Undoubtedly one of the worst - if not the very worst - forms I have had the displeasure of filling out was the darned OCI form. Seemingly created by imbeciles who dropped out (or were kicked out) of the 8th grade, this artifact is repetitive, often contradictory, and seldom clear. But I guess you do not have a choice but to bow down to this stupidity for personal reasons .. so here is what to keep in mind:
1. Patience: Yes, you have N years of experience in real world, but this would require you to be extra-careful and patient. This is not an exercise in front of Uncle Sam! Drink plenty of water and get some sun before you hunker down to tackle this monstrosity.
2. Beware repetitions .. Name and telephone number asked upfront, and 2 questions down, again - what is your telephone number? Gee, whiz .. it is the same darned number you provided earlier, don't tell me you have a short-term memory worthy of a goldfish? Apparently the kiddo has not heard of normalization in databases! Never mind, smile ..
3 Beware instructions .. "Don't use staples or paper clips" at the top of the page, while the bottom of the page shouts "Don't use staples, use only paper clips" ... I felt like tying the bundle with a rope long enough for the dude to hang himeself (or herself .. to be non-biased) from. Ultimately, I used large clips to bundle the 300 sheets for my case in one pile and the remaining 500 sheets for my wife in the other pile. Well, what is a zero more or less .. but the demands are copious!
4. Beware lack of instructions .. if you are canceling your passport AND applying for OCI at the same time (saves you roughly twenty bucks), if you assume the copy provided earlier for purpose A suffices for purpose B also, think again! Travisa would charge $2 for each photocopy it makes. Drats!!
5. Combine payments in one certified check .. most likely your bank charges you for each check, so save those precious dollars by combining payments.
6. The form shouts out "Use Fedex or UPS" .. I checked with them .. and using USPS (not UPS!), I saved another 15 dollars - precious money considering they charge a princely ransom for doing this "favor" to the hapless victims. I could not summon the courage to buy a Nikon D7000 for 1000 .. but this OCI was worth around that much for the two of us, and I did not blink while paying this amount. Yes, I got back everything ship-shape using USPS.
7. Now - is it worth the hassles? You decide! I am not sure. It is just a contingency measure. With kids growing up here, I do not foresee going back to settle down in my sunset years. But who knows ..
Again .. patience, and lots of papers in the printer, and make sure you have good ink supply!
I had to grit my teeth to do it. I hope you have a better time!
1. Patience: Yes, you have N years of experience in real world, but this would require you to be extra-careful and patient. This is not an exercise in front of Uncle Sam! Drink plenty of water and get some sun before you hunker down to tackle this monstrosity.
2. Beware repetitions .. Name and telephone number asked upfront, and 2 questions down, again - what is your telephone number? Gee, whiz .. it is the same darned number you provided earlier, don't tell me you have a short-term memory worthy of a goldfish? Apparently the kiddo has not heard of normalization in databases! Never mind, smile ..
3 Beware instructions .. "Don't use staples or paper clips" at the top of the page, while the bottom of the page shouts "Don't use staples, use only paper clips" ... I felt like tying the bundle with a rope long enough for the dude to hang himeself (or herself .. to be non-biased) from. Ultimately, I used large clips to bundle the 300 sheets for my case in one pile and the remaining 500 sheets for my wife in the other pile. Well, what is a zero more or less .. but the demands are copious!
4. Beware lack of instructions .. if you are canceling your passport AND applying for OCI at the same time (saves you roughly twenty bucks), if you assume the copy provided earlier for purpose A suffices for purpose B also, think again! Travisa would charge $2 for each photocopy it makes. Drats!!
5. Combine payments in one certified check .. most likely your bank charges you for each check, so save those precious dollars by combining payments.
6. The form shouts out "Use Fedex or UPS" .. I checked with them .. and using USPS (not UPS!), I saved another 15 dollars - precious money considering they charge a princely ransom for doing this "favor" to the hapless victims. I could not summon the courage to buy a Nikon D7000 for 1000 .. but this OCI was worth around that much for the two of us, and I did not blink while paying this amount. Yes, I got back everything ship-shape using USPS.
7. Now - is it worth the hassles? You decide! I am not sure. It is just a contingency measure. With kids growing up here, I do not foresee going back to settle down in my sunset years. But who knows ..
Again .. patience, and lots of papers in the printer, and make sure you have good ink supply!
I had to grit my teeth to do it. I hope you have a better time!