ginnu, just mailed everyone on your list describing the mess at CGNY...hopefully it has some effect.
Mr Dutta Thank youDear Mr. Dutta,
You may please let us know regarding your specific case which, as per your assessment, has not been given due attention by the Consulate.
Requirement of Surrender Certificate is a stipulation of Government of India and the Consulate is bound to implement it as per the directives of the Government.
While the Consulate is neither short on manpower nor will power, you may appreciate that the new requirement has greatly increased Consulate’s workload. Despite this, we are extremely sensitive to any hardship that may be faced by the applicants on account of this requirement. We have opened special counters to receive SC applications for the applicants facing emergency travel. We are also exploring the options of holding special camps to expedite processing of these documents.
I agree with you that the Consulate has a space constraint in the public area and that is why we are encouraging applicants to send their documents by mail (with only emergency cases submitting their documents at the Consulate).
The form has been modified keeping in mind the local situation and Consulate’s requirements in order to comply with Ministry’s instructions. May I inform you, however, that no applications have been rejected for submitting outdated forms. Applicants, therefore, have not been inconvenienced in any way on account of modifications in the form.
Your statement ‘hundreds of US passports lying around on the floor’ is not true. We do receive US passports for OCI and visa stamping but the Consulate accounts for each and every passport which is submitted for service. So far, not a single case of misplaced US passport has been reported at the Consulate.
We need a copy of naturalization certificate as a proof of when the applicant acquired US citizenship. There is a legally prescribed way to get a duplicate copy of the NC. Applicants are encouraged to contact the US immigration authorities to get a copy of this document. We do not require the certificate to be notarized.
I presume you made your career choice keeping your best interests in mind.
Dr. Anju Kumar
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 12:37 PM
To: Ambassador Office E/I Washington
Cc: DCM_Office E/I Washington
Subject: CGI-NY
Dear Madam Ambassador,
I would like to bring to your attention the very dismal and stressful situation at the NY consulate. We expatriates are being given the run-around. The home ministry makes a sudden decision about surrender certificates. They should allow some phase in period. The NY consulate either short on manpower or will power is simply unable to respond to us expatriates.
The scenario within the consulate is dismal, just few people with no answers, a pathetic lack of common sense, with abject conditions. Hundreds of US passports lying around on the floor.
The consulate has since last week put 3 different versions of the same form. No consideration for people who have to travel urgently on whom this was suddenly sprung. A lack of knowledge of what can be copied or cannot (e.g. the naturalization certificate cannot be notarized by a notary).
What is this Indian fascination for notary, I do not see USCIS asking for this. Learn to change " when in Rome..."
I am loosing my confidence in the IFS system. Maybe we should have stayed back to lead the country instead of the current officers.
Arjun Dutta, Ph.D.
I will mail to all and will CC to Dr Anju Kumar, CC to Bajaj and Prabu Dayal all in NYC so that they know what we are doing.We all Need to send Email to All Minister of External Affairs and, Minister of State for External Affairs (She is very Active) all the Secretaries, Private Secretaries that includes PM Personal Sec
S.M. Krishna
External Affairs Minister
Email:eam@mea.gov.in
Phone:23011127 / 23011165
Fax23013254 / 23011463
---
K.A. Appaiah (Dr.)
Addl. PS to EAM
addlpseam@mea.gov.in
-----------
Smt. Preneet Kaur (she is very Active)
Minister of State for External Affairs
Email:mospk@mea.gov.in
Phone:23011141 / 23014070 / 23794337
Fax:23011425
K.A.P. Sinha
PS to MOS
Email: psmospk@mea.gov.in
---------
Secretaries
Smt. Nirupama Rao (she is also good)
Foreign Secretary
Email: dirfs@mea.gov.in
Email: psfs@mea.gov.in
---------------
Protocol Division
Sunil Kumar Lal
Email: jscop@mea.gov.in
---------------
Prime Minister's Office
Pankaj Saran
JS (PMO)
Email: pankaj.saran@pmo.nic.in
---
Jaideep Sarkar
PS to PM
Email: jaideep.sarkar@pmo.nic.in
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs(The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is headed by Vayalar Ravi, who has the rank of a Cabinet Minister. On the administrative side, a Secretary to the Government of India heads the Ministry.)
9th Floor, Akbar Bhawan, Chankya Puri
New Delhi - 110 021, India
Phone Number: +91(11) 2419 7900
Email: contact@overseasindian.in
Ambassador
The Ambassador is the highest-ranking representative of the Government of India in the United States.
ambassadoroffice@indiagov.org
Deputy Chief of Mission
dcmoff@indiagov.org
Dr Anju Kumar
cg@indiacgny.org
cpv@indiacgny.org
passport@indiacgny.org
*** Send Email to ALL the Above and then on the Email of The Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission wrire CC to ( PM office or where you send the Email write the designation of person you sent email.
Find your Friends Who are still INDIAN CITIZEN (NRI) Let them also wrote Email and They should write that" They are Indian Citizen" in the Email and Inform the Ministers that how US consulate NYC is created mess for Indian who got US citizenship, NYC has no clear guide lines on website and They first created Backlog of about 8000 OCI application and now when OCI booklets are printed and reached NY Consulate they started this surrender certificate requirements and one is not able to get Approved OCI in hand and it will take 2 months just to get the OCI. Does the Indian government want to harass our own people who are contributing to the Indian economy and sending funds to India for Parents who are old? Do they deserve this kind of treatment from Indian consulate NYC? These IFS officers have created Mess in NYC India consulate all should be transferred or called back to India.
Write your matter in details and give it to Indian Citizens so that they can also send Email to all the above. Change the language slightly or write your own language. Let everyday all Ministers and Secretaries, Private Secretaries get 20-30 email each day and don’t stop keep on sending the emails. Also send Emails to Editor Times of India, Indian Express, Hindustan times and all the leading news papers in DELHI Edition Editors and Mumbai Editions.
HALLA BOL!!!!
Thanks for the detailed update. I am getting ready to mail in my application for Surrender Certificate. You prepared everything in triplicate. Did the Consulate insist on that or was it more a "good to have" and just helped the staff avoid photocopying.
At the Consulate counters, they have a notice up there that says the form should be submitted in triplicate. It does not say if the other copies are required in triplicate. I just played it safe and made triplicates of all the copies (3 sets of every document). I spent an extra buck for the extra copies - no big deal.
Does the notice say forms submitted in trpiclate should be original (each copy should have original signature
of Notary) or photo copies of a original notarized form.Your information is appreciated
I am going to submit 3 notarized forms.
Btw anyone who is filling out the PDF version of the form, are you filling out the bottom portion (box) as well ? - the one that says Surrender Certificate.
Hi everyone,
I am a US born citizen, age 23, applying for an OCI. My parents were born in India, so included a copy of their birth certificates, proving they were indian citizens. I recieved an email from Ms. Kumar on May3rd letting me know that my OCI application had been recieved, but since then, it is still not acknowledged. Do i have to submit a surrender certificate for my parents (they are now US citizens)?? I can't see that being the case since i only have to prove that my parents were Indian-born.
I'm in the same boat as everyone else - unanswered calls and emails, so any help would be appreciated. I am traveling to India in early July. so there is still time, but I'd rather just get a visa than deal with this fiasco.
Thanks.
---------------Hi everyone,
I am a US born citizen, age 23, applying for an OCI. My parents were born in India, so included a copy of their birth certificates, proving they were indian citizens. I recieved an email from Ms. Kumar on May3rd letting me know that my OCI application had been recieved, but since then, it is still not acknowledged.
----- they take 25-30 days to acknowledge.
Do i have to submit a surrender certificate for my parents (they are now US citizens)??
------if you ask the consulate the NYC consulate will say "YES" but if you inform them your parents are living in India with OCI then you will not get any info from hese IFS officers posted at NY Consulate.
I can't see that being the case since i only have to prove that my parents were Indian-born.
----- You were only needed to provide the Proof or Evidence that your Parents Or grand Parents were Indian Citizen.
I'm in the same boat as everyone else - unanswered calls and emails, so any help would be appreciated. I am traveling to India in early July.
------
If your OCI application gets acknowledged in 8-10 days then they take another 5-10 days to Scan Signature Photo and then 5-10 days to GRANT the OCI then Delhi will take 5-6 days after GRANTED to Print OCI Card then it takes 5-7 days to reach the documents at NYC and they update RECIVED after 12-13 days from DESPATCH date on OCI status page and then you need to Collect the OCI if traveling and have ticket from Consulate or mail the passport for U visa sticker and OCI card it will take 10-15 days to get OCI in hand. If you are traveling to India in First week of July I don’t think you will get OCI in hand.
You should apply for Visa through Travisa ASAP so that you can travel to India in first week.
so there is still time, but I'd rather just get a visa than deal with this fiasco.
-----Get Visa
Thanks.
new Innovative and very creative rule from SFO office
"Copies of documents like Green Card/EAD/I-130 and the last held Indian passport at the time of naturalization required in support of our applications can be obtained by request from USCIS under the freedom of Information ACT."
Ginnu and others
I 'am posting emails to every body from your list and requesting them to create one common rule
atleast for US Citzens and this way stuff can streamlined and be even done in India