New OCI for Minor

[ArumugamJP]

Hi guys,

I have a couple of questions regarding applying OCI for my child. Any help is really appreciated.

I and my wife are on L1 and L2 visas respectively and our son was born in US 2 months back. I have applied US passport for him. We are planning to go back to India for good in a couple of months and I'm confused between applying OCI or Entry visa for him. What I'm hearing is, right now they are only giving single entry 6 months visa to India and not the 5 year multiple entry visa due to COVID. And if we go to India on entry visa, it looks like I cannot apply OCI for him before 6 months of stay in India. So is it better to apply OCI and then go to India with that? The only confusion for me is what if the processing takes more time. I can go with this option if we can get OCI for him within 1.5 months from applying. Please provide your insights.

Thanks.

[arkaa]

Re OCI vs VISA, IMO it is worth the wait to get the OCI and travel with that - unless you have an urgent need to leave before it arrives. Not sure where you are based, but in most places new OCI is being issued in about 6-8 weeks. But VFS is still not operating smoothly and there are hiccups (see the experiences section of this forum), and if you are unlucky your OCI could be delayed, and you should be prepared for that.

If don't want to risk it, then try for that 6-month emergency visa showing termination of employment or transfer back to India as a cause and apply for OCI in India. Requiring '6-month of stay in India' to apply for OCI is to establish residency. You can either renew the visa, or maybe apply right on the dot and hope they allow it. Also consider that you have to send in the US passport for verification, and the general callous attitude of the bureaucracy in India.

Bottom line, you have a couple of months time so apply for the OCI immediately, at most you might have to stay in US for another month or so for the OCI, but it will remove future stress and the headaches. Plus, it will give your son a bit more time to grow which would help him deal better with the long air travel.

[ArumugamJP]

Thanks a lot for your response. So I think I’ll go ahead and apply OCI immediately and will keep visa as a backup option. Meaning, if OCI gets delayed too much for some reason, then I’ll apply visa during April and will travel with that. How does this sound? If I do this, then what will happen to OCI application? Will I be able to request them to deliver the OCI card to indian address?

[Jot18]

Thanks a lot for your response. So I think I’ll go ahead and apply OCI immediately and will keep visa as a backup option. Meaning, if OCI gets delayed too much for some reason, then I’ll apply visa during April and will travel with that. How does this sound? If I do this, then what will happen to OCI application? Will I be able to request them to deliver the OCI card to indian address?

VFS won't deliver overseas. Your OCI card will be mailed to address which is listed when you create labels. You should be able to get it back by April if you apply this week and there aren't any holds.

[ArumugamJP]

Thanks for the response guys. I decided to go for OCI and sent the documents via FedEx on 17-Feb. Now I’m worried that I might have made a mistake in the application form. In the last page of the application, there were 2 sections for signature. First one is for the applicant and second is for parents. I and my wife signed the second section and got notarized. But we left the first section empty as the digital image of my child’s thumb impression got printed in the first page of the application. But looking at others’ experiences, it seems like I should have got my child’s thumb impression in the last page of the application as well. Do you guys think the application will be rejected due to this reason?

[kiranboda]

ArumugamJP You never know, you might get lucky. Let's hope it goes through, but hard to say. In the event it is found deficient, VFS will put it on hold and will ask you to send you a new copy again. Not the end of the world, but just adds more processing time.