Experience at the Indian Consulate, San Francisco

June 8th, 2010 | by Ridhima Suri |

Thinking about the Indian Consulate at San Francisco, the only phrase that comes to mind is ‘very friendly folks!’ This Consulate is nothing like what one can imagine. There are no intimidating guards or security routines. The consular officers inside are very patient and extremely helpful. The folks in the line are always asking questions. People talk in Hindi. You can have a stand-up focus group on almost anything (dals, indian stores, visas, jobs) in the world while waiting for your turn. The office is like a small apartment. Overall, a very familiar desi feel!

About the Consular Services

The people inside the Consulate are very patient (despite the somewhat ridiculous volley of questions thrown at them!). They go out of the way to help you. However, you will save yourself some time if you read the website before your visit the Consulate. This will help you to complete your paperwork and know what to expect. Remember that everyone is following a prescribed set of rules and there are never any exceptions in matters related to immigration and citizenship.

About your application form

The guard at the entrance will ask you the reason of your visit. Please state clearly if you are applying for a new passport. He will ask you to read an instruction list. He will then glance through your form and suggest any changes needed. You have to go to the Consulate if you are :

  1. Applying for a new passport.
  2. Applying for renunciation of Indian passport (surrender certificate).
  3. Applying for PIO,OCI, etc or getting attestations/power of attorney etc.
  4. Having questions related to immigration, citizenship, and travel.

Tips about the Consulate

I Accessibility

  1. The Consulate is open for public from 9 AM-12 AM Monday-Friday except holidays.
  2. Visit the website and check the list of consulate services available. The Consulate follows an Indian/US calender for holidays. Please check this link here before you plan a visit.
  3. Go 20-30 minutes before your scheduled appointment. They only allow 20 people at a time. It gets very crowded and the wait time varies.
  4. Parking can be an issue if you want to park right next to the Consulate. Consider parking a block or two away on Geary St. or Arguello Blvd and walk to the Consulate. It gets very busy during the day. If you reach early, say around 8.30 am you can get a convenient spot.
  5. Carry lots of quarters. Most of the parking meters allow 1 hour parking for $2.
  6. Only the principal applicant is allowed inside the Consulate. Others must wait outside.

II Tips for Indian Passport renewal process

  1. Carry originals and photo copies of all documents on the website. Usually this is copies of your first and last pages of your passport and other documents as per your visa in the U.S. If you are working on the H1B visa, you will be required to carry the I-94, I797, etc.
  2. Take a print out of the appointment letter.
  3. No matter what anyone says, carry all originals. The officer is simply attesting your documents and showing originals speeds up the process.
  4. Make sure that you fill the form accurately.
  5. Use a glue stick to paste your passport photos on the form.
  6. There are no bags allowed. Just carry a small folder with the paperwork.
  7. Carry a glue stick and pen with you. People willingly lend their pens around (very Indian thing to do..’bhaisaab pen dena!!’) but it is better to have your own.
  8. Switch off your cellphone.

The processing time depends on each case. Usually passport renewals take about 2-5 minutes for the attestation line and about 5-10 minutes in the payment line. If you have all the paperwork with you, it will take less than 30 minutes in all to get the job done. It takes about 7-10 business days for the new passport to arrive in mail.

Overall, the Indian Consulate at San Francisco rocks!! Have to learn a lesson or two from the folks who are so patient and helpful!

For more information please visit http://www.cgisf.org/

Address: 540 Arguello Boulevard, San Francisco, California 94118 USA

Phone: 415-668-0662;415- 668-0683; Fax: 415 668 9764; 415-668-2073

Working Hours: 09.00 am to 5.00 pm (Monday to Friday)
Consular Hours(For members of the public): 09.00 am to 12.00 pm (Monday to Friday)
Consular Pick-up Hours: 04.00 pm to 04.45 pm (Monday to Friday)

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  1. 67 Responses to “Experience at the Indian Consulate, San Francisco”

  2. By Digvijay Lamba on Jun 8, 2010 | Reply

    Agreed. Its a small cozy and helpful place. I must give credit to the people behind the window for immense patience and constant smiles.

    They go beyond the call of duty to be helpful

  3. By SanJal on Jun 16, 2010 | Reply

    We would like to open up an invitation for guest bloggers to submit their own blog posts to be published here onhttp://sanjal.co.uk/blog.
    The articles you submit must be original posts.

    SanJal

  4. By Kabir on Jul 16, 2010 | Reply

    I would totally disagree with the above posting and all the comments. I have mailed my passport more than a month ago and for past 1 week, I have been trying to reach them to check the status. Nobody EVER picks up the phone there. I have left them so many voice mails, but never got a response back. The consulate encourages to correspond via email. So far I have sent them 5 emails and the only response I received is “I donot fin any records by the
    passport number mentioned”. I have the proof that it was delivered to their office. I even sent a mail to the Consul and left him a VM, still no response. Its my passport damn it, not a useless piece of paper. Now I am flying to SFO tomorrow to meet them in person and see what needs to be done. With what I have experienced so far, worst service and most irresponsible staff.

  5. By Ridhima on Jul 16, 2010 | Reply

    Kabir,

    We are in a similar situation. When we emailed the consulate (cgisf@cgisf.org) they replied back explaining that the passport processing is taking longer than usual as they are verifying facts from New Delhi(the Regional Passport Office).

    They said that they would mail the passport as soon as they heard back from the Delhi office.

    Since you are flying in, please make sure that you visit the Consulate during the business hours. Wish you good luck!

    Please tell us how it goes..

    Thank you.

  6. By Kabir on Jul 19, 2010 | Reply

    I did not go to San Francisco, wanted to wait for another day since the website said that the passports mailed prior to 6/2 have been processed. So today I mailed Consulate General, as expected NO RESPONSE. Called atleast 20 times again NO RESPONSE. Sent another mail for status check, and finally get a response saying its in progress.
    After all this I do not know whether to trust them or not. But honestly, the worst service provided.

  7. By meena on Jul 19, 2010 | Reply

    Kabir states it very well. The Consulate of SF is most unhelpful, and do not EVER answer the phone. We had applied for an entry visa. They now state that former Indian nationals require to provide their copy of Green Card. Do they not realize that the Green Card is surrendered at time of Naturalization??? They have been giving us the biggest run around ever. Thoroughly disgusted with their services and attitude, as in spite of paying all their fees and following all the rules, we are handicapped because they are most unhelpful and uncaring. If an Indian Citizen residing in US wants help in an emergency, who could they turn if these people refuse to even answer the phone????? The Outsourced company is as bad. I have sent them several mails, no response. Utterly frustrated by the whole system.

  8. By sandy on Jul 19, 2010 | Reply

    if they charge so much for their services, what are they providing???? Had applied for a 5 year visa, paid all the fees, they gave me a six month visa, and took the money for the 5 year term. This is like highway robbery.

  9. By sudhir on Jul 19, 2010 | Reply

    US citizen, Still proud to be Indian, but ashamed of this agency….

  10. By akkina on Jul 20, 2010 | Reply

    My oci application got returned two times.SFo consulate does not return my phone calls,or email.I spent 50 dollars for remailing and reprocessing fees.Website information is so misleading,initially it says no US paassport is required,you can send it later.when i send oci application,without US passport,they returned it saying US passport is required.I sent it second time,they retuned saying,i need to apply for surrender certificate.This process already took 2 months for me.i have not yet received surrender certificate yet.
    Still waiting..so irresponsible,no way to contact them that is the worst thing.

  11. By mohit on Jul 20, 2010 | Reply

    i always thought that the Consulate of any country was supposed to help it’s citizens. here I have only experienced harassment!!! i sent for my surrender certificate with all the fees and all the papers to them. they sent it back saying fees had changed, and also charged me 10 bucks to ‘handle my papers’, in spite of me sending the return postage. it cost me more than 80 bucks just to resend and change the fees. all they needed to do was process my papers and send me a refund of the extra amount. Unresponsive to phone and email. they also don’t want you to go there in person. what are we to do in case of emergency, as we have older parents in India who may need us at any time????

  12. By rishita on Jul 20, 2010 | Reply

    i agree with mohit. My parents came to this country 35 years ago, legally, and don’t have any of their old papers with them. Consulate asks for green card and original entry papers before issuing visa. my parents have no idea what to do, as USCIS does not have all the originals in their database. No answer to call or email. we are at a loss… any suggestions?

  13. By priyanka on Jul 20, 2010 | Reply

    Arrogant and unhelpful are the words i use for them. They make new rules every week and try to confuse you. I have spent more on postage and time with this agency every time I need to contact them. The time I have to take away from work is different. I wish all of them would go straight to HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  14. By Ridhima Suri on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply

    Hey all,

    It’s sad to know your experiences. So I followed up with an email about the passport renewal again.

    They replied after 36 hours but I guess, its better late than never. Apparently they do not need anything from us.

    I will update everyone on what’s going on.

    Thank you and hope things sort out for all of you!

  15. By manjit on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply

    I think the staff itself is helpful, but it is the beaurocracy which is the real culprit here. Some politician in India thinks of a new idea and they implement it without thinking of the consequences, and then the regular folks like us are penalized along with the the 1% who fake documents.

  16. By sonal on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply

    It is the visa and OCI which is giving people the most problems, not passport renewal. Also I think manjit is right. If India wants NRI investments, they should reconsider before making life difficult for former citizens even to visit their homeland.

  17. By Vipul Sharma on Jul 26, 2010 | Reply

    I used Indian consulate in SFO once when I needed to get some documents notarized for a loan in India. I found the consulate very efficient and the whole experience was quite good.

    I can understand that some folks might have had unpleasant experiences with the consulate but we have understand that this consulate is serving a a super large number of Indian population in bay area. They have deal with visas, green card, citizenship, citizen issues and a lot of other stuff. It would help if we have one more consulate probably in San Jose.

  18. By nirmal bhaIL on Jul 26, 2010 | Reply

    i,punjaby born in indonesia,45 years ago.i,m U S citizen now,when i applied for visa to go to india they asked me my grenncard and my passport when i enter US 25 years ago,which has been return to indonesian consulate.what a trick to give hard times to Indian,they didn’t do this to white people my parents are holding indonesian passport

  19. By Ridhima Suri on Jul 30, 2010 | Reply

    Hey everyone, we got the passport. It took longer than usual (usual is a subjective term for these procedures..haha) but overall I think we are quite satisfied with how it worked out. We contacted them via email and all the emails were answered.

    @Vipul-Thanks for bringing a different perspective to the discussion. Looks like the Indian Consulate could use more help/new office space.

    @Nirmal-sorry to hear about your experience.

  20. By radhika deshpande on Aug 4, 2010 | Reply

    I came from India, did my MS from one of the ranked University in US , worked as an intern for 1 year and on OPT at present. In view of not too many openings , may not get a job till dec when I intend to get married with a boy who studied with me and has H1b .I am likely to be out of job from sept10 and though have lined up a few interviews , not sure of getting H1b by then. Of course, I can be on H4 dependent visa. I want to try for independentH1b if such a situation arises. What is your advise as I am told that I can be on OPT jobless for about a month and half only . Thanks. will appreciate a quick response

  21. By Ridhima on Aug 5, 2010 | Reply

    Hello Radhika,

    I asked my friends who know a lot about student visas/OPT.

    In a nutshell you have two options:

    Option 1. If you have 1 1/2 months still left on OPT, then you may choose to go for voluntary (unpaid) work on OPT for 1 and 1/2 months. For this look for some consulting company that is ‘E-verified’ and work for them (if that’s doable). That way you will not be go out of status.

    Option 2. If you have already completed the OPT, then you cannot work anymore. You will have to leave the country or apply for change of status. When you go for the marriage in December, apply for the H4 visa (dependent).

    My question to you is do you really have an independent H1 option? If yes, go for it or consider option 1.

    Please let me know if you have any follow up questions. Hope this helps!

  22. By Onkar on Aug 17, 2010 | Reply

    I traveled to India/ London as a high school graduation present this summer and I have to say that going to the San Francisco Consulate with my family was one of the worst experiences of my life. Firstly, the woman who is the bouncer, per se, of the consulate, can be extremely rude if you do anything wrong with your application. Instead of printing out my typed application, I had printed out a blank application and filled it out by hand. That woman pointed me straight out of the room, and told me to print my application correctly. Then, the jerks who are sitting at the front of the Consulate charged me $10 to print my application!

    After that, that woman wouldnt even let me and my brother wait in line with my parents. She kicked us out, saying that our parents can file for us.

    And to top it all off, they wouldn’t even let us wait in the hallway outside the application room. Me and my brother were just about to sit down to eat when they just kicked out completely out of the Consulate.

    Overall, the visit was a nightmare.

    To anyone who is going here to get a visa, make sure you double check every single instruction on your application to make sure that you don’t forget anything. These people are trying to make life as difficult as they can for you, so don’t even give them a chance. This Consulate is a taste of the corrupt bureaucracy that India currently has.

  23. By Jack on Sep 14, 2010 | Reply

    I absolutely relate to all the concerns people have shared here. The Indian Consulate is a reflection of Indian bureaucracy – and we all know too well how it is. Babus pushing papers without a care for anyone. Mera Bharat Mahan.

    They can seriously do with an end-to-end process re-evaluation. Also, a thorough evaluation of all people working there.

    The fun part is – for the same artifact, there are 5 different procedures in 5 different places. Which one would you follow? That is the great Indian (rope) trick!!

    They love to get everything in duplicate!! Hundreds of unnecessary documents – all in duplicates and self attested to be sent to them so that they can safely file them away!!!!
    I hope I can use their services to keep all our important documents for safe keeping :) )

  24. By Sp on Sep 27, 2010 | Reply

    Hi,
    My visa expired in August 2010 and my extension application is under process. Since I only have copy of the receipt notice, I’m unable to get it notarized. Can someone tell me whether the consulate will accept this receipt copy along with the previous visa for Proof of status?

    Thanks

  25. By MightyMan on Oct 1, 2010 | Reply

    I do have mixed reviews for this consulate especially when you place around other HORRIBLE consulates around the world. Its not the problem of netaji’s in india its the culture in the MEA. No one is ever educated of what is the pain one faces due to nonsense behavior of not lifting the phone. I am not sure why in the world they publish the phones with no one answering the phone.

    Will they be happy if they were put in the same situation ? obviously no.

    and also waiting for verification via (deplomatic bag aka unregistered indian post) is pathetic way of communication. They have all records online. if they need to securely manage they need to implement Secure document management system. if they have online system which they dont trust whatz the point ?

  26. By Eva on Oct 1, 2010 | Reply

    I am renewing my passport.
    i am supposed to travel on 14th of october and there is two weeks left. I emailed them regarding my passport status, and they mailed me back the next day saying that they have sent for verfication to kolkata and they are awaiting for the response there. Once they get the verification then they are going to start issuing my new passport. I don’t know what I can do to speed them up. Any suggestions?

  27. By Ridhima Suri on Oct 3, 2010 | Reply

    Hey Eva,

    This happened to us as well and we were also very close to something important. However, once the verification was done they were very quick about it.

    There is no way to tell how long the verification would take.

    I hope you get the passport in time for your travel!

    Do post here when you get it.

    Good luck!
    Ridhima

  28. By Vijay on Oct 5, 2010 | Reply

    I am renewing my passport. I have sent all the documents by mail and USPS tracker tells me that delivered on September 30, 2010, 11:41 am. I did not get any update (email?) from them so far. I am going to wait for another day and will email them about the status.

    Thanks,
    Vijay

  29. By nasim on Oct 9, 2010 | Reply

    i have applied for an indian visitors visa…
    to be transffered into my new renewed usa passport.7 years left in my expired old passport to be transferred into my new passport. I has been 5 months. we phoned indian embassy several times and whenever we get response they tell us to email to them the problems. We emailed several times -no respnse.
    Outsource has no answers.Still waiting for passport and visa. 8OCT2010. Very, very frustrating . How can Idians do it to their own Indians. It figures the problems in India brought abroad here.Make people angry they retaliate. GOD help us all

  30. By yashu on Oct 10, 2010 | Reply

    have you seen the latest people????? the oci applications are on hold for GOD knows how long since there is a ‘technical problem with printing of oci cards’.. have you heard such a thing. also there is no way to communicate with them as the link for emailing for oci has been cancelled???? i don’t know what has happened to my passports ( both US and Indian). the status link has also been cancelled. how do I find out what has happened?? any ideas?

  31. By sukhdev on Oct 10, 2010 | Reply

    have you seen the latest people????? the oci applications are on hold for GOD knows how long since there is a ‘technical problem with printing of oci cards’.. have you heard such a thing. also there is no way to communicate with them as the link for emailing for oci has been cancelled???? i don’t know what has happened to my passports ( both US and Indian). the status link has also been cancelled. how do I find out what has happened?? any ideas?

  32. By Hindustani on Oct 13, 2010 | Reply

    I hate these people at SFO embassy. All the positive comments fron SFO embassy staff only. I never had any good experience with these cowards. Every person in the embassys should be sent back and get new staff immediately.
    Something has to happen to these guys.

  33. By NA on Oct 26, 2010 | Reply

    I have all my flights booked to travel to India on Nov 2. I mailed my application to the SF consulate by UPS and it was delivered on October 13th. I did not receive any acknowledgement and emailed them on October 22nd. I received a response from them on Oct 25th saying the application is under process and that I should wait for TWO weeks before checking back with them. The website says all mail applications received on or before Oct 7th have been dispatched. I have been trying to call them non-stop and as lots of people here have mentioned no one answers the phone; it just goes to the voicemail. I live in the bay area and can go to the consulate in person without a problem. Can anyone please advise if that’s going to help. Do they even talk to people who just show up at the consulate to enquire about the status of their application. Also, how frequently is the status at their website updated (is it that they update it on a weekly basis)? Appreciate any help.

  34. By Ridhima Suri on Oct 27, 2010 | Reply

    NA,

    Going to the Consulate does not help at all. You will get the same answer that you got on email. It takes time and I think you may have to reschedule your travel plans.

    It happened to us also. We applied on June 8 and got the passport on July 30. We were in a crunch too but there was nothing we could do to speed up the process.

    The good part is that application processing time varies a lot in each case. So maybe you get it sooner..its tough to predict though. We hope you do..:-)

    Please post here when you get your application approved.

    Thanks,
    Ridhima

  35. By mandy on Nov 3, 2010 | Reply

    does anyone have any idea how long it takes to acknowledge the oci application…travelling on jan 19th 2011.its been more than a month since i mailed my oci application……will appreciate any response

  36. By KC on Nov 9, 2010 | Reply

    I applied for Police Clearance Certificate in Indian Consulate SFO and got a call 1.5 month later that it is ready and to submit my passport. I submitted my passport but there are no update and despite repeated emails, voice messages, I am not getting any response from them. It has been over 3 weeks since I submitted my passport.
    Does anyone have such an experience? It is a shame that we have to rely on these blog to ask such question…

  37. By Dilip on Nov 17, 2010 | Reply

    Ridhima,

    Does your passport is expired when applied? I heard that clearance is required only for the lost or expired passports and usually it will take longer times.

  38. By Srini on Nov 22, 2010 | Reply

    Good luck to me. I sent my OCI application last week and keeping my fingers crossed. I had very bad experience with this consulate starting from procuring surrender certificate and upto OCI last week. There were very frustated and irated people outside who were almost almost willing to break the door. One gentlemen gave his US passport in July and never heard anything from Indian consulate nor got his passport back.

    They made me go back and forth to consulate for flimsy reasons and completely misguiding and unclear instructions on their website.

    This entire consulate is completely dis-organised, incompetent and run by dis-oriented people.

  39. By Sam on Dec 4, 2010 | Reply

    OCI and Different Rules at different Indian Consulates- WHY??

    At SF Consulate it is REQUIRED that you have to submit US passport with your OCI Appl. – The consulate WILL KEEP your passport until the OCI is issued. Which means, we can not travel ANYWHERE outside of US for almost 60 days. What gives??

    This Quote from NY Consulate:
    “Once your OCI documents are received in the Consulate, please send your US passport in original along with a copy of the online status showing that the documents have been received to enable the Consulate to complete the process.”

    This Quote from Houston Consulate:
    “OCI applicants are requested to kindly check the status of their application at https://passport.gov.in/oci/OnlineOCIenquiry.jsp. When the last column of the status page indicates “Documents Received at Houston on (date indicated), the applicants are requested to immediately send their original US passport(s) for stamping the “U” Visa and the Indian Passport(s) (where applicable), for verification, by mail.”

  40. By sasha on Dec 9, 2010 | Reply

    I have had the worst experience with both SF and Travisa. Travisa gave me the run around for my one yr olds passport, which was supposed to take 2 weeks, it was 3 months, they tried to get me to get a new passport,coz they said said that my passport mysteriously dissappeared. I held them responsible coz they never mailed it with the tracking I had sent. Only when I had the FBI involved I get a phone call from them that the passport was mysteriouly tracked in my city the next day. I strongly beleive since the passport has a baby pic they wanted to see it. Anywayz now I had to send 3 of our passports for pio, website says 15 days, also they posted that all passports recd before 26th oct been shipped mid nov, today is dec 9th still waiting for them to reply to even one of my phone calls n the numerous emails I send to them. These ppl play with ppl’s lives. They must be paying someppl to write good comments about them. I seriously am done with them………….

  41. By sasha on Dec 9, 2010 | Reply

    I meant to say Travisa wanted to sell my daughters passport, spelling error not see.

  42. By babbu desi on Dec 15, 2010 | Reply

    One more frustrated desi here in the club people. I had sent my OCI application per the instructions where it was OK to have the US passports sent later. They sent it back saying US passport is missing and everything else is OK. Sent the application back along with us passport and now they have sent it back again and are asking for Greencard copy. These idiots do not know that Green cards are taken back by USCIS at the time of oath for citizenship?????

    No word back on emails or voicemails. very frustrating.

  43. By Helga on Dec 16, 2010 | Reply

    We applied for a visa at the Indian Embassy in SF weeks ago. I am German. They asked for a birth certificate, so i sent them one which was translated in English. They asked me for a translation in English. They asked for address proof so i sent them a phone bill and a bank statement. They said they wanted a gas bill, so i sent them the gas bill which they rejected since it had my husband’s name on it, not mine.

    The list goes on. I see many here have had problems with that embassy. Are there any success stories? Can someone tell us how theywere able to overcome the incompetence we are experiencing there?

    Best, Helga

  44. By Prithvi on Dec 22, 2010 | Reply

    Helga, for success stories, go the Bouquets & Brickbats section of the Consulate web site. Looks like they post only positive comments received by them.

  45. By S on Dec 31, 2010 | Reply

    This article is totally B.S. All they want is your money.

    I mailed them every document asked with a check of $440 (me and my wife). 2 month later I check my mail and all I found was our passports with no visa. NO reason for why it was denied. All that money (~$500 shipping+fees) wasted. If they want to deny a visa (1st I see why they rejected me because I had every document they asked attached-I triple checked it with phone calls for things to make sure I was doing it right).

    So 500$ in their pockets. No visa. Yes very great experience :/

  46. By Jignasha on Jan 20, 2011 | Reply

    Hi Riddhima, I recently applied for my change of name after marriage at the new york consulate. The form is a generic one and only says name. I was so confused as to what name do they actually want? They should have something like Given name and Desired name. Eventually they gave me a new passport with my old name..:(..also how do I change my signature?

  47. By Anonymous on Jan 24, 2011 | Reply

    Hey Jignasha,

    I agree with you. The ‘name’ issue is very confusing. If you have a new passport with your old name, consider not changing your signature for now. Will make it simpler. I know for sure, that people avoid getting names changed after marriage. Saves a lot of hassles.

    Best,
    Ridhima

  48. By Ram on Feb 3, 2011 | Reply

    Applied for OCI in SF embassy on 12/31/10. Have not received any acknowledgement number nor replies for couple of emails sent enquiring about the status.

    The online status check link is useless as till the time they acknowledge with a number the website does not provide any useful info.

    would like to know about OCI experience from SF consulate in the last the last 3-4 months. how long does the overall process take and how long before i get worried about the status.

  49. By Hiten on Feb 16, 2011 | Reply

    My OCI application is pending for more than 5 weeks and I don’t have any acknowledge number.

    They don’t reply to email or pick up the phone or return the call.

    I have also sent a fax today to get the status.

  50. By Srini on Feb 22, 2011 | Reply

    Any word on your acknowledgement Hiten? We filed our papers on 14th of January and no updates as yet. Thanks.

  51. By Ridhima on Feb 22, 2011 | Reply

    Hello Hiten & Srini,

    Please do post updates on your OCI application here. It really helps to know that something is going on. There are many in the same boat!

    -Ridhima

  52. By Srini on Feb 22, 2011 | Reply

    Sure Ridhima. I just found out that the status has changed to UnderProcess. Will provide updates as it becomes available.

    -Srini

  53. By DILIP PATEL on Feb 24, 2011 | Reply

    Dear All who have applied for OCI. It is worest expireance i have ever had with indian Embassy. I think when you do not get any reply or you can not contect anybody after 8 months of waiting and paying $275 for each application you get really pissed off.I think with all these scams (2G ECT) I want be surprised that this OCI bussiness is a big scam.I think Indians living in USA should forget about India. They are all the same.

  54. By Srini on Feb 24, 2011 | Reply

    Here is the latest.
    Date Application mailed – 1/14/2011
    Date of Acknowledgement – 2/23/2011
    Photo/Signature – Scanned – 2/24/2011
    Registration Status – Granted – 2/25/2011

    Hope this helps !!

    Srini

  55. By RAVINDER KUMAR on Mar 3, 2011 | Reply

    Reg: practice of discrimination and racism by Indian consulate of San Francisco and consulate of Washington D.C against Indian born American citizens.
    We, Indian born American citizens, strongly feel the practice of discrimination and racism by Indian consulate of San Francisco and consulate of Washington D.C against Indian born American citizens due to two highlighting reasons. First reason is that American born CITIZENS can get visa to India with in a day, Indian born American citizens are forced to wait for weeks to get visa to India and don’t you think this practice of intentional delaying of Indian visa amounts to UNFAIR, calculated DISCRIMINATORY, racism against THE PEOPLE OF INDIAN ORIGIN? We, Indian born American citizens and American born citizens have same constitutional and judicial rights (except the rules to become a president of USA), when American government does not practice of discrimination and racism against Indian born American citizens then what makes Indian CONSULATE to practice of discrimination, hatred and racism against Indian born American citizens.
    THERE ARE five CONSULATES OF INDIA IN AMERICA, legally and logically their visa rules FOR American born citizens AND Indian born American citizens should be the same without any discrimination and racism, but this is not the case because requirements for getting Indian visa for Indian born American citizens living in San Francisco area are different than other four Indian consulate’ areas. THERE ARE FOUR OTHER CONSULATES OF INDIA (Chicago, Houston, new York and Washington D.C) IN AMERICA AND NONE OF THEM DEMAND old Indian passport or copy of my Green Card or Employment Authorization Document as a precondition for issuing Indian Visa AND WHY San Francisco consulate DEMAND old Indian passport or copy of my Green Card or Employment Authorization Document as a precondition for issuing Indian Visa ? The emergency visa applications (from persons of Indian origin, holding US passport) are accepted on Saturdays and other holidays coming on weekdays (Monday to Friday) only in case of emergency at other Indian consulates in USA except Indian consulate of san Francisco why it is so? You can guess what kind of service Indian consulate of San Francisco provides to persons of Indian origin, holding US passport. My father suffered a brain stroke and my application for Indian visa is struck with Indian consulate of San Francisco since 1/27/2011. People of Indian origin, holding US passport are really frustrated with the worst service of Indian consulate of San Francisco. To see the different discriminating and racist requirements of Indian consulate of San Francisco please go to google.com and type the name of any Indian consulates (like Chicago, Houston, New York, Washington DC and San Francisco), then you will have to fill the column for citizenship, where you born, what kind of visa you need, then you are suppose to click for requirements. I have asked the Indian consulate for the PROOF OF ANY INDIAN LAW WHICH ALLOW them TO PRACTICE DIFFERENT LAWS and requirements FOR ISSUING INDIAN VISA TO THE PEOPLE OF INDIAN BORN AMERICAN CITZENS living in the same country called USA ? They are segregating and dividing the Americans into two parts, one American born other Indian born which is totally illegal and unethical and Mr. Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Dr. King fought against the segregating and dividing of the people in Africa and in America and Indian Consulates are implementing those evils in American society. SHAME ON them! Are they trying to prove and tell the world that American born people are better than Indian born Americans? AS YOU KNOW MORE DISCRIMINATORY RULES, REGULATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS BREED CORRUPTION.UNDER THE RIGHT OF INFORMATION, I requested Indian Consulate TO SHOW ME THE PROOF OF ANY INDIAN LAWS WHICH ALLOW them TO ISSUE INDIAN VISA WITH IN A DAY TO THE PEOPLE WHO BORN IN AMERICA AND THE PEOPLE OF INDIAN ORIGIN , WHO HAS AMERICAN PASSPORTS , ARE supposed TO WAIT FOR WEEKS TO GET INDIAN VISA? Do you think it is fair anyway? When American embassy in New Delhi or other embassies in India issue a visa to any Indian, do they ever asked any Indian for their employment authorization card or residency card or the proof-how they entered in India hundred or thousands years back. Believe me if American embassies in India start asking visa seekers for their employment authorization card or residency card and how they entered in India legally, then at the end of the day or at the end of the year, no Indian will get any kind of visa. I HAVE ASKED INDIAN CONSULATE WHY THER ARE DEMANDING Green Card or Employment Authorization Document AND THEY HAVE ANSWERED ME THAT THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW I ENTERED IN USA AND I TOLD THEM THAT THIS IS NOT THEIR JOB, THIS IS A JOB OF U.S IMMIGRATION SERVICES.I HAVE DISCARDED MY INDIAN CITIZENSHIP IN WRITING ABOUT 7 MONTHS BACK , FOR THAT SERVICE I HAVE PAID $20 TO INDIAN CONSULATE AND THEY HAVE STAMPED MY OLD INDIAN PASSPORT.I WANT TO BE TREATED AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN, NOT LIKE INDIAN CITIZEN AND NOW I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH INDIAN CITIZENSHIP.We,Indian born American citizens, are really fed up with corruption , poor governance,discrimination and racism by Indian consulates , indian government and how can we think about investing in india when we cannot visit our homeland in an family emergency.

    One of Indian consulate’s requirements to get Indian visa is a employment authorization document and I called the U.S citizen and immigration Services, national record center and they informed me that My Naturalization Certificate is a employment authorization document. Following is the mail I got from them:
    Dear Mr. Kumar,

    Normally, when we tell other applicants that their documents are not sufficient they do their best to get the documents that are being requested. I am advising you now, that the U.S. certificate of naturalization does not serve as your proof of lawful entry. Once again, while it may serve as an employment authorization document for the United States government, it is NOT acceptable to the Indian government. You may submit one of the documents listed in the previous email. Until receive the appropriate documents, your application will be on hold.
    Thank You,

    Keani Hom- Consultant
    Travisa Outsourcing
    965 Mission St. Ste.110
    San Francisco, CA 94103
    Phone: (415) 644-0149
    Fax: (415) 644-0158
    sanfrancisco@travisaoutsourcing.com
    http://www.travisaindia.com

    Indian consulate do accept that U.S. certificate of naturalization serves as an employment authorization document for the United States government but not for Indian Consulate and when I asked why, they just want to know how I entered in USA and i told them that it is none of their business because this is the job of U.S immigration. 
    I am working for the U.S govt for the last 18 years. I went to India about 11 times in the last 25 years and no body ever demanded my old Indian passport or copy of my Green Card or Employment Authorization Document as a precondition for issuing Indian Visa and how a common person can guess or think that they will impose these Unimaginable preconditions. I am citizen of USA for the last 16 years and we do not need Green Card or Employment Authorization Document ( these are documents for permanent and temporary residents of USA) and citizens of USA does not need those documents. I gave my Employment Authorization Document to Indian consulate of San Francisco in 1990. Indian consulate of San Francisco does have the copy of my Employment authorization card in my file, but they do not want to open that file.
    To BRING discrimination and racism by Indian consulate of San Francisco and consulate of Washington D.C against Indian born American citizens TO THE PUBLIC VIEW , CONTACT OR EMAIL at Indian consulate’s EMAIL cgisf@cgisf.org OR Indian consulate’s OF Washington D.C,CONTACT OR EMAIL at Indian consulate’s EMAIL cgisf@cgisf.org ,AND YOUR HELP WILL help, Subside and pulverished the attack of discrimination and racism by Indian consulate of San Francisco and consulate of Washington D.C against Indian born American citizens.

  56. By RAVINDER KUMAR on Mar 3, 2011 | Reply

    I do do agree with Hindustani that every staff member in the Indian consulate San Francisco should be sent back and get new staff immediately.
    Something has to happen to these guys.If you are Amercian born Amercian citizen then you can get indian visa within a day, but if you are India born Amercian citizen then you are forced to wait for weeks and may be for months. Discrimination,racism, corruption and poor governance is the first ,middle name and last name of Indian consulate San Francisco.Indian consulate San Francisco is demanding Green Card or Employment Authorization Document as a precondition for indian visa from Indian born Amercians and at the same time THERE ARE FOUR OTHER CONSULATES OF INDIA (Chicago, Houston, new York and Washington D.C) IN AMERICA AND NONE OF THEM DEMAND old Indian passport or copy of my Green Card or Employment Authorization Document as a precondition for issuing Indian Visa AND WHY San Francisco consulate DEMAND old Indian passport or copy Green Card or Employment Authorization Document as a precondition for issuing Indian Visa? and the answer is may be due to corruption. Send email to consulate’s OF Washington D.C,CONTACT OR EMAIL to Indian consulate San Francisco’s EMAIL cgisf@cgisf.org that they are practicing Discrimination,racism, corruption and poor governance. We should protest before Indian consulate San Francisco.

  57. By Hiten on Mar 4, 2011 | Reply

    Finally after almost 8 weeks my OCI cases shows acknowledge no. and status shows scanned, granted and printed on 3/4/11.

    Waiting for OCI cards to be sent to SFO.

  58. By Ridhima on Mar 6, 2011 | Reply

    That is awesome Hiten! Thanks so much for updating here. People need some good news..:)

    @Ravinder- Thanks for posting.

    Regards,
    Ridhima

  59. By Srini on Mar 8, 2011 | Reply

    Here is the latest.
    Date Application mailed – 1/14/2011
    Date of Acknowledgement – 2/23/2011
    Photo/Signature – Scanned – 2/24/2011
    Registration Status – Granted – 2/25/2011
    Documents Printed on – 3/2/2011
    Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on – 3/8/2011

    -Srini

  60. By Srinidhi on Mar 9, 2011 | Reply

    Srini,

    You are a rockstar! Please do keep us posted.

    Thanks Ridhima for uniting all Indians in distress on your blog.

    I am also waiting for a reply.

    Srinidhi

  61. By Srini on Mar 17, 2011 | Reply

    Just received the documents from the Consulate.

    Date Application mailed – 1/14/2011
    Date of Acknowledgement – 2/23/2011
    Photo/Signature – Scanned – 2/24/2011
    Registration Status – Granted – 2/25/2011
    Documents Printed on – 3/2/2011
    Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on – 3/8/2011
    Documents Received – 3/17/2011

    Regards,
    Srini

  62. By Ridhima Suri on Mar 18, 2011 | Reply

    Congratulations Srini! Thanks for posting.

    Best,
    Ridhima

  63. By Srini on Mar 19, 2011 | Reply

    Thanks much Ridhima, and thank you for your blog.

    -Srini

  64. By Tahir on May 20, 2011 | Reply

    Indian Consulate and Embassy staff should be sued for discriminatory actions. These clowns abuse the courtesy extended to them and their families by getting free education for their children in the US and getting access to privileges extended to legal US Citizens and aliens.
    They discriminate against ex-Indians by imposing rules that are not a standard. Consulate in Chicago has one set of rules, and the one in San Francisco has another, and the embassy in DC has another. Asking a person born in India in the 60′s at the tender age of 3 months after birth to get a renunciation certificate, is a joke. If both the parents are no longer alive, who will have a copy of the first Indian passport used for entry?
    US citizens of Indian origin should file a discriminatory class action law suit against the Indian Government. Secondly all US citizens of Indian Origin should socio boycott consulate, embassy and political staff from Indian Government. Let?s teach these ignorant fools what we can do.
    Creating the office of Visa Outsourcing with Travisa is another scheme to make money. Paying additional fees to them is a conspiracy to squeeze money from us. If they wanted to do it in the interest of Indians, they could have outsourced that task to an Indian Origin entity.
    It?s a shame to accept that Indian Government will not accept credit card payment for Visa application and wants a cashier?s check and have us incur additional bank charges. Most consulates of other countries accept charge cards
    With bureaucracies of this sort it is not worth going to India or asking for PIO or OCI classification.

  65. By Tahir on May 20, 2011 | Reply

    Indian Consulate and Embassy staff should be sued for discriminatory actions. These clowns abuse the courtesy extended to them and their families by getting free education for their children in the US and getting access to privileges extended to legal US Citizens and aliens.
    They discriminate against ex-Indians by imposing rules that are not a standard. Consulate in Chicago has one set of rules, and the one in San Francisco has another, and the embassy in DC has another. Asking a person born in India in the 60′s at the tender age of 3 months after birth to get a renunciation certificate, is a joke. If both the parents are no longer alive, who will have a copy of the first Indian passport used for entry?
    US citizens of Indian origin should file a discriminatory class action law suit against the Indian Government. Secondly all US citizens of Indian Origin should socio boycott consulate, embassy and political staff from Indian Government. Let’s teach these ignorant fools what we can do.
    Creating the office of Visa Outsourcing with Travisa is another scheme to make money. Paying additional fees to them is a conspiracy to squeeze money from us. If they wanted to do it in the interest of Indians, they could have outsourced that task to an Indian Origin entity.
    It’s a shame to accept that Indian Government will not accept credit card payment for Visa application and wants a cashier’s check and have us incur additional bank charges. Most consulates of other countries accept charge cards
    With bureaucracies of this sort it is not worth going to India or asking for PIO or OCI classification.

  66. By Taheri on May 20, 2011 | Reply

    I ws born in India and left India with my parents at tender age of 3 months, in 1980. I have been to India a few times since then. Unfortunately both my parents passed away a few years ago. I do not have my old Indian Passport. To claim my assets in India, I need to go to India and also am interested in getting a renuncition certificate since I have to go back and forth to India to settle matters in Indian court and family in India

  67. By Ravi on Nov 9, 2011 | Reply

    In renewing my wife’s passport I had sent mine along to have my name added in her passport (i don’t need renewal). Its been more than 5 weeks and we haven’t gotten our passports back. Now i need to travel to Europe for work in two weeks. We called them several times to see if they can send back my passport alone while they are processing my wifes. In one of the calls they said that they will send mine back but after that there has been no response. We don’t know if they have sent it or yet to send it, they are just not responding.
    I was planning on to going to the SFO consulate (we live in Seattle) to see if I can talk to one of consular’s and get my passport back.
    Do i need an appointment for this or can I walk-in during 9-12pm and talk to some one? If i need an appointment how can i get one for such inquiries?

  68. By Ra on Dec 11, 2011 | Reply

    I just went to the Consulate on 12/09/2011 and I could say it was a HORRIBLE experience. Haven’t had this kind of experience in US. The young man who was handling my application was very arrogant, RUDE and Helpful. Is there a official place where we can voice our dissatisfaction with people there?

    well, not all is bad; The security person was nice, and the Lady in the counter seemed to be better than the guy who worked with me.

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