India Dual Citizenship Mega Thread (Merged)

[hipka]

Hipka, good to see you are back in your old form after 3+ months! Pity the therapy didn't help

Yes, I'm back. Therapy won't help. I've spent several frustrating years in the US waiting for immigration benefits, so won't keep quiet when I hear comments like "customer service is great in the US" or 'the consulate simply hung up on me which would never happen in the US'.

 

[mangal969]

Living with USCIS I feel GOI is better! I am surprised that despite having endured total piece of sh*t treatment in the hands of US govt. for several years while waiting for greencard, NRI's expect prompt service from GoI, knowing fully well that they have contributed 0 dollars and zero cents as tax revenue to GoI.

ok, we have another brit here. I concede that the UK system is pretty good but thats not true here in the US. Also you are forgetting the fact that you waited 4 yrs and paid taxes without any rights to get a UK PR. Sure you may argue thats the way the law is but have you ever questioned the UK govt. on why you have to wait 4 yrs?? You meekly accept a 4 yr delay but rant out against a 4 week delay??
Calculate also your total tax contribution to UK vs. India. Remember to add the sales tax., social security etc. and convert tax paid in pounds to rupees. When you realize how much more you have paid in the UK, come out here and rant such that I can laugh!!

What has tax and revenue got to do any of this ?????
According to what you say the amount of tax you pay is the standard for determining a persons nationality.....?
You are complaining about paying taxes without nationality rights....Please remember that the tax is on the money you have earned in that country using that infrastructure and the facilities offered by that country.Live and earn in India and the UK will not charge you a pence in tax !
So if you really do want to sit and calculate tax contribution also factor in how much you earned in each country and the oppurtunities given to you.

 

[basis]

ok, we have another brit here. I concede that the UK system is pretty good but thats not true here in the US. Also you are forgetting the fact that you waited 4 yrs and paid taxes without any rights to get a UK PR. Sure you may argue thats the way the law is but have you ever questioned the UK govt. on why you have to wait 4 yrs?? You meekly accept a 4 yr delay but rant out against a 4 week delay??
Calculate also your total tax contribution to UK vs. India. Remember to add the sales tax., social security etc. and convert tax paid in pounds to rupees. When you realize how much more you have paid in the UK, come out here and rant such that I can laugh!!

What nonsense !!!!! OK I try to make sense out of this junk...

Calculated my tax contributions to UK and convert to Rupees. I have also converted the income and savings I made here.

OK tax is about 3 times the amount I have paid in india and savings are about 15 times. And why should i have a right to get UK PR when I came here???? I did not go there from day one to get PR. Eventually when i became elgible I applied for it. When I became eligible to apply for it - they did it on same day (within the norms they made known to public). I could have waited for six months if it was the norm that they published.

Here as well - after OCI you have to wait for 5 years to regain Indian citizenship. I have no complaints on that. On OCI GOI have set the norms, I have followed and complied with all the norms, fit in the rules set by them, made application according to their requirements alongwith the fees. Now they need to process it as per their committement. I have paid more amout to GOI for farcical PIO and OCI than the amount paid for british citizenship.

And again as a brit if I got the US, Germany, France, Aus and any other nation and acquire the other nationality - I dont loose the British nationality. What about that ? but as per indian laws I loose Indian nationality. That's a set rule and I respect and follow that. I dont shout why dont you follow Brit example.

Anyways - your rubbish makes me think that you are actually not in the US. but somewhere in India and it is sour grapes that's biting you.

 

[PIO1]

mangal, basis, others, just chill. Hipka likes to take his frustration out in this forum. Easiest to agree. Yes GoI has the best service by far. And I am so greatful for waiting for 15 months, and having my application returned. It gives me the opportunity to go for another 6 month visa while I wait! WOW now I will have three India stickers in my passport. Makes me feel so patriotic. Thank you Hipka for showing me the light.

 

[basis]

Yes, I'm back. Therapy won't help. I've spent several frustrating years in the US waiting for immigration benefits, so won't keep quiet when I hear comments like "customer service is great in the US" or 'the consulate simply hung up on me which would never happen in the US'.

Must be a complex case ... there r few such people from india who bring the whole country and community to shame. My experience is if one's case is straightforward and within rules then normally UK. US or other countries dont have any issues in giving them the rights as per rules. In case of GOI that's what is missing - perfectly legitimate cases are also not processed within the norms they have set.

 

[Krutika]

Hi Krutika,

Did you get any news regarding the status of your application?

I am also trying to get update about my application. I will post it

as soon I receive them.

Hi OCICHICAGO,

I have not heard anything ...after my phone conversation I am now hesitant to do anything more. I will wait till March 14 and them email them to find out my status. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I hear something before that. I will certainly keep you posted if I hear anything.

 

[helper]

OCI Question and update ??

I called Indian Consulate in San Francisco. They mentioned that it takes about 4.5 month to get OCI ( if someone will apply now ) .

Q ) Can you accept a private job in India once you acquired OCI ?

Q) How does the Taxes works on income from source in India ? I beleive all the US citizens have to file US taxes irrespective of where they live.

Please comment !

 

[PIO1]

I called Indian Consulate in San Francisco. They mentioned that it takes about 4.5 month to get OCI ( if someone will apply now ) .

Q ) Can you accept a private job in India once you acquired OCI ?

Q) How does the Taxes works on income from source in India ? I beleive all the US citizens have to file US taxes irrespective of where they live.

Please comment !

Don't listen to the consulate. I think 4.5 weeks is about right, not months - though lets see ...

Q1 - private jobs are OK - not govt
Q2 - there is a tax treaty (links in previous post) between India-US that means you don't pay tax twice. US tax depends on residency not citizenship, so if you spend 6 months+1 day in India, you don't need to file regardless of citizenship (please check with tax accountant)

 

[PIO1]

Must be a complex case ... there r few such people from india who bring the whole country and community to shame. My experience is if one's case is straightforward and within rules then normally UK. US or other countries dont have any issues in giving them the rights as per rules. In case of GOI that's what is missing - perfectly legitimate cases are also not processed within the norms they have set.

Though I must say, that immigration everywhere is a farce. If they were genuine, they would have open borders. At the very least processing would take weeks not months or years. There is a fear in the west that if they had no immigration, all the poor mases from Asia, Africa etc would overrun US/UK etc.

 

[PIO1]

Got ours and around 290 + others approved. Details are on their website

Because the OCI and U-Visa comes pre-printed from India, they need your US passport details. The 2004 app did not ask for this. For some reason the staff in Chicago requested a photocopy of your US passport back in 04/05. This is why Chicago is probably the only C.G in the world that has so many approvals. Well done!

 

[akkcausa]

OCI Card errors

I collected my OCI card from SFO and found that there are numerous errors in various things such as dates, sex. There was one other person who also had similar errors.

All those collecting cards please go through with a microscope
The errors might appear trivial but we have all heard about cases where someone at the airport will insist that this error is 'unacceptable' and is subject to harassment at 3 am after a 22 hour flight...

 

[Indian4]

What nonsense !!!!! OK I try to make sense out of this junk...

Calculated my tax contributions to UK and convert to Rupees. I have also converted the income and savings I made here.

OK tax is about 3 times the amount I have paid in india and savings are about 15 times. And why should i have a right to get UK PR when I came here???? I did not go there from day one to get PR. Eventually when i became elgible I applied for it. When I became eligible to apply for it - they did it on same day (within the norms they made known to public). I could have waited for six months if it was the norm that they published.

Here as well - after OCI you have to wait for 5 years to regain Indian citizenship. I have no complaints on that. On OCI GOI have set the norms, I have followed and complied with all the norms, fit in the rules set by them, made application according to their requirements alongwith the fees. Now they need to process it as per their committement. I have paid more amout to GOI for farcical PIO and OCI than the amount paid for british citizenship.

And again as a brit if I got the US, Germany, France, Aus and any other nation and acquire the other nationality - I dont loose the British nationality. What about that ? but as per indian laws I loose Indian nationality. That's a set rule and I respect and follow that. I dont shout why dont you follow Brit example.

Anyways - your rubbish makes me think that you are actually not in the US. but somewhere in India and it is sour grapes that's biting you.

HI basis please do not waste your time and effort on the silly-billy(hipka). We are here to help each other by sharing as much info possible about OCI. This whole forum is taking a twist for the last 3-4 days because of her "Hipka's ignorance and disrespect for others". Mangal, Pio, Basis, Qwert, OCIGUY and fitness keep doing ur good work.

 

[Indian4]

I collected my OCI card from SFO and found that there are numerous errors in various things such as dates, sex. There was one other person who also had similar errors.

All those collecting cards please go through with a microscope
The errors might appear trivial but we have all heard about cases where someone at the airport will insist that this error is 'unacceptable' and is subject to harassment at 3 am after a 22 hour flight...

Mate type it yourself dont send it for correction it will take another year. This is wot NZ does anyway they handwrite on PIO cards with smudge seal missing letters in the seal of GOI--All "i" in the PIO are lowers case and so on.. SO if you handwrite it or print it no one will know cuz thats wot they r gonna do anyway

 

[fitness99]

Mate type it yourself dont send it for correction it will take another year. This is wot NZ does anyway they handwrite on PIO cards with smudge seal missing letters in the seal of GOI--All "i" in the PIO are lowers case and so on.. SO if you handwrite it or print it no one will know cuz thats wot they r gonna do anyway

I don't understand why the GoI does not computer print the details in the passport/PIO/OIC when they charge so much money...they still handwrite...and with several corrections....even my PIO card has smudged/corrected information in it....maybe they can buy some printers and computers....I am sure they will get a good deal!

 

[mangal969]

Mate type it yourself dont send it for correction it will take another year. This is wot NZ does anyway they handwrite on PIO cards with smudge seal missing letters in the seal of GOI--All "i" in the PIO are lowers case and so on.. SO if you handwrite it or print it no one will know cuz thats wot they r gonna do anyway

Dont take a risk like that.Give it to the consulate for correction.They usually write the corrections on a seperate page and sign it with the consulate seal.If you do the corrections yourself you may find yourself in more trouble than you anticipate withthe mistakes.

 

[akkcausa]

OCI Card errors

The OCI Cards are computer printed and they actually look professional. But someone has been careless in the work - maybe it was the 'sudden awakening' and trying to process 2000+ applications in a rush...

The other information I came to know was that of the 2000+ US/Canada 2004 applicantions, about 400 have been returned for allegedly not having required information - that is about 20%!

 

[OCICHICAGO]

Krutika,

Thanks. If you go to the online status inquiry and put file numbers (minus or plus your

file number), you will observe that there are many applicants like us (applied to

Chicago i.e. with USACxxxxxxxx file numbers) whose online status

inquiry is showing that their OCI was granted on January, 2006. However, their

names (like us) are missing from the 2006 OCI list posted in the Chicago consulate

website. It is really interesting to note that people who applied after us got their

OCI certificates and U Visas before us. These people got their OCI granted on February

2006. I have e-mailed and faxed to the consulate and awaiting their response. Will

post whenever I get any reply from the Consulate.

 

[qwert97]

Spoke to a friend and all CGI Toronto has come up with a process that is not followed by any of other embassies/ consulates:

1. Complete part A online.
2. Print part B
3. Take an appointment with the CGI, Toronto and at the time of appointment take the original documents and copies which will be verified by the CGI, Toronto. I must mention that currently they are giving appointments for end May/early June. The onus of taking the appointment rests with the applicant so if he does not take the appointment obviously the application is not processed.
4. Once the documents are verified I assume CGI will clear the on-line status and the documents will be forwarded to MHA/MOIA. If MHA/MOIA are efficient they will probably send the OCI/U visa in 1-2 months so for people applying now I do not foresee anybody getting the OCI until July/August.

I wonder how the consulates are allowed to make their own rules. Amazing isn't it?

 

[qwert97]

Dont take a risk like that.Give it to the consulate for correction.They usually write the corrections on a seperate page and sign it with the consulate seal.If you do the corrections yourself you may find yourself in more trouble than you anticipate withthe mistakes.

I agree with Mangal. SInce the OCI card is laminated you cannot make any changes anyway. However make sure that the mistakes are material so if the name of father or mother is spelled incorrectly I would not worry about it as long as your name, passport number is spelled correctly.

 

[Indian4]

I agree with Mangal. SInce the OCI card is laminated you cannot make any changes anyway. However make sure that the mistakes are material so if the name of father or mother is spelled incorrectly I would not worry about it as long as your name, passport number is spelled correctly.

Hi Qwert/ MAngal

I didnt mean it in true sense when i said to correct it themslvs(Well no one wud do it any way) I was jus havn a chuckle as usual at the inefficiency of GOI and the total unprofessionalism---