OCI - New York - Travisa Issues

sabtheekhoga said:
We are also facing the same problem with Travisa OCI in NY. Here's the timeline of our horrible experience with Travisa, 'Talibans' of Indian consulate NY.
We applied for OCI in March 2011 via USPS registered post. Sent our US Passports (family with 2 little kids). Sent hefty checks for renunciation + processing + tons of documents for OCI.
Got acknowledgement from OCI Travisa in April 7 2011. Need some more documents and some stupid birth certificate requirement of "India", showing NJ as a state of USA. Btw, it proves that Travisa persons are illiterate morons, who can't read the birth certificate.
Sent the birth certificates again.
Got acknowledgement from Travisa that our documents are complete and have been sent to Indian Consulate in NY.
Got an email from Travia that our OCI application has BEEN WITHDRAWN, though our money had been cashed.
Called Travisa, Mandeep Kaur, OCI, NY and she said that passports have been mailed. More than 4 weeks have passed and we haven't received our US Passports.

Our request to all OCI applicants, please "do not" send your application to TRAVISA as they are inefficient, incompetent and not properly staffed. They do not respond by email, voicemail, or fax. You will face misery. Please report this to all media- Hindustan Times, Times of India, Business Week and India Today.

We are very much worried as it seems that our US passports + Indian Passports are lost/mishandled by TRAVISA.

We have lost everything now. There is nobody to help us. We are planning to hire attorney in NY, who can do class action suit against this fraudulent agency.
Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear about your awful experience at Travisa. As a matter of fact, mine wasn't very pleasant either at SF Travisa, but luckily they didn't lose my paperwork.
Hopefully, you can get your refund after suing their *** and it would help others as well who're in the same boat as you. Did they give you any proof of the withdrawn e-mail saying "YOU" initiated the conversation about the withdrawal. If you didn't say a word about "withdrawing your application" then Travisa is screwed on this one.
Good thing is, since it's a private agency you can sue them. Good Luck with the lawyer and the class action suit.

You should also file a police report saying your paperwork has been stolen by Travisa. Report it as a theft instead of "lost" One other member of forums.immigration.com (I am not what his name was) also threatened to report his passport as a theft case involving Travisa and he finally got his paperwork and emails from the superiors. He had his application withdrawn but Travisa kept telling him his paperwork has been mailed out, he waited 2 weeks before he started to get on Travisa's nerves about the "Theft" Threatening messages; which I guess worked out very well for him as he received his passport.
 
Thanks Y2K,
Just to let you know that I have called Travisa( Several times..each call on hold for atleast an hour..) and they emailed me a passport withdrawal form. I filled it in and faxed it to them . Apparently fax takes priority when compared to emails. Called them again to confirm that the faxed papers have reached them. Travisa called me the next day( May 25th) and said that they are going to send in my withdrawal request to Consulate and that it will tale 1-3 business days to get the passport back to Travisa when they will mail it to me immediately because of the express shipment I paid already. I'll let you know as soon as I receive it. Keeping my fingers crossed.
One imp thing though is that they mentioned OCI application will not cancelled..it will continue to process when I come back from India and ship the passport back to them. So there is no deducting any money or refunding any money that's going to happen here.
 
nyc12 said:
@sabtheekhoga, Did they provide you with a tracking number for the mail ?
Click to expand...

No, they didn't give me any tracking number. They have claimed that they will update the tracking number into the system in 24 hrs. So far I haven't seen any.

Thanks to Bostonguy and other readers for giving me tips for dealing this sad situation.

Why does Indian Consulate outsource OCI to Travisa when we have excellent vendors like Tata, Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro, etc. We would've given employment to lot of youths in India. It is a great opportunity for Indian vendors to tap the visa services for all countries.

Sad! Maybe we should put this into agenda for Baba Ramdev's corruption hatao campaign for India.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Got my US/Indian Passports back from Travisa, without OCI.

Finally I have got our passports back from Travisa without OCI.
We had already tourist visa for next 10 years.
So we are not interested in OCI anymore.

Our suggestions-

1) Don't apply for OCI in US if you have a valid visa for India.

2) Travisa is an additional layer above Indian consulate. Please avoid them if you can since you will save time and money by bypassing them.

3) If you intend to live in India, apply directly at local regional office in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, etc. Your application for OCI in US is processed in India anyways.

4) Thanks to all readers in this forum.
 
Just an update -- I've got my passport back from Consulate to Travisa and from Travisa to me thru express mail that I have paid for earlier. I was told to post the passport back to Travisa upon return so they can continue the OCI process. Since I have plans to travel to to other countries as soon as I come back from India...I guess I would have to find a timeslot where I wouldn't be travelling for atleast 3 months before I post my passport to them again....per my experience so far with Travisa..:-(
 
nyc12 said:
Thanks Y2K,
Just to let you know that I have called Travisa( Several times..each call on hold for atleast an hour..) and they emailed me a passport withdrawal form. I filled it in and faxed it to them . Apparently fax takes priority when compared to emails. Called them again to confirm that the faxed papers have reached them. Travisa called me the next day( May 25th) and said that they are going to send in my withdrawal request to Consulate and that it will tale 1-3 business days to get the passport back to Travisa when they will mail it to me immediately because of the express shipment I paid already. I'll let you know as soon as I receive it. Keeping my fingers crossed.
One imp thing though is that they mentioned OCI application will not cancelled..it will continue to process when I come back from India and ship the passport back to them. So there is no deducting any money or refunding any money that's going to happen here.
Click to expand...

Hey nyc12
Can you send the passport withdrawal form to me. My son's OCI application is currently in progress and I dont know how long it would take. It is better to get the passport back. I will resend it once the OCI is approved.
Vivek
 
sabtheekhoga said:
Finally I have got our passports back from Travisa without OCI.
Our suggestions-

1) Don't apply for OCI in US if you have a valid visa for India.

2) Travisa is an additional layer above Indian consulate. Please avoid them if you can since you will save time and money by bypassing them.

3) If you intend to live in India, apply directly at local regional office in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, etc. Your application for OCI in US is processed in India anyways.

4) Thanks to all readers in this forum.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that one would not be able to take employment in India without an oci/pio status.So those people this may not be an option.

Thanks.
 
Hello,

I have sent in my wife's OCI application to Travis NY and they recieved it on June 06 2011, but still as of today the online status shows File not acknowledged by Mission office. Tried calling but was kep on hold for almost an hour so had to hang up since i was at work.

Just worried about the accompanying original US passport.

this is so ridiculous and frustrating
 
Last edited by a moderator:
sanket_82 said:
Hello,

I have sent in my wife's OCI application to Travis NY and they recieved it on June 06 2011, but still as of today the online status shows File not acknowledged by Mission office. Tried calling but was kep on hold for almost an hour so had to hang up since i was at work.

Just worried about the accompanying original US passport.

this is so ridiculous and frustrating
Click to expand...


Hold on to your frustration because that will be your friend for next couple of months :)

What does Travisa online status says? Did you received any email related to your application status? You should first check their website for status and when status changes to "documents sent/rcvd to/by consulate" then only start checking mission website.

Travisa doesn't open mails immediately ... for me they took 2 weeks+.
No emails will be responded ... phone wait will be too long ... even if you get some on line chances are they will rude and tell you check your status online.

Summer is usually busy for OCI and Visa .... I hope you have given 2 months before your travel plan. I started my application 2 and half months ago and I am in situation where I may have to withdraw my application.

BTW ... why did you send your original passport ... as of June 15th, that is not required .... but yes will save you extra efforts and money when OCI is granted/received.
 
adawra said:
Hold on to your frustration because that will be your friend for next couple of months :)

What does Travisa online status says? Did you received any email related to your application status? You should first check their website for status and when status changes to "documents sent/rcvd to/by consulate" then only start checking mission website.

Travisa doesn't open mails immediately ... for me they took 2 weeks+.
No emails will be responded ... phone wait will be too long ... even if you get some on line chances are they will rude and tell you check your status online.

Summer is usually busy for OCI and Visa .... I hope you have given 2 months before your travel plan. I started my application 2 and half months ago and I am in situation where I may have to withdraw my application.

BTW ... why did you send your original passport ... as of June 15th, that is not required .... but yes will save you extra efforts and money when OCI is granted/received.
Click to expand...


Thanks for prompt response. I don't have any plans for next 4 months and I sent in my application on June 2nd so as per the instruction I had to send them my original passport.

Another question - How do I find my application id? Since ont know it so have not checked status on Travisa website. Could you please tellme where will I find it. Also how to retrieve it?
 
sanket_82 said:
Thanks for prompt response. I don't have any plans for next 4 months and I sent in my application on June 2nd so as per the instruction I had to send them my original passport.

Another question - How do I find my application id? Since ont know it so have not checked status on Travisa website. Could you please tellme where will I find it. Also how to retrieve it?
Click to expand...

You must be having at least one of Travisa email, if not, I am not sure where/how to get App ID.
 
adawra said:
You must be having at least one of Travisa email, if not, I am not sure where/how to get App ID.
Click to expand...


I have the application id and i tried that too but Travisa website shows "Invalid Application Id". now what needs to be done in this case.
 
sanket_82 said:
I have the application id and i tried that too but Travisa website shows "Invalid Application Id". now what needs to be done in this case.
Click to expand...

If your application id and last name combo is not working .... you have to call or visit them ... which is not easy.
Did you see anyone (on forums) who had sent app after you and reported scanned or granted?
 
adawra said:
If your application id and last name combo is not working .... you have to call or visit them ... which is not easy.
Did you see anyone (on forums) who had sent app after you and reported scanned or granted?
Click to expand...

I do see someone with timeline somewhat similar to me and they have reached to approvals.
 
I got my wife's OCI application back after more than 3 weeks from Travisa NY in prepaid Fedex envelope sent by us and the reason being "Prepaid envelope missing". Also it stated in bold letters do not sent US passport, whereas the Travisa website clearly stated it as a requirement and one of the most prominent reason for OCI rejection. I know the rule changed from June 15, but we mailed the application end of may. So at the end I lost $1.10 (MO charge by USPS) + $9 (postage for initial application) + $19 (Fedex return courier charge) + $12 (processing fee) + $1.10 (for another MO for sending 2nd time) + $9 (USPS postal charge) + $12 (processing fee for second time) + $19 (Fedex courier charge to bring passport back) = $82.

PS: No counting of frustration, stress, holding phone line for hours has been counted since that is addtional bonus you get while dealing with Travisa.
 
nyc12 said:
Thanks Y2K,
Just to let you know that I have called Travisa( Several times..each call on hold for atleast an hour..) and they emailed me a passport withdrawal form. I filled it in and faxed it to them . Apparently fax takes priority when compared to emails. Called them again to confirm that the faxed papers have reached them. Travisa called me the next day( May 25th) and said that they are going to send in my withdrawal request to Consulate and that it will tale 1-3 business days to get the passport back to Travisa when they will mail it to me immediately because of the express shipment I paid already. I'll let you know as soon as I receive it. Keeping my fingers crossed.
One imp thing though is that they mentioned OCI application will not cancelled..it will continue to process when I come back from India and ship the passport back to them. So there is no deducting any money or refunding any money that's going to happen here.
Click to expand...

NYC12
How long did it take you to recieve your USA passport after you sent the passport withdrawal form. I sent the passport withdrawal form for my son yesterday and wanted to know what the timeline would be to get it back.
Your response would be appreciated
Vivek
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top