Should I Apply For OCI Card Or Indian Visa For USA Minor.

[DeepakS]

Hello,
I have a son who is born in USA six months ago (got his US Passport,Birth Certificate), We are Indian citizens on H-1/Dependent Visa till end of next year. We are planning to visit India for two month in month of January'17. My question are

1) Firstly should I apply for OCI (Washington Consulate) or should I apply for Visa ( also what would be visa category for minor)
2) If I apply for OCI for my son:
i) Do I need to have valid state identification card for Parents, If I only submit Utility bill which has only my name not my wife's name will that work as parents proof of address ?
ii) For minor, how do you upload the signature of applicant while filling the online form on Online OCI Service website for Part A and B?
iii) For other forms such as CKGS Disclaimer, Additional Particular forms, can parent sign on his behalf or should we have his left thumb impression everyone mention for applicant signature?
iv) Do we need to have Neutralization Certificate?

3) If I apply for OCI in October'16 & don't get the match-up process call till December, can I still apply for short term visa for January'17 travel and how soon would I get it.

I am sure these are very basic questions for all but would appreciate if anyone can help us, Thank you in advance!!

[jon1arne]

Wait with the OCI

Hi,

I work as a consultant in regards to Visa and OCI questions for Indians and foreigners all over the world.

In your case you don’t have time to start the OCI process before you go to India Jan of 2017. The current wait to get the OCI is around 6 - 8 months.

Go for the Visa option. As you are staying 2 months the e-visa is out of the question as it only last for 30 days. Apply for a normal tourist visa; with multiple entries if you are thinking of visiting India again within the next 8 months.

As for your other questions.

When it comes to applying for OCI a "documentation over-kill" is the best way to go. Any and all documents that you are in possession of is good and should be included, just in case. They will very often not tell you which documents to bring, or the list will be lacking several documents that they want. For some reason they are not willing to update their web page to include these. In also changes from the country that you are applying from.

The OCI is ridiculously hard and technically challenging for most people to fill out.

2
i. yes
ii. not sure what you’re asking here. only thing I can say is that there will be a web site working with Indian government within about two weeks where they address these issues. it will be privately run so I believe it will be very user friendly, but the rumor is that you may have to pay 3-4 USD for signature and photo re-format, to fit the application. Think it will be visahelpdesk.net or ocihelpdesk.net not sure.
iii. in this case I would do the thumb print, the oci's I currently have seen, this practice is used.
iv. yes

3. Yes. Apply for the Visa.

Sorry, I was in a hurry writing this so apologize for the hurried way it was written.

All the best,

Jon

[DeepakS]

Thank you Jon

Hey Jon,

Appreciate your response, thank you!

Hi,

I work as a consultant in regards to Visa and OCI questions for Indians and foreigners all over the world.

In your case you don’t have time to start the OCI process before you go to India Jan of 2017. The current wait to get the OCI is around 6 - 8 months.

Go for the Visa option. As you are staying 2 months the e-visa is out of the question as it only last for 30 days. Apply for a normal tourist visa; with multiple entries if you are thinking of visiting India again within the next 8 months.

As for your other questions.

When it comes to applying for OCI a "documentation over-kill" is the best way to go. Any and all documents that you are in possession of is good and should be included, just in case. They will very often not tell you which documents to bring, or the list will be lacking several documents that they want. For some reason they are not willing to update their web page to include these. In also changes from the country that you are applying from.

The OCI is ridiculously hard and technically challenging for most people to fill out.

2
i. yes
ii. not sure what you’re asking here. only thing I can say is that there will be a web site working with Indian government within about two weeks where they address these issues. it will be privately run so I believe it will be very user friendly, but the rumor is that you may have to pay 3-4 USD for signature and photo re-format, to fit the application. Think it will be visahelpdesk.net or ocihelpdesk.net not sure.
iii. in this case I would do the thumb print, the oci's I currently have seen, this practice is used.
iv. yes

3. Yes. Apply for the Visa.

Sorry, I was in a hurry writing this so apologize for the hurried way it was written.

All the best,

Jon

[Priyanka Ray]

Picking up the same thread for further questions

Hi Jon,

I am picking up the same thread since my questions are related. Deepak, I am sorry I am using your thread to ask my questions but they were very related.


We are traveling to India in December and were initially planning to go for the ETV for my 3-yr old daughter, since our travel is only planned for about 3 weeks. However I had second thoughts and decided to check in for the regular visa application too. So my questions are as follows:

1. If I apply for regular visa and it doesn't process on time, can I go ahead and apply for the ETV in December and travel?

2. If we travel with ETV are they accepted and hold good at transit ports? We are traveling via HKG and were not sure if transit ports allow ETV.

Thank you.

Regards
Priyanka

Hi,

I work as a consultant in regards to Visa and OCI questions for Indians and foreigners all over the world.

In your case you don’t have time to start the OCI process before you go to India Jan of 2017. The current wait to get the OCI is around 6 - 8 months.

Go for the Visa option. As you are staying 2 months the e-visa is out of the question as it only last for 30 days. Apply for a normal tourist visa; with multiple entries if you are thinking of visiting India again within the next 8 months.

As for your other questions.

When it comes to applying for OCI a "documentation over-kill" is the best way to go. Any and all documents that you are in possession of is good and should be included, just in case. They will very often not tell you which documents to bring, or the list will be lacking several documents that they want. For some reason they are not willing to update their web page to include these. In also changes from the country that you are applying from.

The OCI is ridiculously hard and technically challenging for most people to fill out.

2
i. yes
ii. not sure what you’re asking here. only thing I can say is that there will be a web site working with Indian government within about two weeks where they address these issues. it will be privately run so I believe it will be very user friendly, but the rumor is that you may have to pay 3-4 USD for signature and photo re-format, to fit the application. Think it will be visahelpdesk.net or ocihelpdesk.net not sure.
iii. in this case I would do the thumb print, the oci's I currently have seen, this practice is used.
iv. yes

3. Yes. Apply for the Visa.

Sorry, I was in a hurry writing this so apologize for the hurried way it was written.

All the best,

Jon

[jon1arne]

Tourist Visa / E-visa

Hi Priyanka

If you for the other type of visa have to submit the passport before hand and there might be a hold up, in that case you can not travel as you dont have travel documents. I feel the e-visa is the best option, but if you feel you have enough time, you choose the regular single/multiple entry tourist visa.

As far as transferring through Hong Kong, she will be fine as I take it she is a US citizen. She does not need a transfer visa, and indeed she can stay in HK for 90 days visa-free, and Indian citizens 14 days visa-free. Make sure that you have her visa (e-visa) documentation handy.

Best of luck.
Jon