Houston Consulate, please process the O.C.I application that came BEFORE TRAVISA. -Thanks

super_duper

Registered Users (C)
Everyone,

If you have already gotten your O.C.I and 'U' visa in your hand, and you had to go through TRAVISA to acquire this, then I have a special request for those people.

As many of you already know from the C.G.I-Houston website that, C.G.I-Houston have outsourced the portion of the O.C.I service to TRAVISA, and that happened on 15th March, 2011. If you don't believe, then please read the quote, which I have copied and pasted from the C.G.I-Houston website.

Consulate General of India, Houston has outsourced the handling of OCI applications to M/s Travisa Outsourcing. The outsourcing arrangement in respect of the areas falling under the consular jurisdiction of Consulate General of India, Houston (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas) has come into effect from 15th March, 2011.

So, having said all of this, then it should be logical to everyone here on this forum as well as those who are actually reading this message that, people that went BEFORE TRAVISA should be able to get their O.C.I application approved and printed in timely manner. Of course, this should be done in accordance to the application date in which they are received, or applied online. In other words, the principle of "first come, first serve" should be followed.

Well, however, that is not happening. Everyone has already heard that, or will read it on this forum.

Houston Consulate is just sitting on the application and taking their sweet time, while people applying through TRAVISA are getting theirs approved and printed within One to Two months.

This is unfair, and life is supposed to be fair, well at least in theory it should be, and in someways practically it should also, but as one can see that is not seem to be happening here.

As I said, or written in this case, before in the beginning of the message that I have special request, and here is that special request:

Everyone, who live in Houston Consulate Jurisdiction, and have already gotten their 'U' Visa, and O.C.I cards in their hands after 15th March, 2011 and had to go through TRAVISA. Please complain on behalf of others who are still waiting for their O.C.I applications to be processed, granted, and printed ever since applying online, and sending it straight to the Houston Consulate in the following months: September 2010, through February 2011.

Please complain on our behalf. They, the Houston Consulate that is, will be more likely to listen to the people who have already gotten theirs O.C.I cards, and 'U' Visa stickers before the people who are just waiting ever since either beginning of this year 2011 or even before the year 2011.


Thanks to all the people who have already complained prior this message on our behalf.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If one wishes to visit the C.G.I-Houston website which contains the O.C.I section, then here is their web link:
Special Note: Please take out the extra space after one has copied and pasted this into the U.R.L box. - Thanks
http : / /www . cgihouston . org / OverseasCitizenship . html
 
It's not just Houston, it's happening everywhere. Houston stands out a little more because they were already way behind in processing the applications in the given amount of time, which is why when the service was outsourced to Travisa, Houston still had a processing period of 6 months. They need to install an OCI printing machine at Houston consulate itself to clear up the backlog of applications. Travisa sends the applications directly to the consulate after verifying them, where as there's no one to verify the applications that were already received by the consulates before Travisa kicked in. Lazy employees at the consulates could have cleared up the backlog, but they didn't. And now they've gotten so lazy that they let Travisa do their work for them.

Jai ho India...
 
Speakamericano,

you say that this is prevalent in all of the other consulates, but if I understand correctly from reading your other posts you have posted throughout this entire forum, you are in San Francisco Consulate Jurisdiction. From looking at the San Francisco Consulate's website it seems they are in much better position than the Houston Consulate. I know it seems redundant for me to say such things when you have already in your reply stated all of this.

Anyways, if you could create new thread, not just for me, but for others who might also be interested in knowing status at different consulates as to how many people's O.C.I application have been on hold BEFORE TRAVISA. In other words, please create four (4) new thread on this forum for: San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York, and Chicago's respectively, and give it a title of something along the lines of "Please complain on behalf of others whose sent their O.C.I application BEFORE TRAVISA " or something like that.

I created this thread is because I was getting impatient, and I was getting angry at the Houston Consulate for not taking care of the people that came before TRAVISA, so I thought I can not get angry at the people that went through TRAVISA, but I can at least request those people to complain on our behalf.

I think you have already gotten your O.C.I card or O.C.I booklet along with 'U' Visa sticker in your hand.

You can start by complaining to San Francisco Consulate, and I am sure others will follow you.

Also, off the topic for a second here, you have written some very funny Hindi jokes and also communicated very well writing that in english. Sometimes it was hard to make out some of the words, but if I pronounce it enough times, then I might be able to match it closest to the sound in Hindi. But overall it was funny as hack.

anyways, keep on blogging on this forum, and many will get the much needed answers regarding the O.C.I troubles.
 
I understand your frustration. It took my aunt 3 months just to receive her Renunciation stuff back from Travisa where as it took me less than 2 weeks. I've submitted complaints to Travisa in SF, but have never received an email back from them. But when my aunt complained in the second month of submitting her renunciation paperwork, they immediately sent her a reply saying, "oops! hold on tight...you're on a travisa ride. And uska Brake fail hai."
If I were in your shoes, my best option would have been to withdraw the application from the consulate and apply again with Travisa (they suck too, but at least they get your paperwork back in 3 months or less as compared to the consulate who sit on it and forget about it)
But again, it's better to hold on tight.. Have you checked the immihelp tracker.. This another guy recently got his timeline moving today, since he applied for OCI last year and there were not any updates since December... Just wait for a week or two..You'll eventually get your things back...

Abhi Baba Ramdev pakad ke laana padega Ameerika mein jo inko "spot in the line" samjha sake... They're seriously giving priority to the Travisa applicants. Yes, I've already gotten my OCI back from these idiots. But they gave me a heck of time too over the name correction issue. Luckily the USCIS immigration officer was friendly and "smarter" as compared to travisa..
 
I understand your frustration. It took my aunt 3 months just to receive her Renunciation stuff back from Travisa where as it took me less than 2 weeks. I've submitted complaints to Travisa in SF, but have never received an email back from them. But when my aunt complained in the second month of submitting her renunciation paperwork, they immediately sent her a reply saying, "oops! hold on tight...you're on a travisa ride. And uska Brake fail hai."
If I were in your shoes, my best option would have been to withdraw the application from the consulate and apply again with Travisa (they suck too, but at least they get your paperwork back in 3 months or less as compared to the consulate who sit on it and forget about it)
But again, it's better to hold on tight.. Have you checked the immihelp tracker.. This another guy recently got his timeline moving today, since he applied for OCI last year and there were not any updates since December... Just wait for a week or two..You'll eventually get your things back...

Abhi Baba Ramdev pakad ke laana padega Ameerika mein jo inko "spot in the line" samjha sake... They're seriously giving priority to the Travisa applicants. Yes, I've already gotten my OCI back from these idiots. But they gave me a heck of time too over the name correction issue. Luckily the USCIS immigration officer was friendly and "smarter" as compared to travisa..

I understand your frustration with CGI Houston. We had a very bitter experience with CGI Houston for my mother-in-laws OCI application. It took more than 4 months for them to process the OCi application. This happened last summer. We checked the status online and when it showed the status as document recieved we mailed her US passport to Houston office and they unnecessarily held on the passsport for no reason for more than 4 weeks. When we called emailed we didnt get a single reply back. Ultimately one of my distant relative who stays in Houston went to the CGI office in-person and picked up my mother-in-laws US passport which was simple lying on the table. They had no answer for holding on to Us passport.
 
speakamericano
I understand your frustration. It took my aunt 3 months just to receive her Renunciation stuff back from Travisa where as it took me less than 2 weeks. I've submitted complaints to Travisa in SF, but have never received an email back from them. But when my aunt complained in the second month of submitting her renunciation paperwork, they immediately sent her a reply saying, "oops! hold on tight...you're on a travisa ride. And uska Brake fail hai."
If I were in your shoes, my best option would have been to withdraw the application from the consulate and apply again with Travisa (they suck too, but at least they get your paperwork back in 3 months or less as compared to the consulate who sit on it and forget about it)
But again, it's better to hold on tight.. Have you checked the immihelp tracker.. This another guy recently got his timeline moving today, since he applied for OCI last year and there were not any updates since December... Just wait for a week or two..You'll eventually get your things back...

Abhi Baba Ramdev pakad ke laana padega Ameerika mein jo inko "spot in the line" samjha sake... They're seriously giving priority to the Travisa applicants. Yes, I've already gotten my OCI back from these idiots. But they gave me a heck of time too over the name correction issue. Luckily the USCIS immigration officer was friendly and "smarter" as compared to travisa..

Bhaag Bhaag DK Bose...
Speakamericano,

Okay, I am not going to withdraw this application. Here is my reasoning for this:

(1.) I do not want to wait for another 2 months to get this thing done right. (which you know is wrong is because Consulate will take up to August, 2011 or September, 2011. Worst case scenario will be anything after January 2012.)

(2.) I do not want to spend any more money on this than I have to at this point.

(3.) TRAVISA has their own $12 or $13 ( forgot which is amount is true ) non-refundable fee, or as I like to call in Hindi, their 'chai pani kharcha' per person or per head. Which I absolutely DO NOT want to pay.

(4.) TRAVISA is not flexible like Houston Consulate in regards to what they accept is the valid method of payment towards the mailing.
TRAVISA demands that you send them blank pre-postage mail envelope so that they can mail you the Passport, 'U' Visa on your foreign passport, or on United States Passport. I already sent Houston Consulate my mailing fee in the form of money order.
I could be wrong in this regards to the mailing situations, but I am most certain that this is the case with TRAVISA.

Well, those are some of my reason to NOT to withdraw the applications from Houston Consulate directly.

Immihelp is nice website where they give you a nice table where anyone can tell you how long exactly with dates in appropriate boxes, so you get the idea really quick.

But what is missing from that website the personal touch that only comes with people telling their horror stories.

Aside from all of this, I always like your Hindi Jokes that you incorporate in your response.

Thanks for replying.
 
As I said, withdrawing your OCI may not be the best option at this point. Just hold on tight. There's a few others who crack Travisa jokes, Ginnu ji and Kungfu ji are among some of them... Recently Amitabh Bachan Ji joined the SF Travisa forums. He seems to be having good experience with Travisa. As long as sabka chai paani chalta rahi, aur hamein kya chahiye... Bus sirf mere account mein 50 lakh dollar aa jayein aur ek shaandar Maserati aa jaye.. Hamein bhi to koi chai paane pooche.
 
@Speakamericano Tumne mujhe Kungfu ji kaha?..dhhatt ek jhatke mein bbudhha bana diya mujhe? Abhi toh main jawan hoon.LOL.
Aur yeh kya itne low standards? Bus 50 lakh dollar hi chahiyen tumhe? Itna ka toh laloojee ki gayen roz chaara kha jaati hain!!!
 
dsufac wrote

OCI wait driving me crazy

I mailed my application in 10/27/10 and ack on 1/7/11 and since then no movement at all, I got tired and talked to the under secretary for OCI cell in New Delhi, he asked me to send an email about this delay to him. I did email him couple of days back and no reply so far but I want to request everyone waiting to send an email about the waiting time at Houston for OCI. the email address is jsf@nic.in

All the best to all waiting and hope the wait ends soon.


Whoever 's O.C.I application was sent to Houston Consulate last year ( last year being 2010 ), or beginning of this year (this year being 2011) BEFORE TRAVISA, and have not had any movement since then, please send an electronic mail to: jsf @ nic . in .

I will soon join dsufac as soon as my 6 long months of waiting period is over.

My 6 months wait period does got get over until beginning or the end of August, 2011.

I am counting my waiting period to be from acknowledgment month, which was month of February, 2011.

I know I am counting the time period a completely wrong way, but I am giving those slow moving pokes at the Houston Consulate a little more time than they deserve.
 
kis gadthey ne lallo ji ka naam 'lallo' rakhne ka socha tha?
gi si nay bhe ye socha tha usko do laateyin marni chaheyin.
 
super ji.... lallo ki bhains he marregi laat usko jisne lallo ka naam laalo rakha.. Have you heard the news about Baba Ramdev... Poor fella got himself involved in the political mess... Usse bhi shanti se raha nahi gaya... Khair Koi too chahiye Satyagrah karne wala...
 
speakamericano ji,
sirf itna kehna chata hoo ke mere pyare dosto thoda sambhal ke rehna.

yeha pe mere jaisa law main unpadh banda hota hai, aur woh dusre ke logo ko madad karne nikal padta hai. kabhi kabar madad karne mein galti ho jati hain to thoda yaha pe logo ko hoshiyar banane yeah to phir hoshiyar karne aaya tha aur main yeh he kehna chahata tha ki logo ko "professional lawyer" ko "hire" kar le na chahiye aur un logo ki ( 'un logo ki' ka matlab hota hai "Professional Licensed Lawyer") madad leni chahiye jis se mere pyre dosto ka kaam bhi badi aasan se ho jata hai aur galti hone ka moka bhi kam ho jata hai.

bus etna hi main kehna cha ta tha.
 
Top