NY is taking at least 5 weeks to acknowlede the application and than it takes 15 days to finish whole process. Your wife's application should get acknowleded by end of first week of March.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
OCI - New York Tracker
- Thread starter mpotturi
- Start date
NY is taking at least 5 weeks to acknowlede the application and than it takes 15 days to finish whole process. Your wife's application should get acknowleded by end of first week of March.
shagk and Vivek, both of you need to present the argument that you both had correctly followed the process to cancel your Indian passports at the time when you had become US citizens. If I was in your positions, that is exactly what I would do. It makes absolutely no sense for a new surrender certificate to be created when you already have the Indian passport that has been cancelled.
This is from the ..
shahgk, you should be able to argue against the fine based on this info above.
Hi JP,
I just spoke to an agent from Travisa and they basically shot down all my argument saying "even if its says cancelled on my passport, it is not cancelled, unless it clearly says acquired US Citizenship.
I explained to them that Travisa Processed my visa, and Indian cosulate did not used to provide an evidence of renunciation back in 2009 and that they wouldnt issue me an Indian Visa without renouncing my citizenship, they were not just ready to listen to me.
I guess only way i can save myself from paying 250 (Penalty)+20 (renunciation fee)+13(Travisa processing fee) is by going to the consulate and pleading my case(IF they even talk to me)to the consulate people and hoping for a miracle.
Thinking about cancelling the whole OCI crap and stick to Visa, this is BS
Hi JP,
I just spoke to an agent from Travisa and they basically shot down all my argument saying "even if its says cancelled on my passport, it is not cancelled, unless it clearly says acquired US Citizenship.
That is complete crap. If your old Indian passport still had some more years until it expired and it has the "Cancelled" stamp on it, what other explanation is there other than you had changed citizenship? I wonder if they think people are using an old expired Indian passport that got cancelled at renewal and do not believe it is was the last Indian passport that you had held.
I would definitely take it up with the consulate. I guess these are the early teething pains of the Travisa transition. They are probably following exact guidelines that the consulate gave. Send an email directly to the Consulate General and plead your case to him. I would be professional but firm about your exasperation with dealing with these ridiculous issues.
Last edited by a moderator:
PrasadIyer
Registered Users (C)
The problem is, visas are also expensive. They charged me 80 dollars for a 6 months single-entry visa last year. I imagine multiple entry visas or visas of longer duration cost considerably more. Make two or three trips in 5-6 years using visas, and you have basically spent the equivalent of the OCI fees.
PrasadIyer
Registered Users (C)
JP
Thanks for the information. I am preparing to apply for my wife's OCI and will be applying for my son's PIO. I dont think I want to apply my son's OCI until I get my surrender certificate back from CGI NY even though my passport has been cancelled.
I wanted to know if parents who have acquired USA citizenship and have their Indian passport cancelled can apply for PIO for their son. I was told that if the parents are USA citizens then they only can apply for OCI for their children.
Your response will be appreciated.
Thanks
Vivek
I thought it was the other way around. Only US citizen parents can apply for child's PIO or OCI. Indian citizen parents cannot.
Renunciation of Indian passport
JP
Agreed. We followed the process for that time as per what was told to us by the Indian Consulate. The Consulate was not bent on this renunciation certificate thing before June of last year. All of a sudden this rule comes up, leading to utter confusion and grief to alot of people. This is what the Travisa website says:
After acquisition of foreign citizenship, an Indian passport cannot be used for travel after three months of the naturalization date. If the Indian passport expires on or after Jan 1, 2005, and the Indian passport is not surrendered beyond three years after the naturalization date, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged. In addition, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged in each case of misuse of the Indian passport for travel after three months of acquisition of foreign citizenship, which may go up to $1250.00 total.
ShahGk- Since you got your naturalization before 2005, I would argue that the surrender rule does not apply to you and therefore you should not get the surrender certificate. I took the surrender certificate anyways even though my passport had a cancelled stamp on it.
Vivek
shagk and Vivek, both of you need to present the argument that you both had correctly followed the process to cancel your Indian passports at the time when you had become US citizens. If I was in your positions, that is exactly what I would do. It makes absolutely no sense for a new surrender certificate to be created when you already have the Indian passport that has been cancelled.
This is from the Travisa site:
shahgk, you should be able to argue against the fine based on this info above.
JP
Agreed. We followed the process for that time as per what was told to us by the Indian Consulate. The Consulate was not bent on this renunciation certificate thing before June of last year. All of a sudden this rule comes up, leading to utter confusion and grief to alot of people. This is what the Travisa website says:
After acquisition of foreign citizenship, an Indian passport cannot be used for travel after three months of the naturalization date. If the Indian passport expires on or after Jan 1, 2005, and the Indian passport is not surrendered beyond three years after the naturalization date, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged. In addition, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged in each case of misuse of the Indian passport for travel after three months of acquisition of foreign citizenship, which may go up to $1250.00 total.
ShahGk- Since you got your naturalization before 2005, I would argue that the surrender rule does not apply to you and therefore you should not get the surrender certificate. I took the surrender certificate anyways even though my passport had a cancelled stamp on it.
Vivek
JP
Agreed. We followed the process for that time as per what was told to us by the Indian Consulate. The Consulate was not bent on this renunciation certificate thing before June of last year. All of a sudden this rule comes up, leading to utter confusion and grief to alot of people. This is what the Travisa website says:
After acquisition of foreign citizenship, an Indian passport cannot be used for travel after three months of the naturalization date. If the Indian passport expires on or after Jan 1, 2005, and the Indian passport is not surrendered beyond three years after the naturalization date, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged. In addition, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged in each case of misuse of the Indian passport for travel after three months of acquisition of foreign citizenship, which may go up to $1250.00 total.
ShahGk- Since you got your naturalization before 2005, I would argue that the surrender rule does not apply to you and therefore you should not get the surrender certificate. I took the surrender certificate anyways even though my passport had a cancelled stamp on it.
Vivek
I am going to the indian consulate tomorrow morning and see what BS excuse they will give me. most likley i will end up paying the 250 fine and cursing some ppl there in the consulate.
sertra2002
Registered Users (C)
I applied for OCI for myself and my two kids, along with renunciation. Documents were mailed to Travisa on Feb-24 and reached Feb-28 as per tracking number. However, the status does not reflect that on the Travisa website. Still early, so will keep checking.
My wife is still an Indian citizen, therefore not included in the application. I did not send copy of her passport or anything like that. Now I am wondering, should I have sent it ?? It does not say anywhere in the list of documents that passport copies of both parents are required. Can someone conform ?
My wife is still an Indian citizen, therefore not included in the application. I did not send copy of her passport or anything like that. Now I am wondering, should I have sent it ?? It does not say anywhere in the list of documents that passport copies of both parents are required. Can someone conform ?
JP
Agreed. We followed the process for that time as per what was told to us by the Indian Consulate. The Consulate was not bent on this renunciation certificate thing before June of last year. All of a sudden this rule comes up, leading to utter confusion and grief to alot of people. This is what the Travisa website says:
After acquisition of foreign citizenship, an Indian passport cannot be used for travel after three months of the naturalization date. If the Indian passport expires on or after Jan 1, 2005, and the Indian passport is not surrendered beyond three years after the naturalization date, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged. In addition, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged in each case of misuse of the Indian passport for travel after three months of acquisition of foreign citizenship, which may go up to $1250.00 total.
ShahGk- Since you got your naturalization before 2005, I would argue that the surrender rule does not apply to you and therefore you should not get the surrender certificate. I took the surrender certificate anyways even though my passport had a cancelled stamp on it.
Just saw this from the Travisa site:
Former Indian Nationals naturalized before June 1, 2010: US Citizens who received US citizenship before June 1, 2010 do not have to obtain a renunciation certificate if proof of renunciation can be provided. One of the following must be produced as proof:
* Your cancelled Indian passport or,
* If not cancelled, then please provide your most recent Indian Passport. If you do not have your most recent passport you must provide an Affidavit of Loss, a copy of your naturalization certificate and either a copy of your birth certificate or a school leaving certificate.
* A money order for $20.00 payable to 'Consulate of India'. If the applicant is applying in the Washington DC or New York jurisdiction, the Money Order should payable to 'Travisa Outsourcing'.
* Two (2) copies of the completed Renunciation Form
Last edited by a moderator:
Not meant to hijack your reply, but i checked the requirement page and confirmed the same, however, on the bottom of the list it says
13.Potential Penalty Fees Required:
Once a person acquires citizenship of another country, it is obligatory to surrender Indian citizenship and Indian passport should not be used for travel 3 months beyond the date of acquisition of citizenship. If the Indian passport is retained for more more than 3 years after acquisition of citizenship of another country, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged except where the Indian passport expired before January 1, 2005. In addition, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged for each case of misuse of the Indian passport for travel after 3 months of acquisition of citizenship of another country subject to a maximum penalty of $1250.00.
So i guess this is valid only for people from 2008-2009(within 3 years) onwards and maynot help me.
Went to the great consulate of india and explained my situation, person i talked to, took up my issue to the "officer" and the "officer" responded that since the rule change was implemented by the embassy of india and the consulate do not want to get into this mess and cannot help me. Eventhough, i argued that the consulate issued my Visa and cancelled my passport, the persons kept saying the same sh!t and asked me to complain to the ministry(like they going to change anything_).
so i accepted my defeat after pointing out everything, from the tone of the person i talked to, i figured out that cursing her @$$ wouldnt surprise her/wouldnt make any diff to the way deal with people.
Went to travisa and talked to a supervisor and found out that the consulate people rejects the application(funny thing, the consulate lady told me that Travisa has their own rules and requirements and they do not follow it, so i wonder if anyone in the consulate knows what they doing with respect to outsourcing their job)
After Travisa told me that, there is nothing they can do with respect to my application, i was forced to pay the 250 penalty and 20 renunciation.
Now that they have changed the rule, i am going to call them and see if they can refund the 250 i paid, which i highly doubt.
Morale of the story is, it is our responsibility to follow up with the consulate personally and do the cancellation/ applying for whatever the eff they would eventually want us to do. They do not want to be bothered and do not want to admit mistakes they make without thinking through.
i hope i get my effin OCI and i hope that would be it with them.
13.Potential Penalty Fees Required:
Once a person acquires citizenship of another country, it is obligatory to surrender Indian citizenship and Indian passport should not be used for travel 3 months beyond the date of acquisition of citizenship. If the Indian passport is retained for more more than 3 years after acquisition of citizenship of another country, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged except where the Indian passport expired before January 1, 2005. In addition, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged for each case of misuse of the Indian passport for travel after 3 months of acquisition of citizenship of another country subject to a maximum penalty of $1250.00.
So i guess this is valid only for people from 2008-2009(within 3 years) onwards and maynot help me.
Went to the great consulate of india and explained my situation, person i talked to, took up my issue to the "officer" and the "officer" responded that since the rule change was implemented by the embassy of india and the consulate do not want to get into this mess and cannot help me. Eventhough, i argued that the consulate issued my Visa and cancelled my passport, the persons kept saying the same sh!t and asked me to complain to the ministry(like they going to change anything_).
so i accepted my defeat after pointing out everything, from the tone of the person i talked to, i figured out that cursing her @$$ wouldnt surprise her/wouldnt make any diff to the way deal with people.
Went to travisa and talked to a supervisor and found out that the consulate people rejects the application(funny thing, the consulate lady told me that Travisa has their own rules and requirements and they do not follow it, so i wonder if anyone in the consulate knows what they doing with respect to outsourcing their job)
After Travisa told me that, there is nothing they can do with respect to my application, i was forced to pay the 250 penalty and 20 renunciation.
Now that they have changed the rule, i am going to call them and see if they can refund the 250 i paid, which i highly doubt.
Morale of the story is, it is our responsibility to follow up with the consulate personally and do the cancellation/ applying for whatever the eff they would eventually want us to do. They do not want to be bothered and do not want to admit mistakes they make without thinking through.
i hope i get my effin OCI and i hope that would be it with them.
Not meant to hijack your reply, but i checked the requirement page and confirmed the same, however, on the bottom of the list it says
13.Potential Penalty Fees Required:
Once a person acquires citizenship of another country, it is obligatory to surrender Indian citizenship and Indian passport should not be used for travel 3 months beyond the date of acquisition of citizenship. If the Indian passport is retained for more more than 3 years after acquisition of citizenship of another country, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged except where the Indian passport expired before January 1, 2005. In addition, a penalty of $250.00 will be charged for each case of misuse of the Indian passport for travel after 3 months of acquisition of citizenship of another country subject to a maximum penalty of $1250.00.
So i guess this is valid only for people from 2008-2009(within 3 years) onwards and maynot help me.
Went to the great consulate of india and explained my situation, person i talked to, took up my issue to the "officer" and the "officer" responded that since the rule change was implemented by the embassy of india and the consulate do not want to get into this mess and cannot help me. Eventhough, i argued that the consulate issued my Visa and cancelled my passport, the persons kept saying the same sh!t and asked me to complain to the ministry(like they going to change anything_).
so i accepted my defeat after pointing out everything, from the tone of the person i talked to, i figured out that cursing her @$$ wouldnt surprise her/wouldnt make any diff to the way deal with people.
Went to travisa and talked to a supervisor and found out that the consulate people rejects the application(funny thing, the consulate lady told me that Travisa has their own rules and requirements and they do not follow it, so i wonder if anyone in the consulate knows what they doing with respect to outsourcing their job)
After Travisa told me that, there is nothing they can do with respect to my application, i was forced to pay the 250 penalty and 20 renunciation.
Now that they have changed the rule, i am going to call them and see if they can refund the 250 i paid, which i highly doubt.
Morale of the story is, it is our responsibility to follow up with the consulate personally and do the cancellation/ applying for whatever the eff they would eventually want us to do. They do not want to be bothered and do not want to admit mistakes they make without thinking through.
i hope i get my effin OCI and i hope that would be it with them.
Shahgk - Sorry to hear about your situation. As I had said earlier, this rule should not have affected you. How in the world would anyone know if the passport should have a "cancelled as holder acquired US Citizenship" as oppose to just a cancelled stamp.
I believe that you should get your money back. Dealing with these idiots is worse then dealing with a government agency in Haiti. Try calling and explaining your situation - thats all I can say. Wish you good luck.
Vivek
OCI Acknowledgmenet
Smartalien
Have you recieved acknowledgement for your application. My wife's application was delivered on Jan 31 and there has no been no acknowledgment as yet.
Vivek
Hello:
Just wondering if anybody has recvd any email ack'ing the receipt of OCI application? Mine was delivered on 1/28/2011. But no news yet..
--------------------------
OCI Mailed 01/27/2011
Delivered 01/28/2011
Smartalien
Have you recieved acknowledgement for your application. My wife's application was delivered on Jan 31 and there has no been no acknowledgment as yet.
Vivek
smart_alien
Registered Users (C)
Smartalien
Have you recieved acknowledgement for your application. My wife's application was delivered on Jan 31 and there has no been no acknowledgment as yet.
Vivek
Hi Vivek:
No I still have not! Wonder what is going on! It has been more than a month now. Unfortunately we are at their mercy. I tried calling and also sent an email, knowing that no one would answer. And of course that has been the case so far. So I guess hang in there!! Please post any updates. That will be the only way to tell that things are moving..
Hi Vivek:
No I still have not! Wonder what is going on! It has been more than a month now. Unfortunately we are at their mercy. I tried calling and also sent an email, knowing that no one would answer. And of course that has been the case so far. So I guess hang in there!! Please post any updates. That will be the only way to tell that things are moving..
Will let you know as soon as I see the acknowledgement of my wife's application. I was able to speak with someone at the Consulate today and she mentioned that she cannot tell me when my wife's OCI will be acknowledged. She mentioned that they have many applications including the ones from Travisa which they need to look at and at this point they are processing dates around Jan 18. I dont agree with this as I know people who have applied around the 18th of January and have already recieved their OCI. She told me that we need to wait and that there is nothing much that we can do...no timeframe...nothing. When I asked her what happens to someone who needs to go to India during the interim, the response was "Take a visa and go".
Vivek
Hello,Need some assistance.
I am in a similar boat as shahgk. My wife became USC back in 2003. After becoming USC, her passport was cancelled (stamped as CANCELLED on the third page) when she got Indian visa.
Now, she applied for OCI and she got an email from Travisa that she has to pay $250.00 penality because her passport was not cancelled. I wrote them an email saying that it has already been cancelled back in 2003. They responded that your passport does not say "Canceled due to Acquired US Citizenship".
I told them that back in 2003 CGNY were calcelling all the passport with the same stamp ("CENCELLED"). They were not mentioning the reason for cancellation. I have not heard back from them so far.
Any suggestions?
I am in a similar boat as shahgk. My wife became USC back in 2003. After becoming USC, her passport was cancelled (stamped as CANCELLED on the third page) when she got Indian visa.
Now, she applied for OCI and she got an email from Travisa that she has to pay $250.00 penality because her passport was not cancelled. I wrote them an email saying that it has already been cancelled back in 2003. They responded that your passport does not say "Canceled due to Acquired US Citizenship".
I told them that back in 2003 CGNY were calcelling all the passport with the same stamp ("CENCELLED"). They were not mentioning the reason for cancellation. I have not heard back from them so far.
Any suggestions?
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello,Need some assistance.
I am in a similar boat as shahgk. My wife became USC back in 2003. After becoming USC, her passport was cancelled (stamped as CANCELLED on the third page) when she got Indian visa.
Now, she applied for OCI and she got an email from Travisa that she has to pay $250.00 penality because her passport was not cancelled. I wrote them an email saying that it has already been cancelled back in 2003. They responded that your passport does not say "Canceled due to Acquired US Citizenship".
I told them that back in 2003 CGNY were calcelling all the passport with the same stamp ("CENCELLED"). They were not mentioning the reason for cancellation. I have not heard back from them so far.
Any suggestions?
I was in a similar situation. My Indian passport had a "Cancelled" stamp only and not the "Cancelled as holder acquited US citizenship" stamp. I applied for Renuniciation Certificate only and paid $20 towards cancelling and getting certificate.
Once you have your renunciation certificate, you can apply for your OCI. I dont know if they will ask you to pay $250 more for getting the renunciation certificate.
Vivek
I was in a similar situation. My Indian passport had a "Cancelled" stamp only and not the "Cancelled as holder acquited US citizenship" stamp. I applied for Renuniciation Certificate only and paid $20 towards cancelling and getting certificate.
Once you have your renunciation certificate, you can apply for your OCI. I dont know if they will ask you to pay $250 more for getting the renunciation certificate.
Vivek
Vivek,
As I mentioned that my wife became US citizen in 2003. Her latest Indian passport with cancelled stamp is expiring in 2013.
Following is mentioned at CGNY's website:
http://indiacgny.org/php/showContent.php?linkid=238&partid=223&sub=sub3
Code:
Indian passport cannot be used for travel beyond three months after acquisition of foreign citizenship. If the Indian passport, the validity of which expired on or after 1.1.2005, is retained beyond three years after acquisition of foreign citizenship, a penalty of US$250/- will be charged. In addition, a penalty of US$250/- will be charged in each case of misuse of the Indian passport for travel after three months of acquisition of foreign citizenship, which may go up to US$1250/-.The above does not clarify that one is not supposed to retain the CANCELLED or NON-CANCELLED passport.
I tried calling all the contact numbers mentioned in CGNY's website. No one answers the phone. I got lucky one phone was answered the lady was so nasty, she said you have called the wrong department, call OCI department and she hung up the phone.
What do you think, am I wasting my time in this? Should I pay $250.00 and live peaceful life?
I would say, talk to the consulate and send email to everyone.
I have not received any email response yet from Travisa or Consulate and the consulate pretty much ignored all my plea, even though they know they messed up.
Give a try, maybe you will get luck and hopefully they will be forced to change the rule for the 1000's of people who are in the same boat as us.
Someone is definitely making money (either consulate or Travisa) in between this mess.
i wouldn't keep my hopes up.
I sent them my 250 penalty along with the 2 renunciation forms and 20 dollar fee to travisa and still hasn't received an acknowledgement from them yet.
The lady at the Travisa pretty much yells at me when i call her. So im so out of luck now
I have not received any email response yet from Travisa or Consulate and the consulate pretty much ignored all my plea, even though they know they messed up.
Give a try, maybe you will get luck and hopefully they will be forced to change the rule for the 1000's of people who are in the same boat as us.
Someone is definitely making money (either consulate or Travisa) in between this mess.
i wouldn't keep my hopes up.
I sent them my 250 penalty along with the 2 renunciation forms and 20 dollar fee to travisa and still hasn't received an acknowledgement from them yet.
The lady at the Travisa pretty much yells at me when i call her. So im so out of luck now