San Francisco Consulate - OCI processing time

[vurve]

Hi,

Me and my wife became US Citizens in the last week of July, and we have applied for US passport (expedited processing) which we hope to recieve by 26th August.

We have to go on a trip to India starting 22nd November, which means we will have a little less than 3 months time from the time we get our US passports.

Is this time enough to apply for OCI for me and my wife? What is your experience in case you got your OCI from San Francisco consulate. Is there an expedited processing for OCI applications? Should we rather go for PIO card?

Thanks for your help,

Vivek

[knowledgeable]

SF takes about ...

... 5 to 6 weeks and there's no expedited process.

If you have to travel immediately, get a one time use 6 month visa on the same day if you walk in.

Good luck.

[vurve]

Thanks for the quick reply! If the actual processing time is 5-6 weeks (vs the 12 weeks that they say on their website), then I think I have sufficient time before I leave on my trip. I'll apply for it, and if I do not see it coming when I near my travel date, I'll just walk in and get a visa like you suggested.

Thanks again!

Vivek

[knowledgeable]

There you go ...

... that's a good idea as anyway sooner or later you'll apply for your OCI which once you have it, its for LIFETIME.

Take care.

[vurve]

Hello,

I have a few questions on the OCI application process, and it will be great if you can clarify my doubts (have been trying to get in touch with SF consulate for this, but no luck)

1. Regarding the fee ($275), what are the payment methods (cashier’s check, Money Order, Cash, Credit card etc)? Also, if it is a check or Money Order, whom should I make it out to?

2. In the OCI form (Part B), I have a doubt regarding question # 16 on page 5 (shown below)

16. Does the country of applicant(s) permit dual citizenship in some form or the other?
Yes/No
If no, give specific details.

Can you tell me if the answer to this question is Yes, or No, for USA?

3. Can I and my Wife go in person to the consulate to apply for the OCI? If so, what is a good time to come over to the Consulate and do I need an appointment?

4. For all the documents (Indian Passport, US passport, US Citizenship certificate), are self attested photocopies acceptable, or do I need to bring in originals also?

Thanks once again for your help!

Vivek

[knowledgeable]

I am wondering ...

... on how lazy you can be. Why did you not take the efforts to even read the instructions right there on the SFO web site?

--> Fee will ONLY be accepted through MONEY ORDERS & CERTIFIED/CASHIERS CHECKS in favor of Consulate General of India, San Francisco.
CASH and Personal Checks WILL NOT be accepted.

The above is from the web site. If you had taken the time to go through it, you'd have not had to ask this silly question.

Answer to the question #16 is YES.

Think logically, if United States did not allow dual citizenship, will you be able to apply for the same from US? Will the SFO CGI accept your application in that case?

3. Yes you can walk in during consulate timings and apply in person. It does not help you much anyway. It'd be the same if you had mailed the application.

4. What do the instructions say? Read below from the same web site:
At the end of Part-B, a list of Documents that may be required at the time you submit your OCI application form.

Please ensure that copy of your passport [USA & INDIA (first page only) is self- attested.
Self attestation means- signing the photocopy of the required documents stating as "true copy of the original".

Only the first two and the last two pages of the Passports should be photocopied.

Please DO NOT PHOTOCOPY EMPTY PAGES OF THE PASSPORT

Note: For children born in USA, please attach a copy of the birth certificate as a proof of relationship with the child. This should be attested by either of the parent. ALL DOCUMENTS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED IN DUPLICATE. MAKE INDIVIDUAL SETS FOR EACH APPLICANT.

[vurve]

Thanks for all the helpful answers! I will try not to be lazy from now on

[knowledgeable]

Great ...

... that will help you very much.

Just use the advance search options in IMMIHELP and search on google.

I like your attitude.

Good luck.

[vurve]

Finally!!

I mailed in my and my wife's OCI applications today. Thanks for all the help that you provided. Now I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope I get the OCI before Nov 20th!

If not, 6 month Visa Zindabaad!

Thanks,
Vivek

[knowledgeable]

Make a note ...

... of the on-line number generated from the website.

Use that number to track the movement of the application after say little more than a week or so.

The process will be shown online only after the application reaches new Delhi, India.

Good luck.

[vurve]

Got the OCI cards today!

WooHoo!! It was faster than expected. I sent all my papers to the SF consulate on 8/20. The OCI card and U visa were sent from Delhi on 13th Septy, and recieved at the SF consulate on 19th Sept. So it took only about 1 month for the main process. Then I got lazy (shocking, but true!), and took my own sweet time to mail the US passports and Indian Passports to the SF consulate. Finally I recieved the OCI cards, the US pasports with the U visa, and the cancelled Indian Pasports today.

So the overall time taken was less than 2 months, and would have been even less had I mailed the US passports sooner.

Thanks for all the help on this forum,

vivek

[knowledgeable]

Congratulations !!!

Thanks for sharing your experience. It helps a lot of other people.

Best regards.

[Rima Jain]

Processing time of OCI - San Francisco 2013

I have applied individually for OCI Adult card with renunciation certificate.I sent my application with my Indian passport on 03/25/2013 via USPS certified mail.
I sent my photo with application with $465 money order issued by USPS.
I got my US passport with visa stamp with seperate OCI booklet and reniunciation certificate with cancelled indian passport via prepaid USPS certified priority mail on 05/17/2013.



Below is the my complete tracking history for my oci

Order History

Current as of 05/14/2013 9:30am PST

Date/Time Action
03/21/2013 1:54pm PST Service order form completed online
03/27/2013 11:14am PST OCI application arrived in the mail at Travisa Outsourcing. Please allow Travisa Outsourcing up to 7 business days before the application status
changes. Note that your application will undergo several steps before the status is updated.
03/27/2013 11:18am PST Application assigned for processing
03/28/2013 3:22pm PST Order form and supporting documents received, payment processed
04/01/2013 2:16pm PST Documents prepared to go to Embassy.
04/02/2013 8:13am PST Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
04/02/2013 12:28pm PST Documents received by Consulate
04/05/2013 2:00pm PST Pending approval of the Government of India
05/06/2013 2:21pm PST OCI Card received at the Consulate from Delhi, India. Waiting for original US passport to be sent to Travisa Outsourcing. If the US passport is
already at Travisa Outsourcing, no action needs to be taken.
05/09/2013 12:23pm PST Mail package acknowledged at Outsourcing Office.
05/09/2013 3:39pm PST Passport prepared to go to Consulate
05/10/2013 8:32am PST Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
05/10/2013 12:42pm PST Documents received by Consulate
05/13/2013 12:46pm PST Outsourcing office has verified the OCI is processed correctly. Waiting for mail courier pick up and is likely to be mailed out tomorrow.
05/13/2013 2:48pm PST Passport mailed out. Please note that the tracking information may not be active for up to 1 business day.



Applicants Name
File Acknowledgement Number
Date of Acknowledgement 03-Apr-2013
Registration Status at Mission San Francisco
OCI Number
Document Printing status Processed on 25-Apr-2013
Dispatched from MAOI(OCI) New Delhi on 30-Apr-2013
Document Received at San Francisco on 08-May-2013

[kardeep30]

I really need help

Me and my daughter is us citizen ....... My husband lives in india and i have emergency to go india
And i am planning to come back with my husband when he get visa so my question is as i dont have time
To apply oci and pio card so which visa should i apply tourist or entry visa so that if we want to stay in india more then 2 years
I and my lil baby would not face any trouble after register with FRRO.


Thanks in advance