OCI - New York Tracker

I received it in Expressmail envelope (postage of $14.40). They mailed it on Monday and it reached us on tuesday. Just like overnight FedEx.

I never received any email. I just responded to the status info from MHA website and confirmation from CGINY website. As a matter of fact CGINY website said my docs have reached the consulate two days before the satus on MHA said so. Good luck every one waiting out there.
 
CGINY On-site pick-up

Decided to pick up OCI documents on-site at CGINY. As other posters have indicated, no tokens required. Submit passport and surrender PIO card if you have one at Counter 7 between 9:15 and 11:30. You will be instructed to return around 12:30 to Counter 7 to pick up OCI documents. Proxy submission of passport and pick-up of OCI documents is allowed. Picked up the OCI documents for my wife and kids as well as for my in-laws. No authorization letters required.

One thing that I noticed about the "U" visa sticker :
It has a single field for the name that is labelled: Surname and Given Name (s)
but the names are listed <Given Name> <Surname>

It does not appear to be just our visas since other people who picked up their visas also had their names listed that way. The OCI certificate has the Surname and Given Name fields separated and the names are listed correctly .
 
mangal

Mangal,

You have been on this forum longer than I have been. Are you still waiting for your OCI, have already received it or are just a good samaritan showing people the way :)

In any case, good luck and thanks.

Immuser
 
Q: Applying OCI at CGNY....

Gurus,

If I am planning a trip to India Mid Aug what is the best option. OCI or PIO @ CGNY?
 
Immuser,
I have already received my OCI after going through hell and back...But i help out when i can.

pdev11,
If shridharp's experience is anything to go by apply for an OCI
What i would suggest is apply for your OCI and if the approval cuts too close to your departure time take a visitor visa for your period of stay.
If you want to play it safe go for a PIO.
It ultimately depends on when you want to depart and how long do you wish to stay.
 
shridharp said:
I did not do any specific things except near perfect documentation with application. I send out all documents, passport copies etc in 2 sets ( 1 with each application) and most important notarized each page.

My experience is exactly reverese to my US INS experience.

So bottom line is "India is Great" :)

Great, even I have been telling this forum that OCI is better than US and UK immigrant visas.
 
Just check UPS..

My OIC application has been delivered to the Indian consulate in NY at 03:30 p.m.

I used UPS ground.

I will post as soon as I see any change in status
 
hipka said:
Great, even I have been telling this forum that OCI is better than US and UK immigrant visas.

Finally My OCI card is delivered to NY emabasssy on 26th Jun. I am going to get stamped sometime next week. This is really great experience.

I LOVE MY INDIA :) :)

Here are my timelines -

Mail send with entire Application : 7 Jun06
Acknowledged on - 12 JUN 06
Approved ON - 13 JUN 06
Printed on - 14 Jun 06
Dispatched to NY on - 19 Jun 06
Received OCI card to New York on - 23 Jun 06
OCI status of NY updated with my Ack number on - 26 JUN 06
 
Wow!!

shridharp said:
Finally My OCI card is delivered to NY emabasssy on 26th Jun. I am going to get stamped sometime next week. This is really great experience.

I LOVE MY INDIA :) :)

Here are my timelines -

Mail send with entire Application : 7 Jun06
Acknowledged on - 12 JUN 06
Approved ON - 13 JUN 06
Printed on - 14 Jun 06
Dispatched to NY on - 19 Jun 06
Received OCI card to New York on - 23 Jun 06
OCI status of NY updated with my Ack number on - 26 JUN 06
MHA has really picked up steam on OCI processing and the consulates (at leat NY) are doing their part to speed up the overall process. Great! This is how it ought to be for any paid service.
 
mpotturi said:
MHA has really picked up steam on OCI processing and the consulates (at leat NY) are doing their part to speed up the overall process. Great! This is how it ought to be for any paid service.

For SFO it seems to be the worst of everything. I submitted (send) everything on 12th May and so far the status shows nothing. It's a shame that SFO consulate works so damn inefficiently.
 
shridharp said:
I applied OCI for my daughter in NY embassy in June. What is expected time to get OCI approved?

Here is the current status

Mail send on Date: 2 Jun 06
Acknowledgement Date: 12Jun06
Embassy: NY
Registration Status UnderProcess
Documents Printing Status NOT PRINTED
Documents Despatched From Delhi On NOT DISPATCHED
Documents Received at NEW YORK CGI NOT YET


Shridharp,
Once I mail the forms , do I receive an Acknowledgement letter and is it from your local CGI or from india ?
 
I haven't recieved anything either

It maybe due to the July 4th weekend.

I have not recieved any acknowledgment or my cancelled passport back.
 
When to send the US passports?

So far my experience has been smooth.

Application Sent: May 31
Got a call from NYC OCI a few days later saying that they need copies of my US Naturalization cert and Birth cert of my kids.
Acknowledgment: Jun 9
Status Granted: Jun 13
Printed: Jun 14
Dispatched: Jun 17
Documents received at NYC CGI: Jun 26

The arrival details shows all the 4 file nos: along with a OCI Visa no.

What do I do next? The OCI-FAQ at the CGI web site tells to wait to hear from the CGI before sending the passport. On the OCI card arrival section there is a statment indicating that no letters will be sent. Confused??

If I were to mail the passports for the entire family, what's the return mailing cost for the entire, is it still $15?

Any info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
daniel
 
mangal969 said:
Acknowledged simply means they have confirmed that you have sent in the payment and documents.
All the checking verification etc is yet to happen.

how long on an average does it take to get this Acknowdge message ?
 
Notarised copy of US & Indian Passports

I have completed OCI Part A application online and have received refernce no.
online. I have part A and B printed and filling them to mail to consulate general of india, New York. I have following questions:

1) CGI-NY require notarised copies of us and indian passports. The notary I talked to says she can only notarise signature. I live in new jersey.
Can some one tell me, where can I get the copies of passports notarised that will be acceptable to CGI-NY. Iam looking for a place in Monmouth county or Middlesex county (Edison or Brunswicks area), or manhattan. What notary will have to do beside affixing the raised seal and stamped (ink) seal.
What should I do about this notarized business.

2) Do I need to notarise only one page of indian passport or two pages. I understand they notarise copies at CGI-NY also. I understand they charge $10.00 per document. So for one page of us passport and two pages of indian passport, I will have to pay $30.00 for each application, with a total of $60.00 for two applications.

3) CGI-NY instructions say, photo background should not be white. Should be some light color background. Is this absolutely required. How many photos do I need. 2 (one photo pasted to each application) or 5 (2 on applications and 3 loose extra ones) or some other number.

4) I am planning to go India in early September. I do not know if I will be able to get my OCI card in time. Does some one know how long does it take to get PIO card. Can I apply for PIO card in person at CGI-NY or will have to apply by mail only. I understand I will be able to convert PIO card to OCI card later by paying $25.00 Does PIO card processed gets proceesed in CGI-NY itself or it has to be approved from India.

Any replies will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
 
Didnt notarise any photocopies....

I mailed out my application on Jun14th. The MHA site said it was approved on Jun26th, printed on Jun27th and the OCI has been recieved by CGNY on Jul5th.

To answer ur questions...
Ans.1: I didnt notarize anything any of the photocopies. I figured they're anyway going to get my original US passport & PIO card when its time for them to stamp the OCI, so if I have misrepresented something, and they wanted to create a fuss about it, they will ask for clarifications or send the whole thing back. But, I have the luxury of time - I have no plans on going to India until next year.
Ans2. I sent only the front and back page copies unnotarized.
Ans3. They accepted my CVS Pharmacy standard-sized photo. I was expecting them to create a fuss, but they didnt. Again, I was prepared to have them send it back the second time (they sent the whole pkg back once in May - when I had downloaded the Part A application and not applied online on the insecure MHA site).
Ans4. They seem to have picked up their processing speed, so if yoou're planning to go in September, you could go ahead with an OCI application. However, be prepared to drive into CGNY at the last minute to get a vanilla visitor-visa. It should be easier since you're in NJ.

-SR
 
Thank you vw95gls,
Your reply has been very useful. I want to sincerly thank you for your reply.
It will save me lot of time, effort and worroying about visa hassles in going to India. I will be going to India after 7 years. Before that I went to India after
20 years. Iam glad to see a change in Indian government mentality regarding
visas. I will mail out my OCI application in a day or two, hopefully I will get
OCI card before leaving in September. If not then I will get 6 month visa.
1) Does some one know the Fee for 6 month visa. I understand that Fee for
6 month visa is $60.00 and for 5 year visa is $150.00. Is this correct.
2) What is the difference between Tourist visa and Entry Visa.
Are they same.
Again thank you very much.
 
vw95gls,
Could you kindly let me know how many photos did you use in the process.
2 photos (one affixed to each of the two applications) or more than 2.
Thank you again.
 
2photos for OCI application

I sent in 2 photos for the OCI application. They were taken at CVS Pharmacy (you get 24 photos for $8 - Sweet deal) and are regular US Passport sized.

Ensure that it is NOT stapled to the application (they'll be scanning the photos so staple marks wont do). I used a regular scotch tape folded to just stick the photo to the application sheet. This ensures its stuck to the application paper, but easily removable at the same time.

Another reason for not sending notarised copies of passports (main reason being I'm lazy & cheap to go through all the insane hoops that these babus dream up): I've renewed my Indian passports, got PIO cards done over the past 15 years, all at CGNY - I figure if they havent got a basic file about me, that would be really DUMB, and another notarized photocopy isnt going to make any difference.

-SR
 
vw95gls,
CVS tip is good. I checked with local CVS. They charge 7.99 plus tax for 4-5
passport size photos. This is a good deal considering that local Eckerd pharmacy charges 7.99 plus tax for 2 photos. Probably you got them on sale.

Using single sided scotch Tape and folding it to make a double sided tape and to use it to paste a photo to the application is a neat tip. I will try it.

Your situation was little bit different though. You already had a PIO card.
I hope these tips work for me. I will keep it posted.
Thank you again.
 
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