Indian Passport

My passport renewal application is at a standstill. Documents were received by Consulate on Jan 12, and it’s still under review. Granular status shows sent to VO on Jan 25 and no update after that. It’s already 3 weeks and I am nervous looking at other folks timeline where even after print initiated takes 10 days to get passport on hand. No police verification yet.

Can anyone guide me on what to do? Did anyone have luck getting in contact with consulate?

Will I be able to walk in to the consulate?

I am really nervous, not sure what to do next?

Can they hold your passport for months?

Location : Houston Texas

vfs 12/19/2023 Application Sent using UPS.
vfs 12/20/2023 We have ‘Received’ your Application and your application is now ‘Under Process’ at Houston and will be submitted to the Mission for decision making.
vfs 12/21/2023 Your Application has been ‘Processed’ at the VFS India Consular application Centre and currently is ‘In-Transit‘ to the Embassy of India/Consulate General of India for decision making.
vfs 12/21/2023 Your application has reached at the Embassy/Consulate and is currently under review process.
gov 12/21/2023 passport application along with fee details have been received. the same is under processing at the embassy/consulate.
gov 01/10/2024 Your application is under review at Indian embassy/consulate.
gov 01/15/2024- (Morning) Print has been initiated for passport.
gov 01/15/2024- (Evening) Your application is under review at Indian embassy/consulate.
              - Received email for Police verification in India.
gov 01/17/2024 Passport is printed and will be delivered shortly.
gov 01/18/2024 Your passport has been printed and being forwarded to Embassy/Consulate. The Embassy/Consulate will contact you once they receive the passport for dispatch.
gov 01/23/2024 Passport has been handed over by the Embassy/Consulate to the OSP executive for further dispatch to the applicant.
vfs 01/23/2024 Your Application has been reviewed by the Embassy of India/ Consulate General of India & will be dispatched using the courier service you had opted.
vfs 01/24/2024 Your document(s) is dispatched using the return label purchased or sent by you.
     01/25/2024 Received both the passports.

Here are my timelines for passport renewal:

"EVENT_DESC": "QC Accepted and Dispatch Initiated: Passport No. XXXXX of type Ordinary-Normal",
                "EMP_ACTION": "Dispatch Initiated",
                "STATUS_TRACKING_PK": 1843163061,
                "LAST_MODIFIED_DATE": "2024-01-23T00:00:00",
                "STATUS_DESC": "Dispatch Initiated",
                "STATUS_ID_FK": 334,
            },
            {
                "EVENT_DESC": "Printed: Passport No. xxxxxx of type Ordinary-Normal",
                "EMP_ACTION": "Printed",
                "STATUS_TRACKING_PK": 1843158919,
                "LAST_MODIFIED_DATE": "2024-01-23T00:00:00",
                "STATUS_DESC": "Printed",
                "STATUS_ID_FK": 103,
            },
            {
                "EVENT_DESC": null,
                "EMP_ACTION": "Print Initiated",
                "STATUS_TRACKING_PK": 1843010715,
                "LAST_MODIFIED_DATE": "2024-01-20T00:00:00",
                "STATUS_DESC": "Print Initiated",
                "STATUS_ID_FK": 364,
            },
            {
                "EVENT_DESC": "Granting Status Set as 'Clear'",
                "EMP_ACTION": "Clear",
                "STATUS_TRACKING_PK": 1843010713,
                "LAST_MODIFIED_DATE": "2024-01-20T00:00:00",
                "STATUS_DESC": "Application Granted on No verification basis",
                "STATUS_ID_FK": 1104,
            },
            {
                "EVENT_DESC": "",
                "EMP_ACTION": "Sent To Go",
                "STATUS_TRACKING_PK": 1842622363,
                "LAST_MODIFIED_DATE": "2024-01-16T00:00:00",
                "STATUS_DESC": "Granting Initiated",
                "STATUS_ID_FK": 5099
            },
            {
                "EVENT_DESC": null,
                "EMP_ACTION": "Application Form Submitted",
                "STATUS_TRACKING_PK": 1842622353,
                "LAST_MODIFIED_DATE": "2024-01-16T00:00:00",
                "STATUS_DESC": "Submitted",
                "STATUS_ID_FK": 1
            }

Hello - sharing my recent experience with renewing my valid passport (about to expire in Jul'24) under Tatkal at CGI San Francisco in case folks find it helpful!

12/20/2023 - I submitted the completed application to VFS via UPS courier.

12/21/2023 - VFS received completed application, email acknowledgement from VFS received.

12/23/2023 - Received email notification asking to upload latest digital photo via VFS website.

12/23/2023 - I uploaded the recent digital photo on VFS website promptly and assumed VFS will update my application - BUT TURNS OUT THEY DID NOT.

01/04/2024 - I called VFS and enquired re: the status of my application. They had not attached my new digital photo to the application. Asked them to escalate the case, and within couple of hours, received notification that my application was now completed, and submitted to the CGI San Francisco.

01/06/2024 - Received notification that Police Verification has been initiated. My father (living in India) contacted the concerned Police Station immediately and shared all the documents with them for speedy approval. However, police verification remained in pending status for 10 days.
All this while - I was checking status daily on the VFS website and calling the VFS number - they did not have any updates and just assured me that 'passport will come soon'.

01/17/2024 - I finally decided to contact the CGI SF directly via email and phone - and surprisingly - they replied promptly within an hour! They confirmed that Pre PV had been initiated on my Tatkal application since no earlier PV report was available. However, they agreed to convert my application to POST PV since I had applied in Tatkaal, and the status has now updated to 'Passport is printed and will be delivered shortly.'. Keeping fingers crossed that I receive it soon.

Kudos to the Consul, Passport at CGI SF for helping expedite my application and responding very promptly via email and phone! They are very helpful and can be reached at [email protected] and *** 415483 6629. I am posting these details because many of the phone numbers on the CGI SF website don't seem to work.

HELPFUL TIP!!!

Another useful thing I found via Reddit was the ability to see detailed tracking status on the Passport Seva website. Note that this option only works on this link: https://portal3.passportindia.gov.in/Online/index.html.

Once you have entered your ARN etc, before clicking on 'Track your Application' button, right click and select 'Inspect' - a detailed screen will open up in your browser. With that screen open, click on 'Track your application' and then navigate to the 'Network' tab in the detailed screen and lookout for a Tracking file - that file has much more detailed status updates with date-stamps vs what is provided on the website. Incredibly useful hack, but I wish Passport Seva Website provided these detailed status updates readily instead of requiring users to hack it like this.

when police verification was initiated we received an e-mail from passport admin. Do we also receive an e-mail when police verification was completed/cleared? I received my passport but my tracking status changed to Passport application is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate.

Dear Friends,

I recently applied for my passport renewal in Washington DC. My police verification is done and it is cleared. Embassy site shows the status "Passport has been handed over by the Embassy/Consulate to the OSP executive for further dispatch to the applicant.". However, it is changed back again to "Passport application is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate."

Anyone faced this?

Any recently submitted passport renewal at SFO.
Courier to VFS:11/22
Delivered on: 11/24 (11/23 - Thanksgiving holiday)
VFS email for receiving applications: 11/30
Delivered to Indian Embassy: 12/01
Since then the status is "Passport application along with fee details have been received. The same is under processing at the Embassy/Consulate."

Anyone has any idea how much time does it takes once a passport is with Indian Embassy?

It would be great if someone who recently renewed or in process from SFO can share their timelines please?

Thanks !!

Hi,

  I have applied for renewal of my passport in Heuston Consulate. The application reached consulate on 15-Nov-2023.
  Since then the status remains same - "Passport application is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate".
  I have checked my police station back at India with my father and they informed that they have not received any police clearance request in my name.
  Did anyone of you face such issue. I have tried to reach VFS call center and they are unable to provide any information.
 Can you please inform if anyone faced such issue and how long it took to get the passport.
 Any help will be really appreciated as I need to travle to India in one month.

I need urgent help: https://www.vfsvisaonline.com/Global-PassportTracking/ shows "Your application has reached at the Embassy/Consulate and is currently under review process". My https://portal3.passportindia.gov.in/Online/index.html shows "Your passport has been printed and is being forwarded to Embassy/Consulate. The Embassy/Consulate will contact you once they receive the passport for dispatch." since last 5 days. When will I get my passport? The status is the same on https://www.vfsvisaonline.com/Global-PassportTracking/ and has not changed. I am worried. My application is for passport renewal and reached the Houston Center. What should be my next steps?

I'm in the process of renewing my passport through VFS, and I've got some questions related to the "Other Address" section. My parents currently live with me, and I no longer have a permanent address in India, nor do I have any relatives there. So, I was considering printing my USA address in my passport and providing my friend's info and address (he lives in India) in the "Other Address" section. I would appreciate your insights on the following:

1. Is this a common practice to do?
2. Could this potentially lead to issues during the police verification process?
3. What documentation should I provide to my friend so that they can vouch for me during PV?