Recent experience of Kids OCI re-issue due to new passport

[await_gc]

I recently had my kids OCI reissued as we got new US passport as the old one expired. I submitted the following documents initially as requested in the Travisa order form. But Travisa requested additional documents twice that took two additional weeks in processing time. Once the OCI documents reached the consulate it was processed within a week. See below for timeline. The entire process took a month to complete. Hope this will help to know what additional documents may be needed so you can send them with the initial application to get the process moving without additional document request delays.

Documents submitted for OCI Re-issue.
1. Travisa Order form for OCI Reissue(New Passport)
2. $40 cashiers check payable to “Travisa Outsourcing”.
3. Consulate application for OCI Miscellaneous Services
4. One additional passport photograph.
5. Self attested copy of New US passport
6. Original expired US passport with valid U-Visa.
7. Self attested copy of expired US passport.
8. Original OCI certificate of Registration card.
9. Self attested copy of OCI card
10. Self attested copy of Renunciation of Citizenship for Father
11. Self attested copy of Renunciation of Citizenship for Mother
12. Utility bill for proof of residence.
13. Prepaid return shipping label.

Documents requested after initial submission.
14. Submitted copies of both parents Indian passports.(See timeline below)
15. Submitted copies of both parents US passports and OCI cards.(See timeline below)


Travisa Timeline
07/28/2012 Service order form completed online
07/31/2012 OCI application arrived in the mail at Travisa Outsourcing.
07/31/2012 Application assigned for processing
07/31/2012 Order form and supporting documents received, payment processed
07/31/2012 Outsourcing office has received OCI application, but cannot process further. Application is on hold. Submitted copies of parents Indian passports as requested.
08/01/2012 Travisa Outsourcing has matched up your documents, and we are preparing your application to go to the Consulate shortly.
08/02/2012 Documents prepared to go to Embassy.
08/03/2012 Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
08/03/2012 Documents received by Consulate
08/03/2012 Application is pending.
08/08/2012 Outsourcing office has received OCI application, but cannot process further. Application is on hold. Submitted copies of parents US passports and OCI cards as requested.
08/09/2012 Travisa Outsourcing has matched up your documents, and we are preparing your application to go to the Consulate shortly.
08/09/2012 Documents prepared to go to Embassy.
08/13/2012 Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
08/13/2012 Documents received by Consulate
08/16/2012 Pending approval of the Government of India
08/20/2012 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.
08/21/2012 Mail package acknowledged at Outsourcing Office.
08/21/2012 Passport prepared to go to Consulate
08/22/2012 Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
08/22/2012 Documents received by Consulate
08/23/2012 Outsourcing office has verified the OCI is processed correctly. Waiting for mail courier pick up and is likely to be mailed out tomorrow.
08/24/2012 OCI received by mail

Consulate of India, New york timeline
08/14/2012 Acknowledged at the OCI status website and scanned
08/16/2012 Granted and Printed
08/17/2012 Dispatched from Delhi
08/20/2012 Reached CGNY

[milli]

I never knew getting the OCI updated with new passport would take a month and also would need to be sent to India with all these paperwork. I guess I would just carry the old passport instead of going through this grind. Anyways thanks for the information at least it helps us to know the process involved in it.

[await_gc]

See FAQ the following regarding when to renew OCI. Until you reach age 20 OCI has to be reissued each time a new passport is reissued.


Whether OCI documents have to be re-issued each time a new
passport is taken?
OCI registration certificate and visa have got to be re-issued each time
a new passport is issued up to the completion of 20 years of age and
once after completion of 50 years of age.
Re-issuance of OCI registration certificate and visa is not mandatory,
each time a new passport is issued between 21-50 years of age.
However, if the applicant wishes to obtain new set of OCI documents,
he/she can apply for the same.

[sbpdx]

OCI reissue (new passport) - submitted in SFO Mar 2013

I recently had my kids OCI reissued as we got new US passport as the old one expired. I submitted the following documents initially as requested in the Travisa order form. But Travisa requested additional documents twice that took two additional weeks in processing time. Once the OCI documents reached the consulate it was processed within a week. See below for timeline. The entire process took a month to complete. Hope this will help to know what additional documents may be needed so you can send them with the initial application to get the process moving without additional document request delays.

Documents submitted for OCI Re-issue.
1. Travisa Order form for OCI Reissue(New Passport)
2. $40 cashiers check payable to “Travisa Outsourcing”.
3. Consulate application for OCI Miscellaneous Services
4. One additional passport photograph.
5. Self attested copy of New US passport
6. Original expired US passport with valid U-Visa.
7. Self attested copy of expired US passport.
8. Original OCI certificate of Registration card.
9. Self attested copy of OCI card
10. Self attested copy of Renunciation of Citizenship for Father
11. Self attested copy of Renunciation of Citizenship for Mother
12. Utility bill for proof of residence.
13. Prepaid return shipping label.

Documents requested after initial submission.
14. Submitted copies of both parents Indian passports.(See timeline below)
15. Submitted copies of both parents US passports and OCI cards.(See timeline below)

Similar experience for kid's OCI reissue (because of new passport). Submitted to Travisa SFO in Mar 2013
Followed await_gc's checklist exactly (including the additional copies of parent's passports). 1.5 months for whole process.

Thanks to await_gc for his detailed list

03/18/2013 10:50pm PST Service order form completed online
03/20/2013 10:02am 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.
03/20/2013 10:05am PST Application assigned for processing
03/20/2013 12:27pm PST Order form and supporting documents received, payment processed
03/20/2013 3:29pm PST Documents prepared to go to Embassy.
03/21/2013 8:08am PST Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
03/21/2013 11:13am PST Documents received by Consulate
03/26/2013 2:00pm PST Pending approval of the Government of India
04/19/2013 11:11am 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.
04/23/2013 9:56am PST Mail package acknowledged at Outsourcing Office.
04/23/2013 4:54pm PST Passport prepared to go to Consulate
04/25/2013 8:46am PST Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
04/25/2013 4:31pm PST Documents received by Consulate
04/30/2013 10:21am PST Outsourcing office has verified the OCI is processed correctly.
Waiting for mail courier pick up and is likely to be mailed out tomorrow.
05/01/2013 10:05am PST Passport mailed out. Please note that the tracking information may not be active for up to 1 business day.
05/02/2013 4:00pm PST Passports received

[goodguy]

Can you guys post your experience in traveling with an old passport with U sticker and OCI booklet with new passport, in the recent few months?

[india2013]

Can you guys post your experience in traveling with an old passport with U sticker and OCI booklet with new passport, in the recent few months?

I have the same question. Can someone please let me know if i can travel with U sticker on expired US passport with OCI booklet. I just received new US passport but i'm traveling to india within month so i can't start this process. OCI website states that age 50+ should get reissue OCI on new passport. Please somebody provide any information or experience on this matter. Thank You...

[nopm]

Hello,

Several posts here were helpful to me, so thought I would share my experience. Thanks to all the previous posters as well as to whoever is keeping this forum alive. Warning - very long post.

Application was for new OCI card and passport stamp for children because their US passports were renewed.

Mailed application – September 21, 2013, Saturday; mail carrier – USPS.
Received new OCI and stamped passports in hand from BLS – November 20, 2013, Wednesday; mail carrier – USPS.
Mailed to - BLS Hosuton

For my 2 kids, here’s what I had included in each envelope when I sent the application to BLS:

Page 1 = Order Form printed out after filling in online; this has a bar code, tracking no., Houston address of BLS, application type (Postal), Shipping method (tracking no. of the mail, the USPS tracking no. in my case), name of applicant, phone no. of applicant (that would be mine as parent), e-mail of applicant (that would be mine as parent), passport no. of applicant (i.e. the child’s), service details (consular fee = $25, ICWF = $3, BLS service fee = $4.70)

Page 2 = Money Order; this is technically not a full page, but was in order the 2nd item in the package. I made the MO payable to “BLS International USA” for $32.70.

Page 3 = completed first page of application form, called OCI Registration Form. We pasted the picture of the applicant in the top right box, and had the applicant sign in the box right below it. This page says Page 1 of 2 at the bottom but in effect is the only one to be filled since Page 2 is just instructions.

Page 4 = copy of photo page and opposite page of my wife’s cancelled/renounced Indian passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 5 = copy of photo page and opposite page of my cancelled/renounced Indian passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 6 = copy of my wife’s naturalization certificate; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 7 = copy of my naturalization certificate; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 8 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s current/renewed US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 9 = copy of Pages 24 and 25 of applicant’s current/renewed US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 10 = copy of Pages 26 and 27 of applicant’s current/renewed US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 11 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s old/expired US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).
Page 12 = copy of U visa page and opposite page of applicant’s old/expired US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 13 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s old/existing OCI booklet; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 14 = copy of last 2 pages of applicant’s old/existing OCI booklet; one page/side has CAUTION items in English and Hindi, the other page/side has child’s father’s name, child’s mother’s name, child’s address in US, child’s US passport no. which is expired now, etc.; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 15 = copy of driver’s license of my wife, front and back; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 16 = copy of my driver’s license, front and back; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Other item 1 = child’s existing OCI booklet.

Other item 2 = USPS Express Mail envelope with pre-paid USPS return Express Mail tracking label affixed on that envelope.

Envelope had – (2 copies of Pages 1 thru 16) + Other item 1 + Other item 2.

I kept a PDF copy of the entire thing as one file for each child, i.e. Pages 1 thru 16; plus BLS generated Shipping Label going out; plus USPS tracking label going out; plus USPS tracking label coming back to me.

One more thing to be printed and stuck on top of the mailing envelope going out to BLS – Shipping Label generated by BLS. This has BLS mailing address in Houston, bar code and tracking no. (same as described for Page 1 above), applicant’s name, tracking no. (yes, once again, same as described for Page 1 above), applicant’s passport no.

I sent 2 separate applications in 2 separate enveloped for my 2 kids.

I mailed the applications via USPS Express Mail on 9/21/2013, Saturday, for Overnight Delivery. So they were delivered on Monday, 9/23/13. Of course, I started checking their website starting 9/23 itself. One application showed up as received on 9/24, the other one on 9/25.

Here’s the timeline:
Mailed application – 9/21/13, Saturday
Application accepted by BLS – 9/25/13, Wednesday
Application Processed and Ready to be submitted to Consulate - 9/27/13, Friday (OK, that means first hurdle cleared)
Application sent to Consulate – around 9/30/13
Application sent to MOIA (India) – around 10/4/13 (2nd hurdle cleared!!!)
Documents printed/processed at MOIA (India) – 10/22/13, Tuesday (3rd hurdle cleared!!!)
Documents dispatched by MOIA (India) – 11/1/13, Friday
Documents received at Houston Consulate – 11/5/13, Tuesday; website also says – Pending Application. You have to go to a different tracking location where it says the same thing, but also provides a link to get a Confirmation Screen Print ( yes, the spelling of Enquiry is wrong on the URL); at that link you input some information, and it generates another page that gives OCI-Application Status Details (name, file no., date of acknowledgment, registration status at mission, OCI no., doc. Printing status, dispatched form MOIA (OCI) date, and Document received at Houston date). I believe I was supposed to get an e-mail from BLS informing me that docs were at Houston Consulate, so I need to send in original US passport and this Confirmation Screen Print. I never got that e-mail, wasted a few days, eventually found my way to this other page of tracking my application, which gave me the instructions. The toll free helpline goes to India, and they are completely useless. I called them on a Friday, the connection was extremely bad, the gentleman was very nice, he promised me that I will get an e-mail the next day (Saturday??), then said within a day or 2, then couldn’t answer why I have never received any e-mail throughout the process, and then just hung up. I e-mailed also, and the response was quite swift. My question was – I know docs are at Houston Consulate, somehow I was able to discover that I needed a Confirmation Screen Print and got that, but haven’t received any e-mail from BLS, so do I send the passport and Confirmation, or is there anything else I need to send that I have not discovered yet? E-mail response was quick, but not very confident – Yes, you may send in the passport, no talk of the Confirmation Screen Print.
Mailed new/current/renewed US passport of applicant plus Confirmation Screen Print plus copy of pre-paid USPS return Express Mail label to BLS – 11/9/13, Saturday. The 3rd item was not required, but I sent in anyway, with a hand written note that this was a copy, the original was sent with the application in September. I also pasted the original shipping label from September on the USPS envelope, with a hand written note on the label that this was “Passport Matchup for OCI Reissue.” Keeping a PDF of everything that went out helped in this case.
BLS receives package – 11/12/13, Tuesday (11/11 Monday was federal holiday)
BLS acknowledges package receipt on web site – around 11/13/13
BLS sends package to Consulate for OCI/Passport matchup – around 11/14/13 (4th hurdle cleared!!!)
Passport matchup done at Consulate – around 11/15/13
Passport and OCI dispatched from Consulate – around 11/15/13 (5th hurdle cleared!!!)
Application received at BLS Center – 11/18/13, Monday, 11:02 am
Application Dispatched to Applicant – 11/18/13, Monday, 18:04 pm (6th hurdle cleared!!!)
Passport and OCI received in hand – 11/20/13, Wednesday

Major inconvenience – have to enter mailing tracking nos. to generate (i) Order Form and (ii) Shipping Label. I brought several of the USPS Express Mail labels/forms and envelopes home when I was getting ready to mail things out. I invariably made mistakes on the Mailing label, and had to re-do the Order Form to reflect the new form’s/label’s tracking no. Having several of the envelopes and labels handy means you don’t have to run to the Post Office again if you make any mistakes just to get the supplies. I returned the unused extras to the PO when I mailed things out.

When you fill out the Order Form, you will get a tracking no., 12 digits in my case, that will be used in many places throughout.

Note – When you fill out the Order Form you are supposed to get an e-mail with the Shipping Label which you print and paste on top of the outgoing envelope. I never got any such e-mail. There is a place on their site where you can print the label by inputting the Order Form tracking no. This page also lets you print the Order Form again, i.e. your completed Order Form.

Note – When the docs reach Houston from India, send in new US passport plus Confirmation Screen Print. The instructions for sending in this second piece of paper are buried in their website somewhere. It is not in the usual tracking page, but try other ways of tracking, and you will eventually get to that page. Sorry, I didn’t keep a track of how to get there, but the URL is* yes, the spelling of Enquiry is wrong on the URL.

I felt that keeping a PDF of everything going out was handy.

BLS Houston Phone no. 281-974-3929 – I was able to reach it on 1 occasions out of the many I tried. A lady answered, seemed to be American, professional, and just told me that they don’t have any more information than what the website says.

BLS Helpline no. 855-436-0725 – useless. Extremely bad connection. The gentleman was nice but had no idea of the process. Whatever he checked was actually lagging the information I could see online. When BLS website said my OCI was approved “Pending Application,” he said – no, it was not approved yet.

BTW, what’s the difference between a “Phone no.” and a “Helpline no.”?

Once OCI is approved in India and comes to Houston, the website will say “… Pending Application.” I didn’t know what this “Pending Application” meant. Eventually figured out that means we have to send in the US passport plus the Confirmation Screen Print; guess they consider that as an application.

The instructions said – 2 copies of each to be submitted. I did that. When the new OCI and stamped US passport came back, one of the copies of my entire application package was returned in the envelope also, with a hand written blue highlighter text in the back – “Extra.”

Overall impression – the system worked for me; the website updated regularly when things happened; initial application instructions are plentiful, wayyyyy too much detailed, and confusing; the last step of action from our end is not clear; during many steps I felt like I was taking a chance, but it worked out in the end; Travisa was wayyyyy better; it is scary to send these important pieces of paper out with practically no customer service access.

I was planning a trip to India in December, during kids’ winter break. But I didn’t buy tickets until I got the envelopes in hand, and actually checked in to make sure that they sent back the correct items. You can imagine how tough ticketing was on 11/20 for travel in about a month in the peak season.

This new rule of requiring minors to get new OCI-s every time they get a new passport is fairly new. I was planning to go with regular OCI, plus kids’s old/expired passport with OCI stamp in it, plus their new passports. This was ok until recently. But, the regulations were changed recently, I didn’t want to take a chance, so went through the process in September, and things came down to the wire.

Similar experience for kid's OCI reissue (because of new passport). Submitted to Travisa SFO in Mar 2013
Followed await_gc's checklist exactly (including the additional copies of parent's passports). 1.5 months for whole process.

Thanks to await_gc for his detailed list

03/18/2013 10:50pm PST Service order form completed online
03/20/2013 10:02am 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.
03/20/2013 10:05am PST Application assigned for processing
03/20/2013 12:27pm PST Order form and supporting documents received, payment processed
03/20/2013 3:29pm PST Documents prepared to go to Embassy.
03/21/2013 8:08am PST Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
03/21/2013 11:13am PST Documents received by Consulate
03/26/2013 2:00pm PST Pending approval of the Government of India
04/19/2013 11:11am 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.
04/23/2013 9:56am PST Mail package acknowledged at Outsourcing Office.
04/23/2013 4:54pm PST Passport prepared to go to Consulate
04/25/2013 8:46am PST Documents dispatched from Travisa Outsourcing Office to Consulate
04/25/2013 4:31pm PST Documents received by Consulate
04/30/2013 10:21am PST Outsourcing office has verified the OCI is processed correctly.
Waiting for mail courier pick up and is likely to be mailed out tomorrow.
05/01/2013 10:05am PST Passport mailed out. Please note that the tracking information may not be active for up to 1 business day.
05/02/2013 4:00pm PST Passports received

[apaaas]

hello,

several posts here were helpful to me, so thought i would share my experience. Thanks to all the previous posters as well as to whoever is keeping this forum alive. Warning - very long post.

Application was for new oci card and passport stamp for children because their us passports were renewed.

Mailed application – september 21, 2013, saturday; mail carrier – usps.
Received new oci and stamped passports in hand from bls – november 20, 2013, wednesday; mail carrier – usps.
Mailed to - bls hosuton

for my 2 kids, here’s what i had included in each envelope when i sent the application to bls:

Page 1 = order form printed out after filling in online; this has a bar code, tracking no., houston address of bls, application type (postal), shipping method (tracking no. Of the mail, the usps tracking no. In my case), name of applicant, phone no. Of applicant (that would be mine as parent), e-mail of applicant (that would be mine as parent), passport no. Of applicant (i.e. The child’s), service details (consular fee = $25, icwf = $3, bls service fee = $4.70)

page 2 = money order; this is technically not a full page, but was in order the 2nd item in the package. I made the mo payable to “bls international usa” for $32.70.

Page 3 = completed first page of application form, called oci registration form. We pasted the picture of the applicant in the top right box, and had the applicant sign in the box right below it. This page says page 1 of 2 at the bottom but in effect is the only one to be filled since page 2 is just instructions.

Page 4 = copy of photo page and opposite page of my wife’s cancelled/renounced indian passport; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 5 = copy of photo page and opposite page of my cancelled/renounced indian passport; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 6 = copy of my wife’s naturalization certificate; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 7 = copy of my naturalization certificate; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 8 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s current/renewed us passport; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 9 = copy of pages 24 and 25 of applicant’s current/renewed us passport; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 10 = copy of pages 26 and 27 of applicant’s current/renewed us passport; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 11 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s old/expired us passport; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).
Page 12 = copy of u visa page and opposite page of applicant’s old/expired us passport; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 13 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s old/existing oci booklet; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 14 = copy of last 2 pages of applicant’s old/existing oci booklet; one page/side has caution items in english and hindi, the other page/side has child’s father’s name, child’s mother’s name, child’s address in us, child’s us passport no. Which is expired now, etc.; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 15 = copy of driver’s license of my wife, front and back; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 16 = copy of my driver’s license, front and back; attested by me (“certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Other item 1 = child’s existing oci booklet.

Other item 2 = usps express mail envelope with pre-paid usps return express mail tracking label affixed on that envelope.

Envelope had – (2 copies of pages 1 thru 16) + other item 1 + other item 2.

I kept a pdf copy of the entire thing as one file for each child, i.e. Pages 1 thru 16; plus bls generated shipping label going out; plus usps tracking label going out; plus usps tracking label coming back to me.

One more thing to be printed and stuck on top of the mailing envelope going out to bls – shipping label generated by bls. This has bls mailing address in houston, bar code and tracking no. (same as described for page 1 above), applicant’s name, tracking no. (yes, once again, same as described for page 1 above), applicant’s passport no.

I sent 2 separate applications in 2 separate enveloped for my 2 kids.

I mailed the applications via usps express mail on 9/21/2013, saturday, for overnight delivery. So they were delivered on monday, 9/23/13. Of course, i started checking their website starting 9/23 itself. One application showed up as received on 9/24, the other one on 9/25.

Here’s the timeline:
Mailed application – 9/21/13, saturday
application accepted by bls – 9/25/13, wednesday
application processed and ready to be submitted to consulate - 9/27/13, friday (ok, that means first hurdle cleared)
application sent to consulate – around 9/30/13
application sent to moia (india) – around 10/4/13 (2nd hurdle cleared!!!)
documents printed/processed at moia (india) – 10/22/13, tuesday (3rd hurdle cleared!!!)
documents dispatched by moia (india) – 11/1/13, friday
documents received at houston consulate – 11/5/13, tuesday; website also says – pending application. You have to go to a different tracking location where it says the same thing, but also provides a link to get a confirmation screen print ( yes, the spelling of enquiry is wrong on the url); at that link you input some information, and it generates another page that gives oci-application status details (name, file no., date of acknowledgment, registration status at mission, oci no., doc. Printing status, dispatched form moia (oci) date, and document received at houston date). I believe i was supposed to get an e-mail from bls informing me that docs were at houston consulate, so i need to send in original us passport and this confirmation screen print. I never got that e-mail, wasted a few days, eventually found my way to this other page of tracking my application, which gave me the instructions. The toll free helpline goes to india, and they are completely useless. I called them on a friday, the connection was extremely bad, the gentleman was very nice, he promised me that i will get an e-mail the next day (saturday??), then said within a day or 2, then couldn’t answer why i have never received any e-mail throughout the process, and then just hung up. I e-mailed also, and the response was quite swift. My question was – i know docs are at houston consulate, somehow i was able to discover that i needed a confirmation screen print and got that, but haven’t received any e-mail from bls, so do i send the passport and confirmation, or is there anything else i need to send that i have not discovered yet? E-mail response was quick, but not very confident – yes, you may send in the passport, no talk of the confirmation screen print.
Mailed new/current/renewed us passport of applicant plus confirmation screen print plus copy of pre-paid usps return express mail label to bls – 11/9/13, saturday. The 3rd item was not required, but i sent in anyway, with a hand written note that this was a copy, the original was sent with the application in september. I also pasted the original shipping label from september on the usps envelope, with a hand written note on the label that this was “passport matchup for oci reissue.” keeping a pdf of everything that went out helped in this case.
Bls receives package – 11/12/13, tuesday (11/11 monday was federal holiday)
bls acknowledges package receipt on web site – around 11/13/13
bls sends package to consulate for oci/passport matchup – around 11/14/13 (4th hurdle cleared!!!)
passport matchup done at consulate – around 11/15/13
passport and oci dispatched from consulate – around 11/15/13 (5th hurdle cleared!!!)
application received at bls center – 11/18/13, monday, 11:02 am
application dispatched to applicant – 11/18/13, monday, 18:04 pm (6th hurdle cleared!!!)
passport and oci received in hand – 11/20/13, wednesday

major inconvenience – have to enter mailing tracking nos. To generate (i) order form and (ii) shipping label. I brought several of the usps express mail labels/forms and envelopes home when i was getting ready to mail things out. I invariably made mistakes on the mailing label, and had to re-do the order form to reflect the new form’s/label’s tracking no. Having several of the envelopes and labels handy means you don’t have to run to the post office again if you make any mistakes just to get the supplies. I returned the unused extras to the po when i mailed things out.

When you fill out the order form, you will get a tracking no., 12 digits in my case, that will be used in many places throughout.

Note – when you fill out the order form you are supposed to get an e-mail with the shipping label which you print and paste on top of the outgoing envelope. I never got any such e-mail. There is a place on their site where you can print the label by inputting the order form tracking no. This page also lets you print the order form again, i.e. Your completed order form.

Note – when the docs reach houston from india, send in new us passport plus confirmation screen print. The instructions for sending in this second piece of paper are buried in their website somewhere. It is not in the usual tracking page, but try other ways of tracking, and you will eventually get to that page. Sorry, i didn’t keep a track of how to get there, but the url is* yes, the spelling of enquiry is wrong on the url.

I felt that keeping a pdf of everything going out was handy.

Bls houston phone no. 281-974-3929 – i was able to reach it on 1 occasions out of the many i tried. A lady answered, seemed to be american, professional, and just told me that they don’t have any more information than what the website says.

Bls helpline no. 855-436-0725 – useless. Extremely bad connection. The gentleman was nice but had no idea of the process. Whatever he checked was actually lagging the information i could see online. When bls website said my oci was approved “pending application,” he said – no, it was not approved yet.

Btw, what’s the difference between a “phone no.” and a “helpline no.”?

Once oci is approved in india and comes to houston, the website will say “… pending application.” i didn’t know what this “pending application” meant. Eventually figured out that means we have to send in the us passport plus the confirmation screen print; guess they consider that as an application.

The instructions said – 2 copies of each to be submitted. I did that. When the new oci and stamped us passport came back, one of the copies of my entire application package was returned in the envelope also, with a hand written blue highlighter text in the back – “extra.”

overall impression – the system worked for me; the website updated regularly when things happened; initial application instructions are plentiful, wayyyyy too much detailed, and confusing; the last step of action from our end is not clear; during many steps i felt like i was taking a chance, but it worked out in the end; travisa was wayyyyy better; it is scary to send these important pieces of paper out with practically no customer service access.

I was planning a trip to india in december, during kids’ winter break. But i didn’t buy tickets until i got the envelopes in hand, and actually checked in to make sure that they sent back the correct items. You can imagine how tough ticketing was on 11/20 for travel in about a month in the peak season.

This new rule of requiring minors to get new oci-s every time they get a new passport is fairly new. I was planning to go with regular oci, plus kids’s old/expired passport with oci stamp in it, plus their new passports. This was ok until recently. But, the regulations were changed recently, i didn’t want to take a chance, so went through the process in september, and things came down to the wire.

did anyone went with old/expired passport with oci stamp, new passport and oci card for the child in last 2-3 months and was permitted in india with no hassles even though new rule states that transfer of visa to new passport is required. I am traveling in feb and dont have the time to go thru this paper-works. Just received new us passports for my boys.

[sumalokesh]

did anyone went with old/expired passport with oci stamp, new passport and oci card for the child in last 2-3 months and was permitted in india with no hassles even though new rule states that transfer of visa to new passport is required. I am traveling in feb and dont have the time to go thru this paper-works. Just received new us passports for my boys.

I have been trying to contact BLS NY office for the past week or so and looks like there contact information is not right or working...

I would appreciate if you can answer my questions as couple of you recently applied for OCI and I am trying to apply for the same along with renunciation..

OCI questions -
========================
1. Family Signatures on OCI part-b application. There are 2 lines on part b and there are boxes for parent's signature in case of minor childern. Since we are applying as family of 4 and all 4 signatures are required per instructions, where can all of us sign since there are only 2 lines? Should parents just sign or does kids need to sign as well?

2. For renunciation is there separate online form or I just check the box when I fill out for OCI card?

3. Since we are sending one envelope as a family what should the airway bill no. be for the prepaid delivery.

Should I fill the same outgoing tracking no. on all BLS order forms and take multiple return envelopes and use one each for each of us?

4. I have taken separate cashier checks for renunciation fees and OCI fees..can I give multiple cashier check nos on online order form or should I take one cashier check?

5. Can we discard the current OCI application for family and start over as individual application as that process seems to be straight forward instead of family application?

6. How many sets of documents do we need to send if applying for renunciation and OCI? I see that 2 sets is mandatory..but since we are applying for OCI and renunciation, do I send 4?

Thanks in advance for your help. I would appreciate if you can respond back soon.

Thanks
Suma

[kmnalluri]

This is the URL : http://passport.gov.in/oci/statusEnqury

This is the URL for a different tracking location.

http://passport.gov.in/oci/statusEnqury

Hello,

Several posts here were helpful to me, so thought I would share my experience. Thanks to all the previous posters as well as to whoever is keeping this forum alive. Warning - very long post.

Application was for new OCI card and passport stamp for children because their US passports were renewed.

Mailed application – September 21, 2013, Saturday; mail carrier – USPS.
Received new OCI and stamped passports in hand from BLS – November 20, 2013, Wednesday; mail carrier – USPS.
Mailed to - BLS Hosuton

For my 2 kids, here’s what I had included in each envelope when I sent the application to BLS:

Page 1 = Order Form printed out after filling in online; this has a bar code, tracking no., Houston address of BLS, application type (Postal), Shipping method (tracking no. of the mail, the USPS tracking no. in my case), name of applicant, phone no. of applicant (that would be mine as parent), e-mail of applicant (that would be mine as parent), passport no. of applicant (i.e. the child’s), service details (consular fee = $25, ICWF = $3, BLS service fee = $4.70)

Page 2 = Money Order; this is technically not a full page, but was in order the 2nd item in the package. I made the MO payable to “BLS International USA” for $32.70.

Page 3 = completed first page of application form, called OCI Registration Form. We pasted the picture of the applicant in the top right box, and had the applicant sign in the box right below it. This page says Page 1 of 2 at the bottom but in effect is the only one to be filled since Page 2 is just instructions.

Page 4 = copy of photo page and opposite page of my wife’s cancelled/renounced Indian passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 5 = copy of photo page and opposite page of my cancelled/renounced Indian passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 6 = copy of my wife’s naturalization certificate; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 7 = copy of my naturalization certificate; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 8 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s current/renewed US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 9 = copy of Pages 24 and 25 of applicant’s current/renewed US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 10 = copy of Pages 26 and 27 of applicant’s current/renewed US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 11 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s old/expired US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).
Page 12 = copy of U visa page and opposite page of applicant’s old/expired US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 13 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s old/existing OCI booklet; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 14 = copy of last 2 pages of applicant’s old/existing OCI booklet; one page/side has CAUTION items in English and Hindi, the other page/side has child’s father’s name, child’s mother’s name, child’s address in US, child’s US passport no. which is expired now, etc.; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 15 = copy of driver’s license of my wife, front and back; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 16 = copy of my driver’s license, front and back; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Other item 1 = child’s existing OCI booklet.

Other item 2 = USPS Express Mail envelope with pre-paid USPS return Express Mail tracking label affixed on that envelope.

Envelope had – (2 copies of Pages 1 thru 16) + Other item 1 + Other item 2.

I kept a PDF copy of the entire thing as one file for each child, i.e. Pages 1 thru 16; plus BLS generated Shipping Label going out; plus USPS tracking label going out; plus USPS tracking label coming back to me.

One more thing to be printed and stuck on top of the mailing envelope going out to BLS – Shipping Label generated by BLS. This has BLS mailing address in Houston, bar code and tracking no. (same as described for Page 1 above), applicant’s name, tracking no. (yes, once again, same as described for Page 1 above), applicant’s passport no.

I sent 2 separate applications in 2 separate enveloped for my 2 kids.

I mailed the applications via USPS Express Mail on 9/21/2013, Saturday, for Overnight Delivery. So they were delivered on Monday, 9/23/13. Of course, I started checking their website starting 9/23 itself. One application showed up as received on 9/24, the other one on 9/25.

Here’s the timeline:
Mailed application – 9/21/13, Saturday
Application accepted by BLS – 9/25/13, Wednesday
Application Processed and Ready to be submitted to Consulate - 9/27/13, Friday (OK, that means first hurdle cleared)
Application sent to Consulate – around 9/30/13
Application sent to MOIA (India) – around 10/4/13 (2nd hurdle cleared!!!)
Documents printed/processed at MOIA (India) – 10/22/13, Tuesday (3rd hurdle cleared!!!)
Documents dispatched by MOIA (India) – 11/1/13, Friday
Documents received at Houston Consulate – 11/5/13, Tuesday; website also says – Pending Application. You have to go to a different tracking location where it says the same thing, but also provides a link to get a Confirmation Screen Print ( yes, the spelling of Enquiry is wrong on the URL); at that link you input some information, and it generates another page that gives OCI-Application Status Details (name, file no., date of acknowledgment, registration status at mission, OCI no., doc. Printing status, dispatched form MOIA (OCI) date, and Document received at Houston date). I believe I was supposed to get an e-mail from BLS informing me that docs were at Houston Consulate, so I need to send in original US passport and this Confirmation Screen Print. I never got that e-mail, wasted a few days, eventually found my way to this other page of tracking my application, which gave me the instructions. The toll free helpline goes to India, and they are completely useless. I called them on a Friday, the connection was extremely bad, the gentleman was very nice, he promised me that I will get an e-mail the next day (Saturday??), then said within a day or 2, then couldn’t answer why I have never received any e-mail throughout the process, and then just hung up. I e-mailed also, and the response was quite swift. My question was – I know docs are at Houston Consulate, somehow I was able to discover that I needed a Confirmation Screen Print and got that, but haven’t received any e-mail from BLS, so do I send the passport and Confirmation, or is there anything else I need to send that I have not discovered yet? E-mail response was quick, but not very confident – Yes, you may send in the passport, no talk of the Confirmation Screen Print.
Mailed new/current/renewed US passport of applicant plus Confirmation Screen Print plus copy of pre-paid USPS return Express Mail label to BLS – 11/9/13, Saturday. The 3rd item was not required, but I sent in anyway, with a hand written note that this was a copy, the original was sent with the application in September. I also pasted the original shipping label from September on the USPS envelope, with a hand written note on the label that this was “Passport Matchup for OCI Reissue.” Keeping a PDF of everything that went out helped in this case.
BLS receives package – 11/12/13, Tuesday (11/11 Monday was federal holiday)
BLS acknowledges package receipt on web site – around 11/13/13
BLS sends package to Consulate for OCI/Passport matchup – around 11/14/13 (4th hurdle cleared!!!)
Passport matchup done at Consulate – around 11/15/13
Passport and OCI dispatched from Consulate – around 11/15/13 (5th hurdle cleared!!!)
Application received at BLS Center – 11/18/13, Monday, 11:02 am
Application Dispatched to Applicant – 11/18/13, Monday, 18:04 pm (6th hurdle cleared!!!)
Passport and OCI received in hand – 11/20/13, Wednesday

Major inconvenience – have to enter mailing tracking nos. to generate (i) Order Form and (ii) Shipping Label. I brought several of the USPS Express Mail labels/forms and envelopes home when I was getting ready to mail things out. I invariably made mistakes on the Mailing label, and had to re-do the Order Form to reflect the new form’s/label’s tracking no. Having several of the envelopes and labels handy means you don’t have to run to the Post Office again if you make any mistakes just to get the supplies. I returned the unused extras to the PO when I mailed things out.

When you fill out the Order Form, you will get a tracking no., 12 digits in my case, that will be used in many places throughout.

Note – When you fill out the Order Form you are supposed to get an e-mail with the Shipping Label which you print and paste on top of the outgoing envelope. I never got any such e-mail. There is a place on their site where you can print the label by inputting the Order Form tracking no. This page also lets you print the Order Form again, i.e. your completed Order Form.

Note – When the docs reach Houston from India, send in new US passport plus Confirmation Screen Print. The instructions for sending in this second piece of paper are buried in their website somewhere. It is not in the usual tracking page, but try other ways of tracking, and you will eventually get to that page. Sorry, I didn’t keep a track of how to get there, but the URL is* yes, the spelling of Enquiry is wrong on the URL.

I felt that keeping a PDF of everything going out was handy.

BLS Houston Phone no. 281-974-3929 – I was able to reach it on 1 occasions out of the many I tried. A lady answered, seemed to be American, professional, and just told me that they don’t have any more information than what the website says.

BLS Helpline no. 855-436-0725 – useless. Extremely bad connection. The gentleman was nice but had no idea of the process. Whatever he checked was actually lagging the information I could see online. When BLS website said my OCI was approved “Pending Application,” he said – no, it was not approved yet.

BTW, what’s the difference between a “Phone no.” and a “Helpline no.”?

Once OCI is approved in India and comes to Houston, the website will say “… Pending Application.” I didn’t know what this “Pending Application” meant. Eventually figured out that means we have to send in the US passport plus the Confirmation Screen Print; guess they consider that as an application.

The instructions said – 2 copies of each to be submitted. I did that. When the new OCI and stamped US passport came back, one of the copies of my entire application package was returned in the envelope also, with a hand written blue highlighter text in the back – “Extra.”

Overall impression – the system worked for me; the website updated regularly when things happened; initial application instructions are plentiful, wayyyyy too much detailed, and confusing; the last step of action from our end is not clear; during many steps I felt like I was taking a chance, but it worked out in the end; Travisa was wayyyyy better; it is scary to send these important pieces of paper out with practically no customer service access.

I was planning a trip to India in December, during kids’ winter break. But I didn’t buy tickets until I got the envelopes in hand, and actually checked in to make sure that they sent back the correct items. You can imagine how tough ticketing was on 11/20 for travel in about a month in the peak season.

This new rule of requiring minors to get new OCI-s every time they get a new passport is fairly new. I was planning to go with regular OCI, plus kids’s old/expired passport with OCI stamp in it, plus their new passports. This was ok until recently. But, the regulations were changed recently, I didn’t want to take a chance, so went through the process in September, and things came down to the wire.

[Rajagort]

Do we need to send Notarized Copies?

Can someone help me understand the following requirement for kids OCI reissue? The BLS instruction page is ridiculous. They combine adult and minor all the time. I am applying only for my kids (by Mail to NY).


- I see in the instructions 3.2, that the parent signatures need to be notarized? Also, it says, under OTHER DOCUMENTS, need to be notarized. Did you notarize it for your kids?
- For renunciation certificate, is it sufficient to send just a copy of the official Renunciation certificate or copy of cancelled Indian passport as well? Or do we need to send Originals?

I can not understand why our Indian Govt is obsessed with this notarization and attestation! Plus, if we have questions, there is absolutely no customer/phone support.

Thanks
====================

[nopm]

Can someone help me understand the following requirement for kids OCI reissue? The BLS instruction page is ridiculous. They combine adult and minor all the time. I am applying only for my kids (by Mail to NY).


- I see in the instructions 3.2, that the parent signatures need to be notarized? Also, it says, under OTHER DOCUMENTS, need to be notarized. Did you notarize it for your kids?
- For renunciation certificate, is it sufficient to send just a copy of the official Renunciation certificate or copy of cancelled Indian passport as well? Or do we need to send Originals?

I can not understand why our Indian Govt is obsessed with this notarization and attestation! Plus, if we have questions, there is absolutely no customer/phone support.

Thanks
====================

I did not notarize. Instead, I self attested, i.e. wrote: 'Certified true copy' – my signature, date. It worked for me.

Cannot help with renunciation, didn't have to do that.

Good luck.

[Rajagort]

Thanks for the quick reply. I am a bit confused with the instructions that say that the parents signatures must be notarized on the form. They can not write good instructions and they do not answer their phones.

Quick question. Did you see the same instruction for notarization in Nov, or as usual, our Govt bureaucrats changed the policy as usual? Thanks.

I did not notarize. Instead, I self attested, i.e. wrote: 'Certified true copy' – my signature, date. It worked for me.

Cannot help with renunciation, didn't have to do that.

Good luck.

[Rajagort]

originals

Did you send the kids old original Cancelled US Passport along with the first OCI form?

Hello,

Several posts here were helpful to me, so thought I would share my experience. Thanks to all the previous posters as well as to whoever is keeping this forum alive. Warning - very long post.

Application was for new OCI card and passport stamp for children because their US passports were renewed.

Mailed application – September 21, 2013, Saturday; mail carrier – USPS.
Received new OCI and stamped passports in hand from BLS – November 20, 2013, Wednesday; mail carrier – USPS.
Mailed to - BLS Hosuton

For my 2 kids, here’s what I had included in each envelope when I sent the application to BLS:

Page 1 = Order Form printed out after filling in online; this has a bar code, tracking no., Houston address of BLS, application type (Postal), Shipping method (tracking no. of the mail, the USPS tracking no. in my case), name of applicant, phone no. of applicant (that would be mine as parent), e-mail of applicant (that would be mine as parent), passport no. of applicant (i.e. the child’s), service details (consular fee = $25, ICWF = $3, BLS service fee = $4.70)

Page 2 = Money Order; this is technically not a full page, but was in order the 2nd item in the package. I made the MO payable to “BLS International USA” for $32.70.

Page 3 = completed first page of application form, called OCI Registration Form. We pasted the picture of the applicant in the top right box, and had the applicant sign in the box right below it. This page says Page 1 of 2 at the bottom but in effect is the only one to be filled since Page 2 is just instructions.

Page 4 = copy of photo page and opposite page of my wife’s cancelled/renounced Indian passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 5 = copy of photo page and opposite page of my cancelled/renounced Indian passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 6 = copy of my wife’s naturalization certificate; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 7 = copy of my naturalization certificate; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 8 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s current/renewed US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 9 = copy of Pages 24 and 25 of applicant’s current/renewed US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 10 = copy of Pages 26 and 27 of applicant’s current/renewed US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 11 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s old/expired US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).
Page 12 = copy of U visa page and opposite page of applicant’s old/expired US passport; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 13 = copy of photo page and opposite page of applicant’s old/existing OCI booklet; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 14 = copy of last 2 pages of applicant’s old/existing OCI booklet; one page/side has CAUTION items in English and Hindi, the other page/side has child’s father’s name, child’s mother’s name, child’s address in US, child’s US passport no. which is expired now, etc.; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 15 = copy of driver’s license of my wife, front and back; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Page 16 = copy of my driver’s license, front and back; attested by me (“Certified true copy” – my signature, date).

Other item 1 = child’s existing OCI booklet.

Other item 2 = USPS Express Mail envelope with pre-paid USPS return Express Mail tracking label affixed on that envelope.

Envelope had – (2 copies of Pages 1 thru 16) + Other item 1 + Other item 2.

I kept a PDF copy of the entire thing as one file for each child, i.e. Pages 1 thru 16; plus BLS generated Shipping Label going out; plus USPS tracking label going out; plus USPS tracking label coming back to me.

One more thing to be printed and stuck on top of the mailing envelope going out to BLS – Shipping Label generated by BLS. This has BLS mailing address in Houston, bar code and tracking no. (same as described for Page 1 above), applicant’s name, tracking no. (yes, once again, same as described for Page 1 above), applicant’s passport no.

I sent 2 separate applications in 2 separate enveloped for my 2 kids.

I mailed the applications via USPS Express Mail on 9/21/2013, Saturday, for Overnight Delivery. So they were delivered on Monday, 9/23/13. Of course, I started checking their website starting 9/23 itself. One application showed up as received on 9/24, the other one on 9/25.

Here’s the timeline:
Mailed application – 9/21/13, Saturday
Application accepted by BLS – 9/25/13, Wednesday
Application Processed and Ready to be submitted to Consulate - 9/27/13, Friday (OK, that means first hurdle cleared)
Application sent to Consulate – around 9/30/13
Application sent to MOIA (India) – around 10/4/13 (2nd hurdle cleared!!!)
Documents printed/processed at MOIA (India) – 10/22/13, Tuesday (3rd hurdle cleared!!!)
Documents dispatched by MOIA (India) – 11/1/13, Friday
Documents received at Houston Consulate – 11/5/13, Tuesday; website also says – Pending Application. You have to go to a different tracking location where it says the same thing, but also provides a link to get a Confirmation Screen Print ( yes, the spelling of Enquiry is wrong on the URL); at that link you input some information, and it generates another page that gives OCI-Application Status Details (name, file no., date of acknowledgment, registration status at mission, OCI no., doc. Printing status, dispatched form MOIA (OCI) date, and Document received at Houston date). I believe I was supposed to get an e-mail from BLS informing me that docs were at Houston Consulate, so I need to send in original US passport and this Confirmation Screen Print. I never got that e-mail, wasted a few days, eventually found my way to this other page of tracking my application, which gave me the instructions. The toll free helpline goes to India, and they are completely useless. I called them on a Friday, the connection was extremely bad, the gentleman was very nice, he promised me that I will get an e-mail the next day (Saturday??), then said within a day or 2, then couldn’t answer why I have never received any e-mail throughout the process, and then just hung up. I e-mailed also, and the response was quite swift. My question was – I know docs are at Houston Consulate, somehow I was able to discover that I needed a Confirmation Screen Print and got that, but haven’t received any e-mail from BLS, so do I send the passport and Confirmation, or is there anything else I need to send that I have not discovered yet? E-mail response was quick, but not very confident – Yes, you may send in the passport, no talk of the Confirmation Screen Print.
Mailed new/current/renewed US passport of applicant plus Confirmation Screen Print plus copy of pre-paid USPS return Express Mail label to BLS – 11/9/13, Saturday. The 3rd item was not required, but I sent in anyway, with a hand written note that this was a copy, the original was sent with the application in September. I also pasted the original shipping label from September on the USPS envelope, with a hand written note on the label that this was “Passport Matchup for OCI Reissue.” Keeping a PDF of everything that went out helped in this case.
BLS receives package – 11/12/13, Tuesday (11/11 Monday was federal holiday)
BLS acknowledges package receipt on web site – around 11/13/13
BLS sends package to Consulate for OCI/Passport matchup – around 11/14/13 (4th hurdle cleared!!!)
Passport matchup done at Consulate – around 11/15/13
Passport and OCI dispatched from Consulate – around 11/15/13 (5th hurdle cleared!!!)
Application received at BLS Center – 11/18/13, Monday, 11:02 am
Application Dispatched to Applicant – 11/18/13, Monday, 18:04 pm (6th hurdle cleared!!!)
Passport and OCI received in hand – 11/20/13, Wednesday

Major inconvenience – have to enter mailing tracking nos. to generate (i) Order Form and (ii) Shipping Label. I brought several of the USPS Express Mail labels/forms and envelopes home when I was getting ready to mail things out. I invariably made mistakes on the Mailing label, and had to re-do the Order Form to reflect the new form’s/label’s tracking no. Having several of the envelopes and labels handy means you don’t have to run to the Post Office again if you make any mistakes just to get the supplies. I returned the unused extras to the PO when I mailed things out.

When you fill out the Order Form, you will get a tracking no., 12 digits in my case, that will be used in many places throughout.

Note – When you fill out the Order Form you are supposed to get an e-mail with the Shipping Label which you print and paste on top of the outgoing envelope. I never got any such e-mail. There is a place on their site where you can print the label by inputting the Order Form tracking no. This page also lets you print the Order Form again, i.e. your completed Order Form.

Note – When the docs reach Houston from India, send in new US passport plus Confirmation Screen Print. The instructions for sending in this second piece of paper are buried in their website somewhere. It is not in the usual tracking page, but try other ways of tracking, and you will eventually get to that page. Sorry, I didn’t keep a track of how to get there, but the URL is* yes, the spelling of Enquiry is wrong on the URL.

I felt that keeping a PDF of everything going out was handy.

BLS Houston Phone no. 281-974-3929 – I was able to reach it on 1 occasions out of the many I tried. A lady answered, seemed to be American, professional, and just told me that they don’t have any more information than what the website says.

BLS Helpline no. 855-436-0725 – useless. Extremely bad connection. The gentleman was nice but had no idea of the process. Whatever he checked was actually lagging the information I could see online. When BLS website said my OCI was approved “Pending Application,” he said – no, it was not approved yet.

BTW, what’s the difference between a “Phone no.” and a “Helpline no.”?

Once OCI is approved in India and comes to Houston, the website will say “… Pending Application.” I didn’t know what this “Pending Application” meant. Eventually figured out that means we have to send in the US passport plus the Confirmation Screen Print; guess they consider that as an application.

The instructions said – 2 copies of each to be submitted. I did that. When the new OCI and stamped US passport came back, one of the copies of my entire application package was returned in the envelope also, with a hand written blue highlighter text in the back – “Extra.”

Overall impression – the system worked for me; the website updated regularly when things happened; initial application instructions are plentiful, wayyyyy too much detailed, and confusing; the last step of action from our end is not clear; during many steps I felt like I was taking a chance, but it worked out in the end; Travisa was wayyyyy better; it is scary to send these important pieces of paper out with practically no customer service access.

I was planning a trip to India in December, during kids’ winter break. But I didn’t buy tickets until I got the envelopes in hand, and actually checked in to make sure that they sent back the correct items. You can imagine how tough ticketing was on 11/20 for travel in about a month in the peak season.

This new rule of requiring minors to get new OCI-s every time they get a new passport is fairly new. I was planning to go with regular OCI, plus kids’s old/expired passport with OCI stamp in it, plus their new passports. This was ok until recently. But, the regulations were changed recently, I didn’t want to take a chance, so went through the process in September, and things came down to the wire.

[nopm]

Thanks for the quick reply. I am a bit confused with the instructions that say that the parents signatures must be notarized on the form. They can not write good instructions and they do not answer their phones.

Quick question. Did you see the same instruction for notarization in Nov, or as usual, our Govt bureaucrats changed the policy as usual? Thanks.

No instruction for notarization in November. I did not send copy of anything in November, everything was original, so question of notarization does not arise.