F1 visa expired, valid I20 and I94, passport reissue or renewal

[Seemstar]

Hello All,

My passport is expiring soon and I was planning to get it renewed in Indian Consulate at NEW York, USA. My F1 visa has expired, but I have a valid I20 and I94 expiration date that says D/S (Duration of Study). The website says that

"Notarized Color photocopy of current valid US visa on passport or Green card or Employment Authorization Card or I- 797 approval notice documents. Student visa Status holders must enclose I-20 Document as well. If your visa has expired and/or or you have the receipt notice for extension of your visa then: NYC, SFO & HOU Jurisdiction Applicants - must provide a notarized no status affidavit with photocopy of the valid passport and the green card of two witnesses duly notarized + 7 Copies of Nationality Verification Form (Given in Point 2 above) are required and each copy must have an original photograph affixed on it. WAS/ATL/HOU/CHI Jurisdiction Applicants - must visit the consulate in person for an interview before applying at the passport application center"

1) Am I still in valid status, or do I need to fill the 'no status affidavit' form?
2) If I indeed need to do the no status affidavit form, I need to get two witness signatures, witnesses need to have indian passport and green card holders.
a)Do I need them to have a notary present while signing the document? As both of them live out of state, can I ask them to individually sign the form while a notary is present and send the forms to me here. Upon receiving such "dual" notarized forms, do I need to notarize the form again when I sign on it?
b) Can they just sign it without a notary present, and I get my bank to notarize it? Although I know notary is technically present to verify the identity of witness, I feel this is not a valid option.

Any help in this matter is appreciated!

--Seemstar

[Seemstar]

Emailed the BLS helpdesk and got a reply

I tried to call all the listed BLS helpline numbers. I would always get a long wait time, then the phone rings, nobody picks up, I get a recorded message saying "high volume of calls, please try again" and the phone gets cut.My frustration was short lived though as I also emailed three different consulates, NY,SFO and Houston. These three consulates out of the rest asked for the no status form. Otherwise a personal interview is required for other consulates. Luckily I got a reply from SFO email on the weekend ( surprise!). TURNS OUT I DON'T NEED THIS FORM, AS I HAVE A VALID I20. It means I am in status even if my visa expired on the passport. I am replying here, to help other students/ people in the same boat. My take away message, email to all consulates that have similar procedure and you will hopefully get a reply like I did. I emailed both enquiry.**@blsgroup.in and **@blsgroup.in. I found these on other websites. I got reply from [email protected].

"Dear AAAAAA,

Greetings from BLS International Services US, my name is BBBBB and I
will be glad to assist you with your query as specified in your email.
Please note that valid i20 will work as valid visa status in order to
process the application.
You need to send notarized color copy of valid i 20.
If you wish for courier return of your passport once your Application
is processed, kindly copy and paste on the following link in a new
browser window on your device

***


For more information on passport service, please visit our website:

***

Thank you for writing to us.

Regards,

BBBBB
BLS Helpdesk"

[ShankarDada1000]

This is so painful but unfortunately the only way Indian consulates work. You were NOT out of status. The I-20 and I-94 define that. I am glad you sorted this out although after some stressful moments.

All the best

Dr. Sandeep Shankar, Colorado Heights University, Denver, CO 80223, USA. [

[petals]

follow up

Hello Seemstar,

I am in the same situation (my F1 visa has expired but I have a valid I-20). Did you submit the application without the "No status affidavit" and did it work out?
I got a reply from the New York office saying that I do need the 'No status affidavit', which is painful coz I don't know any green card holders.

[Seemstar]

Hello Seemstar,

I am in the same situation (my F1 visa has expired but I have a valid I-20). Did you submit the application without the "No status affidavit" and did it work out?
I got a reply from the New York office saying that I do need the 'No status affidavit', which is painful coz I don't know any green card holders.

Hi petals,

No, I did not have to submit the "No status affidavit" form. They explicitly told me that since I have valid I-20 and I94, I don't need to submit it. As I mentioned, I wrote to sfo, houston and NY, all replied to me saying the same thing. Are you sure, you explained to them you do have valid I20? Please paste your email and their reply here.

Also, my passport application was submitted (in person) on 5/5 and I got my new passport in hand by 5/14. I was pretty impressed by their speed and their timely e-mail notification. Of course, you should make sure you follow their rules (some what ambiguous, I must agree) to the tee. Also make sure you send "change of appearance" even if it is optional. I have seen them turning down applications for it.

--Seemstar

[vibgyoor]

Hello Seemstar,

I am in the same situation (my F1 visa has expired but I have a valid I-20). Did you submit the application without the "No status affidavit" and did it work out?
I got a reply from the New York office saying that I do need the 'No status affidavit', which is painful coz I don't know any green card holders.

I am just starting the process to get a renewed passport (passport expires march 2015).
I am currently working and have already got a I-797 for it - though my H1 starts only in Oct 2014. In the current situation, I plan on submitting both the i797 and my OPT i-20. I would like to know if this is the right way to go about it?

Also, I am a bit confused, how many passport (2x2) photographs do we need? somewhere it said 8 and somewhere it says 4!

FYI - my F1 visa is expired.

[rajeshk123]

I am planning to apply for my passport renewal in New York City. I have valid I797 & I94 but Visa on my passport is expired.

I called BLS India Passport, USA at Helpline: **8459990726 and they said if I have valid I797 I don't need "No status" Affidavit.

I was not sure so I called once gain next day some other person picked and he also said the same thing.

[samboy786]

Hello Seemstar,

I am in the same situation (my F1 visa has expired but I have a valid I-20). Did you submit the application without the "No status affidavit" and did it work out?
I got a reply from the New York office saying that I do need the 'No status affidavit', which is painful coz I don't know any green card holders.

Hi,
I am in the same situation and I am wondering how to go about it. How much time did it take to get it renewed ? plz help.

[cmi]

Valid F1 Status, Visa Expired, Passport Renewal

HI,

Thanks for posting here. Besides the photos and the I-20 notarized copy, what other documents did you send in for your passport renewal? I have the same situation where I am on valid f1 status, expired visa and my passport is set to expire in a few months.

Thanks a lot!

I tried to call all the listed BLS helpline numbers. I would always get a long wait time, then the phone rings, nobody picks up, I get a recorded message saying "high volume of calls, please try again" and the phone gets cut.My frustration was short lived though as I also emailed three different consulates, NY,SFO and Houston. These three consulates out of the rest asked for the no status form. Otherwise a personal interview is required for other consulates. Luckily I got a reply from SFO email on the weekend ( surprise!). TURNS OUT I DON'T NEED THIS FORM, AS I HAVE A VALID I20. It means I am in status even if my visa expired on the passport. I am replying here, to help other students/ people in the same boat. My take away message, email to all consulates that have similar procedure and you will hopefully get a reply like I did. I emailed both enquiry.**@blsgroup.in and **@blsgroup.in. I found these on other websites. I got reply from [email protected].

"Dear AAAAAA,

Greetings from BLS International Services US, my name is BBBBB and I
will be glad to assist you with your query as specified in your email.
Please note that valid i20 will work as valid visa status in order to
process the application.
You need to send notarized color copy of valid i 20.
If you wish for courier return of your passport once your Application
is processed, kindly copy and paste on the following link in a new
browser window on your device

***


For more information on passport service, please visit our website:

***

Thank you for writing to us.

Regards,

BBBBB
BLS Helpdesk"