OCI Reissue Complete!

[jac2005]

I had applied for an OCI Reissue for my son(5 years) who got a new passport. Some background - We are visiting India and Europe in March 2015 and my son's passport expires in June 2015. While he would still have three months remaining validity on his passport at that time, I decided to take the plunge and request a new passport and reissue his OCI. Mainly because we still had plenty of time before travel. I am pleased to say that everything went well and CKGS did a good job! I know there have been many reported cases of delays and such but thankfully I didn't experience any.

FedEx Ship Date - 6-SEP-2014
Delivered to CKGS San Francisco - 9-SEP-2014
CKGS Acknowledgement Date (email received/CKGS website updated) - 12-SEP-2014
Consulate Acknowledgement Date (passport.gov.in website updated) - 16-SEP-2014
Visa Printed at New Delhi (passport.gov.in website updated) - 2-OCT-2014
Visa Dispatched from MOIA (passport.gov.in website updated) - 7-OCT-2014
Visa received at San Francisco (passport.gov.in website updated) - 14-OCT-2014
New US Passport delivered to CKGS by FEDEX for MATCHUP - 17-OCT-2014
Passport Received at CKGS back from consulate (email received/CKGS website updated) - 29-OCT-2014
FedEx picked up Package - 30-OCT-2014
Received OCI and Passports - 1-NOV-2014

Few random things to share (while I still remember them) -
1. On the Additional Particulars Form, I didn't make any selection for Page 3. Question "I am applying for PIO card" since it didn't apply. I would suggest canceling the options and saying "NA". We notarized Page 3 only. My son can write and I had him sign this page. My wife and I also signed as parents.
2. I also notarized the Web Order Form from the passport.gov.in. On the Declaration section, I signed on behalf of my son vouching for the authenticity of the information (not sure if this is correct or not). We(parents) also signed in the "Application for Minor" section below it. I had my son sign below his photo since he can write.
3. When creating the Web Order Form use the new passport number/particulars on the passport.gov.in site. This gets automatically printed on the Order Form pdf. If you make a mistake, just redo the online application. Only the last/mailed application counts. Wish the wording on the form was a little more clear that the new passport number is what its looking for.
4. We notarized the parental authorization form
5. I included a prepaid envelope for return shipment and got the items back in the same
6. Original OLD US passport and OCI Booklet needs to be sent with the application. The OCI number will change on re-issue. So a new OCI Booklet will be printed. OLD OCI Booklet was not returned and I presume they retain/destroy it. So make copies of it if you need.
7. Return package correctly included OLD US Passport, New US Passport, New OCI Booklet. Also all information was accurate.
8. Superscribe the envelope with the type of application (New OCI/OCI Reissue), the Application Number. In case of passport match up, superscribe as "OCI Passport Matchup (Application # xxxx)"
9. I never received an email asking to send passport for matchup. I sent it anyway. Only thing noticed when comparing with another forum poster who got the email was that the address to send to listed as 225 Bush St., Suite 390, San Francisco CA 94104. I sent it to the regular address of 225 Bush St, 1st Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. Not sure why the difference since it was processed correctly but slightly slower. (Thanks sfbayguy for sharing passport matchup email!)
10. Before the first acknowledgement status on the CKGS website, I could not track my application. This was the first 2-3 days after package was received at CKGS. This is just normal so dont panic(I did) if you cant track your application right away.
11. The initial acknowledgement email from CKGS has the old US passport number listed. This does not matter (Thanks priyaseeksoci for clarifying!).
12. Passport.gov.in site takes a few more days after initial CKGS acknowledgement before your application is trackable.
13. On the CKGS pdf order form, I noticed that if your email address has an underscore(mine does!), it will merge with the larger underline for the field and not be obvious on reading. So I actually pasted a separate small paper with my email address on the field in the form and sent a copy of that.

Can't think of anything else at the moment. I dont have any consular needs in the short term. Thanks everyone for their support and advice on this forum! I practically lived on this forum for the past two months and couldn't have done it without you guys.... Good Luck to everyone else!

[sfbayguy]

Congrats and great information shared. I had a new OCI for adult and had similar experiences around timelines and status showing up. I have posted my timeline in the OCI tracker of this website and request folks to use it since it is an invaluable tool to get an idea of processing times etc. I used the list on the CKGS site to send in docs and cross checked to ensure I had everything that applied to me. I too used a pre-paid fedex envelope that I included with the original application which was used for the return of OCI/Passport, even though we hand delivered the passort for match up. Something for folks to be aware off. About 2.5 months total. We plan to travel in December so that worked out well, with some buffer. All the best.

[Rajagort]

Quick Questions!

Thanks for the detailed info. I am getting ready to apply for OCI reissue for my kids, and a couple of questions as I read the check list. Can you please help?

- How many copies did you send? For example, it says 2 for SFO. Does it mean that you sent checklist + 2 additional copies?
- DId you send photos also with these additional copies?

Thanks.

I had applied for an OCI Reissue for my son(5 years) who got a new passport. Some background - We are visiting India and Europe in March 2015 and my son's passport expires in June 2015. While he would still have three months remaining validity on his passport at that time, I decided to take the plunge and request a new passport and reissue his OCI. Mainly because we still had plenty of time before travel. I am pleased to say that everything went well and CKGS did a good job! I know there have been many reported cases of delays and such but thankfully I didn't experience any.

FedEx Ship Date - 6-SEP-2014
Delivered to CKGS San Francisco - 9-SEP-2014
CKGS Acknowledgement Date (email received/CKGS website updated) - 12-SEP-2014
Consulate Acknowledgement Date (passport.gov.in website updated) - 16-SEP-2014
Visa Printed at New Delhi (passport.gov.in website updated) - 2-OCT-2014
Visa Dispatched from MOIA (passport.gov.in website updated) - 7-OCT-2014
Visa received at San Francisco (passport.gov.in website updated) - 14-OCT-2014
New US Passport delivered to CKGS by FEDEX for MATCHUP - 17-OCT-2014
Passport Received at CKGS back from consulate (email received/CKGS website updated) - 29-OCT-2014
FedEx picked up Package - 30-OCT-2014
Received OCI and Passports - 1-NOV-2014

Few random things to share (while I still remember them) -
1. On the Additional Particulars Form, I didn't make any selection for Page 3. Question "I am applying for PIO card" since it didn't apply. I would suggest canceling the options and saying "NA". We notarized Page 3 only. My son can write and I had him sign this page. My wife and I also signed as parents.
2. I also notarized the Web Order Form from the passport.gov.in. On the Declaration section, I signed on behalf of my son vouching for the authenticity of the information (not sure if this is correct or not). We(parents) also signed in the "Application for Minor" section below it. I had my son sign below his photo since he can write.
3. When creating the Web Order Form use the new passport number/particulars on the passport.gov.in site. This gets automatically printed on the Order Form pdf. If you make a mistake, just redo the online application. Only the last/mailed application counts. Wish the wording on the form was a little more clear that the new passport number is what its looking for.
4. We notarized the parental authorization form
5. I included a prepaid envelope for return shipment and got the items back in the same
6. Original OLD US passport and OCI Booklet needs to be sent with the application. The OCI number will change on re-issue. So a new OCI Booklet will be printed. OLD OCI Booklet was not returned and I presume they retain/destroy it. So make copies of it if you need.
7. Return package correctly included OLD US Passport, New US Passport, New OCI Booklet. Also all information was accurate.
8. Superscribe the envelope with the type of application (New OCI/OCI Reissue), the Application Number. In case of passport match up, superscribe as "OCI Passport Matchup (Application # xxxx)"
9. I never received an email asking to send passport for matchup. I sent it anyway. Only thing noticed when comparing with another forum poster who got the email was that the address to send to listed as 225 Bush St., Suite 390, San Francisco CA 94104. I sent it to the regular address of 225 Bush St, 1st Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. Not sure why the difference since it was processed correctly but slightly slower. (Thanks sfbayguy for sharing passport matchup email!)
10. Before the first acknowledgement status on the CKGS website, I could not track my application. This was the first 2-3 days after package was received at CKGS. This is just normal so dont panic(I did) if you cant track your application right away.
11. The initial acknowledgement email from CKGS has the old US passport number listed. This does not matter (Thanks priyaseeksoci for clarifying!).
12. Passport.gov.in site takes a few more days after initial CKGS acknowledgement before your application is trackable.
13. On the CKGS pdf order form, I noticed that if your email address has an underscore(mine does!), it will merge with the larger underline for the field and not be obvious on reading. So I actually pasted a separate small paper with my email address on the field in the form and sent a copy of that.

Can't think of anything else at the moment. I dont have any consular needs in the short term. Thanks everyone for their support and advice on this forum! I practically lived on this forum for the past two months and couldn't have done it without you guys.... Good Luck to everyone else!

[jac2005]

In case of Reissue ONLY -

Sorry about the late response! Please understand that my application was for reissue and so am not sure if you are doing a brand new application or just a renewal. I cant speak for a brand new OCI application as I completed that almost 5 years ago. In the REISSUE scenario, I included 2 copies. So basically,

For Forms - I did one with signatures....and then 1 copy of the first printout (color or B/W) - Thus a total of 2.
Other Docs - 0/1 Original(If original was asked for) + 2 copies (eg - Passport)

I *think* I only attached one photo on the main OCI registration pdf form. I included a copy of the registration pdf form (which was a scanned copy of the first printout). While this one did not have an attached photo, it had the scanned photo from the first printout. I separated it into two sets and on the second set put a blank paper on top stating "Duplicate Set/Copy". I didn't want them thinking accidentally that this was a second application.