OCI - Houston Tracker

Applied for OCI along with Surrender Certificate.

05/17/2012 Service order form completed online
05/29/2012 OCI application arrived in the mail at Travisa
05/29/2012 Documents prepared to go to Embassy
05/31/2012 Documents dispatched from Travisa
05/31/2012 Documents received by Consulate

05/31/2012 Acknowledged at Mission
05/31/2012 Photo/Signature at Mission: Scanned
08/10/2012 Registration Status at Mission: Granted
08/13/2012 Documents Printing Status: Printed

06/XX/2012 Dispatched From MOIA (OCI ):
06/XX/2012 Documents Received at CGI HOUSTON
 
Applied for OCI & Surrender Certificate

Here is my timeline:
08/09/12: Service Order Completed online
08/13/12: Documents received at Travisa
08/17/12: Documents received at Consulate
 
osheth said:
Applied for OCI along with Surrender Certificate.

05/17/2012 Service order form completed online
05/29/2012 OCI application arrived in the mail at Travisa
05/29/2012 Documents prepared to go to Embassy
05/31/2012 Documents dispatched from Travisa
05/31/2012 Documents received by Consulate

05/31/2012 Acknowledged at Mission
05/31/2012 Photo/Signature at Mission: Scanned
08/10/2012 Registration Status at Mission: Granted
08/13/2012 Documents Printing Status: Printed

06/XX/2012 Dispatched From MOIA (OCI ):
06/XX/2012 Documents Received at CGI HOUSTON
Click to expand...

wowwwww it took almost 2.5 months from Photo/Sign scan to OCI Granted status!!!!!!!!!! Is that usual? Our OCI application photo/sign was scanned on 7/18. When should we accept our OCI granted?
 
Urgent trip to India---just got US Citizenship certificate

Hello All, I have read the forums, i need to go INDIA in Sept/OCT and i just applied for US Passport, i will get passport in 10days but if i apply for Visiting Visa to INDIA for 6 months and when i come back from INDIA , Can i apply for OCI CARD?, As per this thread-Houston tracker its takes an average of 3 months, so if i apply for OCI card in Sept it would take 3 months.. i have below 3 options?

1. Appy for Visit Visa for 6 months and once i come back from india i can apply for OCI card, Is there any problem for OCI card to get approved if i travel india for one time on visit visa and apply for OCI card later?


2. Apply for both OCI Card and Visit visa in same month and go india on Visit visa and give US Passport for OCI card when its ready in 3 months?

3. Apply for both OCI Card and Visit visa and go to INDIA for vacation and pick up OCI card in Delhi consulate and come to USA on OCI card?..Is this possible or apply OCI card directly at Delhi consulate? i am from hyderabad.

PLEASE ADVICE.!
 
skris912 said:
Hello All, I have read the forums, i need to go INDIA in Sept/OCT and i just applied for US Passport, i will get passport in 10days but if i apply for Visiting Visa to INDIA for 6 months and when i come back from INDIA , Can i apply for OCI CARD?, As per this thread-Houston tracker its takes an average of 3 months, so if i apply for OCI card in Sept it would take 3 months.. i have below 3 options?

1. Appy for Visit Visa for 6 months and once i come back from india i can apply for OCI card, Is there any problem for OCI card to get approved if i travel india for one time on visit visa and apply for OCI card later?
No problem. But you must get Renunciation certificate for your Indian passport before getting a visitor visa.

2. Apply for both OCI Card and Visit visa in same month and go india on Visit visa and give US Passport for OCI card when its ready in 3 months?
Yes, it works fine

3. Apply for both OCI Card and Visit visa and go to INDIA for vacation and pick up OCI card in Delhi consulate and come to USA on OCI card?..Is this possible or apply OCI card directly at Delhi consulate? i am from hyderabad.
I doubt if this option can work well. AFAIK OCI card is printed at Delhi, so they may or many not allow you to just pick up OCI if it's filled in USA. I know the fact that OCI application can be filled while you are in India, but one of my relative stuck in India for over 6 months to get OCI. So I don't recommend to apply for OCI in India.
PLEASE ADVICE.!
Click to expand...

Going to India on visitor visa does not make you disqualify to apply for OCI card.
I had a similar situation couple of years ago. I had applied for OCI immediately after I got my US passport, and I had to travel to India in less than 3 months. I knew OCI procedure sucks and most likely I won't get it in hand in 3 months. So I went with this route and worked out well for me:
1. Applied for OCI and Renunciation together (at that time Indian embassy was handling both and not Travisa)
2. I waited for 2 months but did not get anything in hand. So I went to Indian embassy and asked for my renunciation certificate, since I applied two months ago so they gave it to me immediately.
3. On the same day I went to Travisa (they were handling visitor/entry visa application) and applied for 6 months entry visa. Got the visa stamped on USA passport in 3 business days.
4. I went to India for 4 weeks and came back. OCI was ready at Indian Embassy, so I sent my USA passport and got it back in less than one week.

I think you should first get renunciation immediately, and then just get entry visa for the duration you are planning to stay in India. You may also send OCI application before you leave USA (so your OCI wait time is not wasted while you are in India), and you should have your OCI ready by the time you are back in USA.
 
1. Appy for Visit Visa for 6 months and once i come back from india i can apply for OCI card, Is there any problem for OCI card to get approved if i travel india for one time on visit visa and apply for OCI card later?
No problem. But you must get Renunciation certificate for your Indian passport before getting a visitor visa.

Thanks Smart84, can you please advice me how should i apply for Renunciation certificate?






smart84 said:
Going to India on visitor visa does not make you disqualify to apply for OCI card.
I had a similar situation couple of years ago. I had applied for OCI immediately after I got my US passport, and I had to travel to India in less than 3 months. I knew OCI procedure sucks and most likely I won't get it in hand in 3 months. So I went with this route and worked out well for me:
1. Applied for OCI and Renunciation together (at that time Indian embassy was handling both and not Travisa)
2. I waited for 2 months but did not get anything in hand. So I went to Indian embassy and asked for my renunciation certificate, since I applied two months ago so they gave it to me immediately.
3. On the same day I went to Travisa (they were handling visitor/entry visa application) and applied for 6 months entry visa. Got the visa stamped on USA passport in 3 business days.
4. I went to India for 4 weeks and came back. OCI was ready at Indian Embassy, so I sent my USA passport and got it back in less than one week.

I think you should first get renunciation immediately, and then just get entry visa for the duration you are planning to stay in India. You may also send OCI application before you leave USA (so your OCI wait time is not wasted while you are in India), and you should have your OCI ready by the time you are back in USA.
Click to expand...
 
smart84 said:
wowwwww it took almost 2.5 months from Photo/Sign scan to OCI Granted status!!!!!!!!!! Is that usual? Our OCI application photo/sign was scanned on 7/18. When should we accept our OCI granted?
Click to expand...

It is unusually slow at Houston center. Other centers are much faster and processes oci in lot less than half compared to Houston. on Travisa website, they say it takes about 60 days at New Delhi however when I called them when it took more than 60 days, they said those are 60 business days. :mad:

Anyways it is almost over for me (see next post for details) so a big relief!!!
 
Applied for OCI along with Surrender Certificate.

05/17/2012 Service order form completed online
05/29/2012 OCI application arrived in the mail at Travisa
05/29/2012 Documents prepared to go to Embassy
05/31/2012 Documents dispatched from Travisa
05/31/2012 Documents received by Consulate
06/05/2012 Pending approval of the Government of India
05/31/2012 Acknowledged at Mission
05/31/2012 Photo/Signature at Mission: Scanned
08/10/2012 Registration Status at Mission: Granted
08/13/2012 Documents Printing Status: Printed
08/16/2012 Dispatched From MOIA (OCI)
08/22/2012 Documents Received at CGI HOUSTON​
08/22/2012 OCI Card received at the Consulate from Delhi. Waiting for original US passport to be sent to Travisa Outsourcing.
 
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skris912 said:
1. Appy for Visit Visa for 6 months and once i come back from india i can apply for OCI card, Is there any problem for OCI card to get approved if i travel india for one time on visit visa and apply for OCI card later?
No problem. But you must get Renunciation certificate for your Indian passport before getting a visitor visa.

Thanks Smart84, can you please advice me how should i apply for Renunciation certificate?
Click to expand...

here's the link to start Renunciation application process: https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/renunciation/guidelines
 
osheth said:
It is unusually slow at Houston center. Other centers are much faster and processes oci in lot less than half compared to Houston. on Travisa website, they say it takes about 60 days at New Delhi however when I called them when it took more than 60 days, they said those are 60 business days. :mad:

Anyways it is almost over for me (see next post for details) so a big relief!!!
Click to expand...

that sucks! We just finished one month and sounds like we may have to wait for another 5 to 6 weeks for an update.
 
OCI, Renunciation/Cancellation of Indian PP, etc

I recently have become an US citizen and am thorughly lost a bit.

I was an Indian citizen and need to apply for OCI card and I finally figured out that "what is lifetime visa means even after obtaining a new passport when it expires etc.".

Now i'm moving on and getting stuck with a few things -

a. I just applied for my US passport - normal processing type.
b. I read in various forums that i should get my passport -"Renunciation" from Indian Embassy.
c. For Renunciation, do I need my US passport?
d. Do I need Renunciation certificate at the time apply for OCI card?
e. Can I do both together(i.e Renunciation & OCI) or is it better to do it separately?
 
OCI/Renunciation resources

Please do let me knw if someone knows where the steps and processing involed with OCI and Renunciation on this forum, so I can get my answers faster.
 
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gcfordesi04 said:
Please do let me knw if someone knows where the steps and processing involed with OCI and Renunciation on this forum, so I can get my answers faster.
Click to expand...
I have recently applied for OCI card and renunciation together. Just follow the steps outlined in Travisa's website: indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com
 
gcfordesi04 said:
I recently have become an US citizen and am thorughly lost a bit.

I was an Indian citizen and need to apply for OCI card and I finally figured out that "what is lifetime visa means even after obtaining a new passport when it expires etc.".

Now i'm moving on and getting stuck with a few things -

a. I just applied for my US passport - normal processing type.
b. I read in various forums that i should get my passport -"Renunciation" from Indian Embassy.
c. For Renunciation, do I need my US passport?
d. Do I need Renunciation certificate at the time apply for OCI card?
e. Can I do both together(i.e Renunciation & OCI) or is it better to do it separately?
Click to expand...

Check out travisa website. They have detailed instructions for both Renunciation and OCI including which documents you need to complete the process. I recommend to apply them separately only if you are in need to travel to India in less than 3 months from now. Otherwise apply them together to Travisa.
 
gcfordesi04 said:
I finally figured out that "what is lifetime visa means even after obtaining a new passport when it expires etc.".
Click to expand...

I am with you :) who would teach them that when one has OCI, they don't need to have sticker on passport. May be we should show them that GC doesn't require you to have sticker on your passport.

e. Can I do both together(i.e Renunciation & OCI) or is it better to do it separately?
Click to expand...

If you are applying for OCI, it is best to do them both together.. when you would fill out/prepare oci application, there is a check box within it which would let you opt for Renunciation or Surrender Certificate (SC).

Congratulations and good luck !
 
osheth said:
I am with you :) who would teach them that when one has OCI, they don't need to have sticker on passport. May be we should show them that GC doesn't require you to have sticker on your passport.



If you are applying for OCI, it is best to do them both together.. when you would fill out/prepare oci application, there is a check box within it which would let you opt for Renunciation or Surrender Certificate (SC).

Congratulations and good luck !
Click to expand...

Thanks osheth!

I can apply together, how to separate the docs and package them to send to travisa? The reason I’m asking is, OCI is 2 step process... that means, one doesn't have to send the US passport until the OCI comes to travisa from New Delhi... well, that's true for surrender certificate case also,
- for surrender certificate --> Indian passport(original) with US passport copies &
- for OCI card --> US passport copies(… and later US passport original after intimation)

… then go back into waiting state until OCI comes back to Travisa notifies.

Is that pretty much what I can expect or do?
 
smart84 said:
Check out travisa website. They have detailed instructions for both Renunciation and OCI including which documents you need to complete the process. I recommend to apply them separately only if you are in need to travel to India in less than 3 months from now. Otherwise apply them together to Travisa.
Click to expand...

Thanks smart84!

We don’t have any travel plans at the moment for the next 6 months. I just applied for my US passport and in the interim, let me start working on preparing the documents.

I know in the OCI application/order form, they ask for the US passport number, can I still go ahead and complete that and start preparing the docs(and once after US passport arrives fill the PP number manually)?

The reason I want to do it that way, because there are plenty of documents we need to send in and that seems like need lot of time to put them all together?
 
Applying Surrender Certificate and OCI card together

Folks,

If I decided to apply for both Surrender Certificate and OCI card together, do I need to send 2 different return envelopes for travisa?

How do they return these documents back to applicant? does anyone have experience with that?

Regards
 
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Contact Social Security after becoming US citizen

During interview or oathing, I was told to contact to Social Security Office - does anyone why do we need to contact and if we have to how to contact them?
 
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