OCI - New York Tracker

[bwooster47]

Surrender Certificate application - they received it on July 7, and it it nearly three weeks now, and I have still not received my canceled passport and SC.

This is bad... they don't even send any update even though they ask for email address, phone, etc. I am probably in trouble - I used the application in force in early June - which asked for notarized SC app and copy of US passport, but did not ask for Indian Passport copy. Of course, it would be trivial for them to make a copy of the Indian Passport since it is present in the application, but that whole organization seems to be trigger happy in returning applications on any pretext (and then asking the receiver to pay up their mailing cost!) What a sub-standard operation these guys run....

 

[coolgoose9]

My experience at the consulate office in New York

I went to Indian Consulate office in new York yesterday to collect the OCI documents. Ireached there around 8AM and there were already around 20 people waiting in the line. They opened the basement office around 9: 15AM and by then around 100 people were there in the line.
I submitted passport and the copy of online status and the officer at the OCI counter told me to come back at 1PM. I went back at 12:45 and waited for 10 minutes before they started issuing OCI documents. I received my documents little before 1PM. Everything went well.

 

[tacopa]

I went to Indian Consulate office in new York yesterday to collect the OCI documents. Ireached there around 8AM and there were already around 20 people waiting in the line. They opened the basement office around 9: 15AM and by then around 100 people were there in the line.
I submitted passport and the copy of online status and the officer at the OCI counter told me to come back at 1PM. I went back at 12:45 and waited for 10 minutes before they started issuing OCI documents. I received my documents little before 1PM. Everything went well.

Thanks for sharing the experience. Did you pick up just your OCI or your family as well. I just want to know if they ask for any kind of authroization letter from your wife to get her OCI cards. Also, is there any requirement to collect OCI cards for kids?

 

[deep0910]

Have not received MY SC/ Cancelled passport as well.. Received by the consulate on 7 June. Started a tracker for this.. maybe you can update it.
No response to emails or phone calls.

 

[jk1969]

Thanks for sharing the experience. Did you pick up just your OCI or your family as well. I just want to know if they ask for any kind of authroization letter from your wife to get her OCI cards. Also, is there any requirement to collect OCI cards for kids?

You don't need any authorization from your wife or kids. You can pickup the OCI cards for the whole family. Make sure you print the online status page for each and everyone in your family and take it with you.

I went to the NY consulate yesterday to collect OCI cards for the whole family. It really went smooth, I never expected that. I reached around 9:30 am, there was a big line. I told the security guy that I came to pickup OCI cards and showed him the online status pages. He told me to go directly to OCI counter and I don't need to stand in the line. I went to the OCI counter and there was just one person in front of me. I gave our US passports along with online status pages in the counter. Surprisingly, he didn't even ask me copies of SC or cancelled Indian passport. Just he told me to come back at 1 pm. I came out around 10 am and spent some time in and around central park and went back to the consulate around 1 pm. There are around 10 people at the OCI counter, I collected our OCI cards along with US passports and came out around 1:30 pm. No issues at all, everything went well.

For people who are looking for timelines, here is my overall process. Hope it helps.
Mailed OCI applications on 25th March
Got acknowledgement on 7th May (delayed because of the surrender certificate mess)
Photos scanned on 17th May
OCI app granted on 9th June
OCI cards prited on 11th June
OCI docs dispatched on 15th June
Reached NY CGI on 23rd June

Good luck to everyone who are in the OCI process. Looks like the process got streamlined now, the OCI applications are moving fast now. Anyway, all of us who paid $175 for the surrender certificate, I think we still have a long battle to do with the Indian government, I hope they will do something about the refund.

JK

 

[cpl_passion]

I am in the same boat

Have not received MY SC/ Cancelled passport as well.. Received by the consulate on 7 June. Started a tracker for this.. maybe you can update it.
No response to emails or phone calls.

I have not received my SC/cancelled indian passports yet. I sent them along with US passports for OCI on 6/8/10. I received my OCI bit not the SC/Cancelled indian passports.

 

[gc_come_to_papa]

Spouse Status showing Photos Scanned since 06/12.

Hi I am not sure if i should be worried or concerned but wanted to get some Some expert advice,

Photo Scanned : 06/12 , self, spouse and kids
OCI Granted: 06/16 , Self and Kids

OCI printed and Dispatched: 06/21

For spouse it is still showing Photos Scanned On 06/12 and for OCI Granted it says Under Process.

I am not sure why it is taking so much time for her, while mine and my kids shows printed and dispatched.
I wanted to know if I need to follow up or give it some time. Gurus please advice

 

[bwooster47]

Surrender Certificate application - they received it on July 7, and it is nearly three weeks now, and I have still not received my canceled passport and SC.....

Aha! Just received my Indian Passport back - and the fee was returned too! My passport was canceled many years ago - but it just says "Cancelled" and does not have the second line "Cancelled on obtaining US Citizenship" - which is what they said was required last month.
Looks like the rules now are this:
If your passport already has a Cancelled stamp, even it does not say anything else, then no SC will be provided.

So, I can now resend my OCI application (which they had sent back to me because of all the SC mess last month), and no SC is required since passport already says Cancelled.

Of course, this only applies to CGI NYC - other consulates will probably have their own interpretation. Though I must say, the NYC office seems to be far better than all the others - they try to make some sense out of the rules made by the babus in New Delhi - the babus are causing all this trouble with all poorly thought out rules. NYC does not ask for notarized copies for most docs - other consulates want every copy notarized - which is quite a hassle.

Anyway, hope that the rules stay unchanged until at least my whole OCI process,which I'll mail out again tomorrow.

 

[gc_come_to_papa]

Any suggestions???

Spouse Status showing Photos Scanned since 06/12.

Hi I am not sure if i should be worried or concerned but wanted to get some Some expert advice,

Photo Scanned : 06/12 , self, spouse and kids
OCI Granted: 06/16 , Self and Kids

OCI printed and Dispatched: 06/21

For spouse it is still showing Photos Scanned On 06/12 and for OCI Granted it says Under Process.

I am not sure why it is taking so much time for her, while mine and my kids shows printed and dispatched.
I wanted to know if I need to follow up or give it some time. Gurus please advice

Experts any advice, today i saw on OCI tracker webpage that mine and my Kids OCI cards have reached NY but for My spouse it shows Under Process for OCI Granted.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[deep0910]

Aha! Just received my Indian Passport back - and the fee was returned too! My passport was canceled many years ago - but it just says "Cancelled" and does not have the second line "Cancelled on obtaining US Citizenship" - which is what they said was required last month.
Looks like the rules now are this:
If your passport already has a Cancelled stamp, even it does not say anything else, then no SC will be provided.

So, I can now resend my OCI application (which they had sent back to me because of all the SC mess last month), and no SC is required since passport already says Cancelled.

Of course, this only applies to CGI NYC - other consulates will probably have their own interpretation. Though I must say, the NYC office seems to be far better than all the others - they try to make some sense out of the rules made by the babus in New Delhi - the babus are causing all this trouble with all poorly thought out rules. NYC does not ask for notarized copies for most docs - other consulates want every copy notarized - which is quite a hassle.

Anyway, hope that the rules stay unchanged until at least my whole OCI process,which I'll mail out again tomorrow.

Nice.. congratulations on this step!.. your application was received at the consulate on June 7th correct ?

 

[pb74]

Mailed US passport last week with copy of canceled Indian passports, SCs, kid's original PIO, and $20 mailing charges.

Got back stamped US passports with OCI booklets today.

Kid's OCI does not have thumb impression below the photo. I think someone else had the same issue. Is this ok, or should I try to get it corrected.

-----------

Mailed OCI app on 04/16/10
Got email from NY on 04/20/10
Acknowledged on 04/21/10
Scanned on 04/27/10
Granted on 05/05/10
Printed on 05/07/10 (for one week website showed 05/06/10 as print date)
Dispatched on 05/10/10
Received on 05/27/10

Mailed SC app w/ Indian PP & $275 fees on 05/24/10
Mailed revised fees of $20 for Indian PP cancellation on 06/08/10
Got back canceled Indian PP & $275 refund on 06/19/10

Sent paperwork for OCI collection on 06/21/10
Got back OCI on 06/29/10

 

[gc478]

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

Is the message posted on NYC website, a Govt. decision on refunds or it is a message to STOP people from writing/emailing/calling Consulate on the refund of the fee difference? Any Idea?

 

[jk1969]

Experts any advice, today i saw on OCI tracker webpage that mine and my Kids OCI cards have reached NY but for My spouse it shows Under Process for OCI Granted.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks

I think you better send an email to Pushpa Kumar at the NY consulate with your OCI file numbers, wait couple of days and see whether there is any change in the status. If no change, I advise you to go there personally to sort out the issue.
I used to always send emails to her as I was in a hurry to get our OCI cards as my family was leaving to India on June 28th. Whenever I sent an email to her, the status used to get updated within one or two days. Hope this helps.

JK

 

[jk1969]

Is the message posted on NYC website, a Govt. decision on refunds or it is a message to STOP people from writing/emailing/calling Consulate on the refund of the fee difference? Any Idea?

I have no clue what these NY consulate guys are upto? Looks like they are making their own decisions. The SFO and Chicago websites are still saying that they are in discussion with Indian Government about the refund and they will update the details once they get some information. But, everyone is saying not to send any emails or phone calls on this issue.

JK

 

[pb74]

Kid's OCI does not have thumb impression below the photo. I think someone else had the same issue. Is this ok, or should I try to get it corrected.

gc478, BITS_IITB, and others:

Did you follow up with consulate for missing thumb impression on OCI? Have people successfully traveled to India w/o kid's thumb impression on OCI?

 

[gc_come_to_papa]

Thanks JK, will do

I think you better send an email to Pushpa Kumar at the NY consulate with your OCI file numbers, wait couple of days and see whether there is any change in the status. If no change, I advise you to go there personally to sort out the issue.
I used to always send emails to her as I was in a hurry to get our OCI cards as my family was leaving to India on June 28th. Whenever I sent an email to her, the status used to get updated within one or two days. Hope this helps.

JK

Thanks JK

 

[jk1969]

gc478, BITS_IITB, and others:

Did you follow up with consulate for missing thumb impression on OCI? Have people successfully traveled to India w/o kid's thumb impression on OCI?

Same thing happened to my son's OCI card, his thumb impression was not scanned. When I asked the person at the OCI counter, he said its not mandatory for kids below 17 years. My son already landed in India yesterday and no issues. It seems they didn't even ask for the OCI cards at the Hyderabad airport, they just saw the passport and OCI sticker in the passport. Hope this helps.

JK

 

[tacopa]

Wanted to share my experience...

Went to NY Consulate today & picked up our OCI (My family did not come with me) Went there at 9.15am, and there was a very long line in front of me (about 50 people), and there was one guy (security) giving token numbers to each one. When I said that I am there to collect OCI, he did not give me a token, but asked me to go to OCI counter. There were a couple of people in front of me at the OCI counter, and I gave the online status pages and the US passports for my family. No other documents were asked. I even asked if he needed any other document!! The counter guy said no, and asked me to come back at 1PM.

So I got out, roamed around for a few hours, and got to the consulate at 12.40. They started to hand over the OCI around 12.45pm. You just need to goto the counter, they will not call your name! Now, the strange thing is that they just ask for the last names, and he just hands over the stamped passports and OCI cards without verifying your identification. But, regardless, it was eventless.

However, I have to tell you that this place was like a zoo! It felt like hundred people in there (not for OCI, for other things). There were 2 guys from the Travisa with about 50 US passports in one corner, and there were people asking counter people with all kinds of questions. The place was not air conditioned, so it was hot inside. It was just totally unorganized!

Now get this....There is a note on the OCI counter saying all the OCI documents should be sent and collected by mail only! I have no idea why it was there, as they were handing over the OCI cards in person!

I tried to see if I can meet with people like CG to talk about the $175 surrender certificates, but given the chaos and the stress these counter people were under, I decided to continue to fight it by emails. I am still angry that some of us have to spend a ton of money to get that useless SC. We need to continue to protest this. This happened because of the bad interpretation of rules by these emabssy people.

Once again, these people are totally unorganized. Given the size of Indian population in Northeast, shouldn't they be adding more people, and put in place more streamlined process with good customer service - pick up phone calls, return emails with certain time frame? There was absolutley no smile on anyone working there except the security guy who was outside chatting with other people!!!

Anyway, I will continue to fight for the $175/person I paid for that SC.

 

[pb74]

Same thing happened to my son's OCI card, his thumb impression was not scanned. When I asked the person at the OCI counter, he said its not mandatory for kids below 17 years. My son already landed in India yesterday and no issues. It seems they didn't even ask for the OCI cards at the Hyderabad airport, they just saw the passport and OCI sticker in the passport. Hope this helps.

JK

Thanks.

 

[csekar]

Wanted to share my experience...

Went to NY Consulate today & picked up our OCI (My family did not come with me) Went there at 9.15am, and there was a very long line in front of me (about 50 people), and there was one guy (security) giving token numbers to each one. When I said that I am there to collect OCI, he did not give me a token, but asked me to go to OCI counter. There were a couple of people in front of me at the OCI counter, and I gave the online status pages and the US passports for my family. No other documents were asked. I even asked if he needed any other document!! The counter guy said no, and asked me to come back at 1PM.

So I got out, roamed around for a few hours, and got to the consulate at 12.40. They started to hand over the OCI around 12.45pm. You just need to goto the counter, they will not call your name! Now, the strange thing is that they just ask for the last names, and he just hands over the stamped passports and OCI cards without verifying your identification. But, regardless, it was eventless.

However, I have to tell you that this place was like a zoo! It felt like hundred people in there (not for OCI, for other things). There were 2 guys from the Travisa with about 50 US passports in one corner, and there were people asking counter people with all kinds of questions. The place was not air conditioned, so it was hot inside. It was just totally unorganized!

Now get this....There is a note on the OCI counter saying all the OCI documents should be sent and collected by mail only! I have no idea why it was there, as they were handing over the OCI cards in person!

I tried to see if I can meet with people like CG to talk about the $175 surrender certificates, but given the chaos and the stress these counter people were under, I decided to continue to fight it by emails. I am still angry that some of us have to spend a ton of money to get that useless SC. We need to continue to protest this. This happened because of the bad interpretation of rules by these emabssy people.

Once again, these people are totally unorganized. Given the size of Indian population in Northeast, shouldn't they be adding more people, and put in place more streamlined process with good customer service - pick up phone calls, return emails with certain time frame? There was absolutley no smile on anyone working there except the security guy who was outside chatting with other people!!!

Anyway, I will continue to fight for the $175/person I paid for that SC.

Thank you for your detailed information.
Did you went by car. Could you please tell me where you were PARKED your car nearby. Is there any space or can I park my car near by PARK.