So here is my situation:
I need to travel to India on Fri, May 21. My OCI was approved and received by the consulate on May 12, so imagine my frustation when I read that they were now requesting a Surrender Certificate before they could issue the OCI booklet and that too by mail only. So I called the consulate and spoke to Mr. Bajaj (I was probably lucky since he picked up on my first try itself, I know others have tried and nobody answers the phones). Mr. Bajaj was very cordial and said to come down to the consulate with all the required documentation and they would take care of it the same day (both Surrender Certificate and OCI). So armed with that suggestion, I prepared my documentation in triplicate as follows:
1. Application form filled in and notarized (the old Microsoft Word form)
2. Copy of first 5 pages and last 2 pages on Indian passport
3. Copy of US passport
4. Copy of Naturalization Certificate
5. Money Order for $175
I made 3 sets of the above documents and took along my old Indian passport (for the cancellation) as well as the US Passport (for OCI sticker). I also took along with me a copy of my itinerary that showed I was booked to fly on May 21.
I reached the Consulate at 8:00am in the morning. There were maybe 10 people ahead of me. By 9:00am when the doors opened, there were atleast 60 or more people in the line behind me. There are two sets of windows, one on the left and one on the right. All visas and OCI matters are taken care of on the right. I went in to window 3 and gave the person my itinerary first, explained to him about my conversation with Mr. Bajaj and that I need to travel on Fri. He took my application for the Surrender Certificate along with the Indian Passport and gave me a receipt for the same. He explained that I would get the Surrender certificate at 4pm and then I could give him my US passport at that time and they would process the OCI then. Took maybe 2 mins and I was out of there.
Came back at 3pm and went up to the counter again. I was now told that it would be 4:30pm when they expected to give out the SCs. There was a bunch of people waiting for it. Finally around 5:00pm I got the Surrender Certificate. I rushed out to get some copies of it, came back immediately and gave him my US passport along with a copy of the SC. At about 5:30pm, I got my passport back with the OCI sticker and the OCI booklet.
The situation at the counters is a real mess. People were screaming at the folks behind the counter regarding their situations. There was a guy who had been coming for 3 days straight to get a visa processed and he could not get the SC, even though he had an emergency and had a death certificate to show. Another lady had driven down all the way from Ohio to get her SC, since she had to fly the next day and could not get her visa without the SC. I could tell you guys atleast another 10 stories of people who had been coming for 4 to 5 days now, all of them victims of this sudden change in the process requiring a Surrender Certificate. Apparently one guy threatened to commit suicide there
the day before and he still could not get the SC, he had to come in again today.
All throung the conversations with the guys behind the counter I was very cordial, even when waiting for the SC. In my opinion, the guys behind the counter are trying to do the best they can given the huge influx of applications. They are dealing with the same problem that we are, somebody higher up decided to change the rule all of a sudden and now the counter guys have to put up with people like us who will come in a shout because we are frustrated. All in all - a bad situation.
If you are travelling in the next few days, go into the consulate personally and get the Surrender Certificate done. They will take care of emergency situations. Hope this helps you folks out there.
I need to travel to India on Fri, May 21. My OCI was approved and received by the consulate on May 12, so imagine my frustation when I read that they were now requesting a Surrender Certificate before they could issue the OCI booklet and that too by mail only. So I called the consulate and spoke to Mr. Bajaj (I was probably lucky since he picked up on my first try itself, I know others have tried and nobody answers the phones). Mr. Bajaj was very cordial and said to come down to the consulate with all the required documentation and they would take care of it the same day (both Surrender Certificate and OCI). So armed with that suggestion, I prepared my documentation in triplicate as follows:
1. Application form filled in and notarized (the old Microsoft Word form)
2. Copy of first 5 pages and last 2 pages on Indian passport
3. Copy of US passport
4. Copy of Naturalization Certificate
5. Money Order for $175
I made 3 sets of the above documents and took along my old Indian passport (for the cancellation) as well as the US Passport (for OCI sticker). I also took along with me a copy of my itinerary that showed I was booked to fly on May 21.
I reached the Consulate at 8:00am in the morning. There were maybe 10 people ahead of me. By 9:00am when the doors opened, there were atleast 60 or more people in the line behind me. There are two sets of windows, one on the left and one on the right. All visas and OCI matters are taken care of on the right. I went in to window 3 and gave the person my itinerary first, explained to him about my conversation with Mr. Bajaj and that I need to travel on Fri. He took my application for the Surrender Certificate along with the Indian Passport and gave me a receipt for the same. He explained that I would get the Surrender certificate at 4pm and then I could give him my US passport at that time and they would process the OCI then. Took maybe 2 mins and I was out of there.
Came back at 3pm and went up to the counter again. I was now told that it would be 4:30pm when they expected to give out the SCs. There was a bunch of people waiting for it. Finally around 5:00pm I got the Surrender Certificate. I rushed out to get some copies of it, came back immediately and gave him my US passport along with a copy of the SC. At about 5:30pm, I got my passport back with the OCI sticker and the OCI booklet.
The situation at the counters is a real mess. People were screaming at the folks behind the counter regarding their situations. There was a guy who had been coming for 3 days straight to get a visa processed and he could not get the SC, even though he had an emergency and had a death certificate to show. Another lady had driven down all the way from Ohio to get her SC, since she had to fly the next day and could not get her visa without the SC. I could tell you guys atleast another 10 stories of people who had been coming for 4 to 5 days now, all of them victims of this sudden change in the process requiring a Surrender Certificate. Apparently one guy threatened to commit suicide there
the day before and he still could not get the SC, he had to come in again today. All throung the conversations with the guys behind the counter I was very cordial, even when waiting for the SC. In my opinion, the guys behind the counter are trying to do the best they can given the huge influx of applications. They are dealing with the same problem that we are, somebody higher up decided to change the rule all of a sudden and now the counter guys have to put up with people like us who will come in a shout because we are frustrated. All in all - a bad situation.
If you are travelling in the next few days, go into the consulate personally and get the Surrender Certificate done. They will take care of emergency situations. Hope this helps you folks out there.