OCI - New York Tracker

Received US passport and OCI but did not receive cancelled indian passports and SC

Hello,

I am not sure what the process at Indian Consulate, NY is. I sent in all required documents along with Indian and US passports. I received my OCI and US passports but they did not return my cancelled indian passports. I sent in all in one packet ( application for SC+ Indian passts+US passpts+ $20 for SC since I got US citizenship before 6/1/10. + $20 for return mail) . Any suggestions for me on how to proceed to get my indian passports? Should I fly to NY?
 
Refund of $155

I consolidated all the emails including the ones mentioned already and here they are :


eam@mea.gov.in;
mospk@mea.gov.in;
diream@mea.gov.in;
dirmospk@mea.gov.in;
dirfs@mea.gov.in
psfs@mea.gov.in;
jsskc@mea.gov.in;
jsams@mea.gov.in;
jscpv@mea.gov.in;
jscons@mea.gov.in;
pankaj.saran@pmo.nic.in;
jaideep.sarkar@pmo.nic.in;
jsds@moia.nic.in;
jscpg-mha@nic.in;
dirpg-mha@nic.in;
hm@nic.in;
vayalar@sansad.nic.in;
asfah@nic.in;
rpnath@nic.in;j
sbm@nic.in;
cg@indiacgny.org;
dcg@indiacgny.org;
gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net;
ambassadoroffice@indiagov.org;
info@fianynjct.org;
niravmehta@fianynjct.org;
spmart2004@yahoo.com;
nimeshdave@fianynjct.org;
manmohan@sansad.nic.in;
soniagandhi@sansad.nic.in;
chavanprithviraj@sansad.nic.in;
dcmoff@indiagov.org

Some of the emails to these people bounce when sent from public sites like yahoo. So you may have to try from different domains.
In specific, i added the following email addresses :
eam@mea.gov.in - SM Krishna
mospk@mea.gov.in - Praneet Kaur
diream@mea.gov.in - Dir of Min of Ext Affars
dirmospk@mea.gov.in - Dir of Min of State for ext Aff
dirfs@mea.gov.in - Dir of Foreign Sec
psfs@mea.gov.in - off of Foreign Sec
jsskc@mea.gov.in - Addl Sec
jsams@mea.gov.in - Joint Sec (America)
jscpv@mea.gov.in - Joint Sec (Passport and Visa)
jscons@mea.gov.in - Joint Sec (Consulate)
pankaj.saran@pmo.nic.in - Joint Sec - Prime Min office
jaideep.sarkar@pmo.nic.in - Ps to PM
jsds@moia.nic.in - Min of Overseas Indian Affairs
jscpg-mha@nic.in - Min of Home Affairs - Complaint Cell
dirpg-mha@nic.in- Dir of Min of Home Affairs - Complaint Cell
hm@nic.in - Home ministry
vayalar@sansad.nic.in - NRI Affairs Minister
Right to Know Act email address
asfah@nic.in - Addl Sec
rpnath@nic.in - Joint Sec (Admin)
jsbm@nic.in - Joint Sec (BM)

Content of Email Could be on the following lines :

Revision of surrender fee from $175 to $20 - Refund of Amount paid

While I welcome the decision of the Indian Govt for revising the surrender certificate fee from $175 to $20 for all those who were Indian citizens prior to June 1, 2010, I'd like to represent that I have not been treated justly. In May , 2010 , I was forced to submit applications for the Surrender Certificate with the Consulate General of India along with the fees of $175 each for every member of my family . I had no option then but to adhere to the rules as penalties applied if we didnt act quick enough.

With the amended rule, I request you to refund the excess charge of $155.00 . There is no justification for charging differential amounts for the same category of people (all who obtained naturalization by June 1 , 2010). CG is trying to justify that $175 was the prevaling fee between May 4 and 30. The $175 fee is an aberration and not a fee that stood for several months and hence that argument is invalid.

A special camp was held by CGNY on May 29 and they collected $175 from thousands of people who stood for several hours in lines without food and water to comply with the law, only to know that the next day the fee is brought to the new $20 level.

The differential amount is a huge sum for me. Please do not punish people like me for trying to follow the law to the fullest , correctly and quickly all the time. Not giving the refund would amount to Indian government encouraging procrastinators and people who do not follow the law and punish those who respect and abide law at all times.

I sincerely hope that the government will act on this immediately.

Sent emails to all the emails as given.... 4-5 of them bounced...

Thanks!
 
How long does it take to receive OCI once they receive the US passport

Can people tell me how long does it take for the NY Consulate to return the US Passport with the OCI stamp once they receive my passport in mail? Is it 7 days?

Mine just today (6/21) got sent from New Delhi to NY Consulate. Hopefully, it gets received by the embassy this week.

Once it is received, I want to see if I should go in person (about 5 hours drive) or send it by mail!

can people who got their OCI on their US passports tell me how long it took by mail?

Also, if I go in person, do we all (my wife and kids) have to be in person to receive it or can I just go in person alone and get it done. Anyone has experience?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I received an email today from JScpg-mha in response of my request for refund of Surrender Cert fees paid to NY consulate on May 26th. The email says the request is forwarded for appropriate action for refund, lets see what happen...
 
I received an email today from JScpg-mha in response of my request for refund of Surrender Cert fees paid to NY consulate on May 26th. The email says the request is forwarded for appropriate action for refund, lets see what happen...

indianexpert - This is good to hear. We should keep sending emails to push them make a favorable decision on the refunds .
 
I received an email today from JScpg-mha in response of my request for refund of Surrender Cert fees paid to NY consulate on May 26th. The email says the request is forwarded for appropriate action for refund, lets see what happen...

indian expert - It is good to hear you got some response. We should continue to send emails to make this case really strong till a favourable decision is made on refunds.
 
Can people tell me how long does it take for the NY Consulate to return the US Passport with the OCI stamp once they receive my passport in mail? Is it 7 days?

Mine just today (6/21) got sent from New Delhi to NY Consulate. Hopefully, it gets received by the embassy this week.

Once it is received, I want to see if I should go in person (about 5 hours drive) or send it by mail!

can people who got their OCI on their US passports tell me how long it took by mail?

Also, if I go in person, do we all (my wife and kids) have to be in person to receive it or can I just go in person alone and get it done. Anyone has experience?

I went in person to collect the OCI stamp and the registration card. I collected for the entire family - my wife and kids did not need to come.
 
if you decide to go in person, don't go early as there will be long lines. I reached around 11:15 AM and there was no one at the OCI counter. Also in the evening, don't go at 4:30 PM for the same reason. I reached at 5:05 PM and there was no one.

Other folks waited couple of hours in the morning and around 30 minutes in the evening.
 
indian expert - It is good to hear you got some response. We should continue to send emails to make this case really strong till a favourable decision is made on refunds.
JS(CPG) forwarded our email to Jt.Sec(Foreigners)/Dircoord-MHA to initate appropriate action and they cc'ed us on that.

Still think this is a losing battle and a lost cause. If they had to give refund , they should have given this by now. It is 20 days since they made the decision to reduce the fee.
 
NY website update - Refund of $155 - Surrender Certificate

Cases of renunciation / surrender of passport, completed up to 31 May, 2010 will not be re-opened and the amount of US$ 175/- will not be refunded.
 
Once again, can people tell me how long it is taking to get the OCI stamped on US Passport if mailed? I live far away from NY, so I prefer to send it by mail. Also, other than US Passports, do I need to send anything else? Thnks.
 
Once again, can people tell me how long it is taking to get the OCI stamped on US Passport if mailed? I live far away from NY, so I prefer to send it by mail. Also, other than US Passports, do I need to send anything else? Thnks.
I think it takes around 1-2 weeks to get your OCI stamped. You need to send copy of cancelled Indian passport, copy of surrender certificate(not sure about this???) and a cover letter with all your OCI reference numbers. You can check the details on NY website under OCI section - Arrival details of card.

JK
 
Cases of renunciation / surrender of passport, completed up to 31 May, 2010 will not be re-opened and the amount of US$ 175/- will not be refunded.
I saw this today. Surprisingly, the SFO website and Chicago website are still saying that it is in discussion with Indian Government and will post the details on website once the decision is made. I don't know why NY consulate is making their own decisions? Anyway, I sent emails to all those ministry email address, I got the same reply from JS(CPG). Some of them are bounced back, lets keep sending these emails and hope Indian government will take some action.

JK
 
I think it takes around 1-2 weeks to get your OCI stamped. You need to send copy of cancelled Indian passport, copy of surrender certificate(not sure about this???) and a cover letter with all your OCI reference numbers. You can check the details on NY website under OCI section - Arrival details of card.

JK

JK, I just checked the web site, and it does not ask for Cancelled copy of Indian Passport, Surrender Certificate. It just says, send US Passports.

I did send out Surrender Certificates ($150/each what a waste!!!), and resubmitted my OCI. Can other people who obtained OCI card by mail, tell me what they sent? Thanks
 
JK, I just checked the web site, and it does not ask for Cancelled copy of Indian Passport, Surrender Certificate. It just says, send US Passports.

I did send out Surrender Certificates ($150/each what a waste!!!), and resubmitted my OCI. Can other people who obtained OCI card by mail, tell me what they sent? Thanks

I sent my US passports, copies of canceled Indian passports, copies of SC (only paid $20/each, and they mailed back the earlier $175/each cashier's check separately), printout of online status showing it reached NY, $20 cashier's check for mailing charges, and a cover letter with my details.
 
JK, I just checked the web site, and it does not ask for Cancelled copy of Indian Passport, Surrender Certificate. It just says, send US Passports.

I did send out Surrender Certificates ($150/each what a waste!!!), and resubmitted my OCI. Can other people who obtained OCI card by mail, tell me what they sent? Thanks

Its better to send copies of SC and cancelled Indian passports. You never know these consulate guys.

By the way, if there is anyone with OCI documents dispatch date of June 15th, can you tell me whether your documents were received at NY consulate or not? I was not able to access the online status web page for the last two days. Yesterday, it was under maintenance and today it was constantly busy.

JK
 
I sent my US passports, copies of canceled Indian passports, copies of SC (only paid $20/each, and they mailed back the earlier $175/each cashier's check separately), printout of online status showing it reached NY, $20 cashier's check for mailing charges, and a cover letter with my details.

Thanks. On Immihelp.org, it says to send cancelled Indian Passports. So, I am thinking of sending my cancelled passports also. How long did it take for you to receive the OCI once you sent it by mail?

Also, if I go in person, do I need authorization letter from my wife?

you know, it is strange that we have so much questions, all because of these clueless bureacrats at the embassy! I do not think it is like this in American consulate. There is a defined form, and there are instrucitons for each line, and you can call them for help. These guys do not respond to emails, and do not pick up phones. Just unbelievable!
 
GOT OCI FINALLY!! For $20/each!

Thanks. On Immihelp.org, it says to send cancelled Indian Passports. So, I am thinking of sending my cancelled passports also. How long did it take for you to receive the OCI once you sent it by mail?

I mailed the docs/passports on Friday (June 18th) and received the OCI stamp/booklet today (June 24th). Only 3 business days, not bad at all!!
Hopefully that is finally the end of my immigration journey!!!!! Good luck to everyone here, and thanks a lot for everyone's help and advice on this forum. You are a great bunch of folks!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top