Questions about OCI

paula1971

Registered Users (C)
I am originally from India and am obtaining my US passport after my oath ceremony. My spouse is already a US citizen and my child was born in the US so is a US citizen too.

Now, I am a bit confused about the difference between the PIO card and OCI card. What card do I need to apply for?

Can my spouse and child also apply for any of these cards?

I am in Los Angeles.

Any help is appreciated as I am really confused by the stuff on the SFO website.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You and your child can get OCI. If your husband was born in India, he too can get OCI.

In addition to those born in India, PIO is available to those who are spouses of Indian origin people, birth or descent from India is not required for PIO.

Everyone eligible for OCI is also eligible for PIO but not vice versa.
 
You and your child can get OCI. If your husband was born in India, he too can get OCI.

In addition to those born in India, PIO is available to those who are spouses of Indian origin people, birth or descent from India is not required for PIO.

Everyone eligible for OCI is also eligible for PIO but not vice versa.

Now this might be a stupid question but what is a better card to have? PIO or OCI?

My spouse is not of Indian descent - so he will get a PIO, correct? what are the advantages of getting it for him?
 
OCI is better for you and your child. It is lifelong. PIO is valid only for 15 years (and it costs more than an OCI). However, keep in mind that current processing times is over 2-3 months (may be even more) from the time you send the application. Something to consider when you are thinking of applying. You could also apply for a visa and then apply for the OCI since in the interim if you need to travel, you have the visa. Current OCI process does not require you to send the passport upfront.

For your husband, no choice but PIO. I believe that process today takes about 15 days from the time the consulate receives (when will Travisa send it to them is another question :) ). In his case, passport will need to be sent upfront.

You can check cost comparisons, validity, etc. here - https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/pio/explain-services
 
paula1971

Please visit this official Indian Government website:

This should have all of your questions answered.

http://www.mha.nic.in/uniquepage.asp?id_pk=553

http://www.mha.nic.in/uniquepage.asp?ID_PK=84


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To apply for the O.C.I, or P.I.O, please visit this website as this is where you will get your complete instructions:

For P.I.O visit this website:
https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/pio/homepage

For O.C.I visit this website:
https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/oci/homepage

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Depending on the state at which you reside in, your application will be sent to one of these consulates or embassy of India. You, however, will not be sending application directly to consulate or embassy, but instead you will be sending it to the private outsourcing agency called TRAVISA that Embassy of India and all of the Consulates have officially hired to accept this applications. TRAVISA, on your behalf, will send the application along with all the proper documents to the embassy or at any one of the proper consulate.

Please find your state at which you reside in, and its respective jurisdiction Indian Consulate or Embassy of India at Washington D.C.:

Again, you will not be sending your application directly to the Consulate or Embassy, instead you will apply on TRAVISA website, and will send your application to TRAVISA as per their instruction.

These are consulates and Embassy of India websites just for your information:

Chicago Consulate: http://chicago.indianconsulate.com/

Areas of Jurisdiction: 1. Illinois, 2. Indiana, 3. Iowa, 4. Michigan, 5. Minnesota, 6. Missouri, 7. North Dakota, 8.South Dakota, and 9.Wisconsin.
------------------------------------------------------------------
New York Consulate: http://www.indiacgny.org/

Areas of Jurisdiction: 1. Connecticut, 2. Maine, 3. Vermont, 4. Massachusetts, 5. New Hampshire, 6. New Jersey, 7. New York, 8. Ohio, 9. Pennsylvania, 9. Puerto Rico, 10. Rhode Island, and 11. Virgin Islands.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
San Francisco Consulate: http://www.cgisf.org/

Areas of Jurisdiction: 1. Alaska, 2. Arizona , 3. California, 4. Colorado, 5. Guam,
6. Hawaii, 7. Idaho, 8. Montana, 9. Nebraska, 10. Nevada, 11. New Mexico, 12. Oregon, 13. Utah, 14. Washington, 15. Wyoming


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Houston Consulate: http://www.cgihouston.org/

Areas of Jurisdiction: 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Florida, 4. Georgia, 5. Kansas, 6. Louisiana, 7. Mississippi, 8. Oklahoma and 9. Texas

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Embassy of India at Washington D.C. : http://www.indianembassy.org/

Areas of Jurisdiction: 1. Bermuda, 2. Delaware, 3. District of Columbia, 4. Kentucky, 5. Maryland, 6. North Carolina, 7. South Carolina, 8. Tennessee, 9.Virginia, and 10. West Virginia

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other important Official Indian Governmental websites you may need are as follows:
-----------------------

This website will come in handy when you have check your O.C.I status on the M.H.A exclusive website:

https://passport.gov.in/oci/OnlineOCIenquiry.jsp

-----------------------

M.H.A website where you may apply for the O.C.I online application Part A ( out of Part A and Part B ), and fill the Part B offline when it prints after filling the Part A out.

https://passport.gov.in/oci/OnlineOCIRegistrationG.jsp

-----------------------
This is the original website where one may visit to see how the original welcome website for the O.C.I Services looks like.

http://ociindia.nic.in/index.html

-----------------------

Please do post if any of the weblinks do not work.

-Thanks

I hope this will help you make informed decision.
 
Top