visa Camp on 04-07-2007 and went there at about 09:00 a.m., and was done with the process by 10:30 a.m., - so my experience is different from yours.

Let's not try to put down the country where we were born and our parents still belong.

------------------------------
-------------------
N-400
PD: 01/04/07
FP: 02/01/07
ID: 03/13/2007 - same day oath

Passport Appled: 03/24/07
Passport Recieved: 04/05/07
Indian Psprt Cancellation: 4/07/07 - at Visa Camp
Filled Online : 04/09/07
Sent Part A & Part B : 04/11/07
Recd at Houston: 04/13/07
Date of Acknowledgment : 04/30/07
Photo/Signature Scanned :
Registration status Granted :
Documents Printed :
Documents Despatched From Delhi :
Documents Received at Houston :
Passport Mailed to Houston :
Passport + OCI booklet received :
 
Literacy is a powerful tool. I hope people posting here without using that tool can learn to use it. No one is putting down India here. Only the problems with CGI Houston's modus operandi.

NSS like you said, thats your experience. My experience with these folks has been nothing but the worst including my PP renewal and other services. So I am expressing my opinion.

There are people who applied 6 months before Superman and I applied. They are still waiting. What to do? You can't tell those folks not to complain.

Finally, I am tired with these Pseudo Patriots. These are the same people who ran away to greener pastures, for F1, H1, Green Card, Citizenship and all of a sudden pretend like their heritage, cutlture bla blah is wonderful. I did all the mentioned above and I still like/respect my original country. That doesn't mean we can't express my frustation with this consulate. If we do that, we don't automatically become traitors. Talk to any desi and they will bitch and moan about how inefficient USCIS is. According to desis, thats OK to complain about USCIS. But if you complain about one beauracratic Indian Govt office, we will remember our heritage, our lovey dovey culture.

Finally I reserve my right to express how I feel about this consulate. This will be my last post on this topic, unless someone becomes personal.

Goodluck to all the Patriots :D

Prasad
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello NSS:

I know you are busy but please provide info.

You said you cancelled your Indian PP at the visa camp. Is it Atlanta Visa camp ?

Did you write a letter and provide copy of your Naturalization Certificate and also your USA PP?

Did they give it to you right there itself ?

Did you apply for Indian Visa also at the camp ?

Thanks for your time.

-savithari
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top