Best option for renewing the passport in this scenario

[aqua38]

Hi, I hope I am posting at the right topic. I have 2 options which needs discussion. Thanks.

My family will be travelling from US to India on June 4th. We realized (our mistake) few days ago that our daughter's passport is expiring on July 3rd. The 3 of us have our green cards. We found out from the airlines and Indian immigration that clarified that there are no concerns while travelling to India with her passport that is valid for 30 more days only. Now we are dropping our child there with our parents for summer and getting back to work here on June 20th. My husband will be going again in Ausust to bring her back.

Question: What is the best and hassle free way to renew her passport?

Option 1: Apply as soon as we get there.
Concern: But apply at a regional passport office and the hassles that accompany it is concerning me.

Option 2: When we both travel back here on June 20th, we get her passport with us and get it renewed here (with our permanant US address) at Houston. They take only 10days and I feel confident to apply here.
Concern: Will this be a problem while travelling back? Will the immegration at US question how come her new passport was renewed in Houston while she was not here or something of that sort or it does not matter?

Also, while renewing a passport for minor do they need passport copies of both the parents or just 1would do?

Thank you for looking at my question/(s)

[airbusfan]

Originally Posted by aqua38

Hi, I hope I am posting at the right topic. I have 2 options which needs discussion. Thanks.

My family will be travelling from US to India on June 4th. We realized (our mistake) few days ago that our daughter's passport is expiring on July 3rd. The 3 of us have our green cards. We found out from the airlines and Indian immigration that clarified that there are no concerns while travelling to India with her passport that is valid for 30 more days only. Now we are dropping our child there with our parents for summer and getting back to work here on June 20th. My husband will be going again in Ausust to bring her back.

Question: What is the best and hassle free way to renew her passport?

Option 1: Apply as soon as we get there.
Concern: But apply at a regional passport office and the hassles that accompany it is concerning me.

Option 2: When we both travel back here on June 20th, we get her passport with us and get it renewed here (with our permanant US address) at Houston. They take only 10days and I feel confident to apply here.
Concern: Will this be a problem while travelling back? Will the immegration at US question how come her new passport was renewed in Houston while she was not here or something of that sort or it does not matter?

Also, while renewing a passport for minor do they need passport copies of both the parents or just 1would do?

Thank you for looking at my question/(s)

I don't think anyone is going to question you. But read the last page of the Indian Passport where it says, the passport can't be sent out of the country by post and has to be in possession of the holder or a person authroized by the holder. I'm not sure how that affects in your situation. But, it's not that hard to get it done in India either! If I were you, I would just get it done it in India!

[aqua38]

Originally Posted by airbusfan

But, it's not that hard to get it done in India either! If I were you, I would just get it done it in India!

It definetly is. The only way to re-issue a passport now is take an online appointment at the Passport Seva Kendra which is a system developed by horrible TCS. PSK is just pathetic. The entire passport dept is filled with incompetent people. I am having sleepless nights because of them. First of all I had to pay some person/broker 2000 rs to get an online appt at the PSK office for my daughter’s passport. That site does NOT WORK FOR NORMAL CITIZENS. The call center is bullshit and its just a bunch of parrots who are of no help.

It took 4 hrs within that building. We had all the documents which they accepted. We paid the tatkal fees and when asked the officer about when she will get the PP, they said their white lie “You’ll get it in 3 days”. Its been more than 10 days and the status still shows “processing”. How incompetent. Now my husband and I are back in US and our daughter is in India with our parents waiting for the PP. This is making our entire family nervous.

[airbusfan]

I'm sorry that you had such a trouble in getting this done there. Rest assured, this could've happened here too. In anycase, what city are you applying?? The re-issue with Tatkal fees is supposed to take only 3 days as per Check list (right at the bottom) and am sure there is details of the grievance officer in each passport centers website for example:

COMPLAINT & GRIEVANCE OFFICER

Shri. B. S. Rokade,
Assistant Passport Officer,
Manish Commercial Centre,
216-A, Dr. A. B. Road, Worli, Mumbai - 30.
Tel: 022- 24931731, 24931555
Fax: 022- 24935812 / 24935275
E-mail: rpo.mumbai@mea.gov.in
TOP
STATUS OF APPLICATION

To know the status of your application click here or dial the tele enquiry no. 24965555
TELE ENQUIRY

Dial the tele enquiry no 022-24965555

Originally Posted by aqua38

It definetly is. The only way to re-issue a passport now is take an online appointment at the Passport Seva Kendra which is a system developed by horrible TCS. PSK is just pathetic. The entire passport dept is filled with incompetent people. I am having sleepless nights because of them. First of all I had to pay some person/broker 2000 rs to get an online appt at the PSK office for my daughter’s passport. That site does NOT WORK FOR NORMAL CITIZENS. The call center is bullshit and its just a bunch of parrots who are of no help.

It took 4 hrs within that building. We had all the documents which they accepted. We paid the tatkal fees and when asked the officer about when she will get the PP, they said their white lie “You’ll get it in 3 days”. Its been more than 10 days and the status still shows “processing”. How incompetent. Now my husband and I are back in US and our daughter is in India with our parents waiting for the PP. This is making our entire family nervous.

[aqua38]

Its Bangalore. They have somehting called the Passport Seva Kendra. You can go to the these only if you take an online appointment. There are like 3-4 desks where they verify your doucments. They verified it, granted and even cancelled her passport. They said it will take 3 days to arrive as its tatkal. Its been 2 weeks. Getting so nervous. I have already sent a grieveince letter thru the site. There is no other way we can contact the PSKs. The compaint number is registered and the date for evaluating that is given as july 7th. !!
I knew doing it in India would be a big concern. And the nightmare is coming true. I feel so helpless.

[aarzoo]

I am not trying to justify anything, but it can be stuck due to many reasons:
1. Identification process
2. Propert photographs, etc.

Did you submit proof of identity certified by court - not sure if it is still required? Also, did a cop from ur local police station visited your house for verification? If that happens in Tatkaal, check with your local police station if they received the inquiry.

[aqua38]

Since its a minor's (5 yr old) passport and its only a re-issue, (not a fresh application). We followed and submitted all teh documents specified by the website. The parents passport is her proof. They wont even allow you to go to the next step inside the building if your documents are not in place. The reciept they gave says "Police verification not required". The PSKs at bangalore do not need photographs anymore. They took her picture there itslef and took finder prints, verified all the documents and accepted it.

The status at the website is "granted". So there is no documentation issue. I have no idea why they cant just send it. The whole thing is so frustrating and incompetent. I know someone in the thread said it was illegal if we got her passport back to US and renewed it at the Houston Consolate. May be we should have done that, not sure where the problem would occur if we had done that. We would have just mailed her passport after reaching US to Houston and got it in 9 days (normal process). Then we could have taken it while we travalled to India to bring her back here.

[aarzoo]

yes its illegal to post/ carry someone else's passport across int'l. border

[sorcerer666]

Originally Posted by aarzoo

yes its illegal to post/ carry someone else's passport across int'l. border

Agreed. The OP is asking where would she be in trouble?
In India we have exit controls, so when your daughter enters India on one passport number which expired and then exits another passport which is issued in US. YThey're definitely getting caught and perhaps face Jail time in India for violation of the Indian Passports act. I'm not sure you would want to do this. Messing around with passports is no joke!!

[aqua38]

Thanks for that info. I guess I was looking for some kind of justification for the agony we are currently facing as parents. My skeptisism on dealing with a govt body was bang on.

[sorcerer666]

Obviously you haven't dealt with USCIS

How do you know, its not already sent and was misdelivered or went back for some reason? I'm just being a devil's advocate.

People on this forum were screaming their lungs out about the incompetence of Indian Consulate at Houston. So to rephrase someone else on here, it could've happened here too!

Originally Posted by aqua38

Thanks for that info. I guess I was looking for some kind of justification for the agony we are currently facing as parents. My skeptisism on dealing with a govt body was bang on.

[aqua38]

Those are the 2 places I am totally happy with. Ofcourse I dealt with USCIS for H1, GC and my spouse's B1, L1, GC etc. I had low expectations going in..cos they are afterall dealing with the world population and are not for their citizens. But they impressed.

And thanks to Houston Consolate, after 4 1/2 yrs in the US, I have a Name as it should be. My orginal passport that was issued had it all jumbled and the 2nd part of my full name (my dad's name) was my first name.. which caused so much confusion at the DMV and elsewhere. When I sent for a re-issue, I had to only enter my name properly in the passport application and nothing else was required and I got it in 10 days and now my name matches everywhere.

Houston atleast has a contact phone number where you can discuss your file if its caught up somewhere. And they were also very nice when we called them up for suggestions on the current problem we have. They asked us to drive down there and come with the documents in the morning and they'll give us a passport in 2 hrs. But that would have been cutting too short to our flight, we might not have made it.

[sorcerer666]

Good that you're extremely satisfied by both USCIS and CGI Houston.
Maybe you can add your experiences in this thread too
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/fo...ton-tx-35.html (Renewal of Indian Passport from CGI Houston TX)

Few are extremely unhappy!

Good luck!!

Originally Posted by aqua38

Those are the 2 places I am totally happy with. Ofcourse I dealt with USCIS for H1, GC and my spouse's B1, L1, GC etc. I had low expectations going in..cos they are afterall dealing with the world population and are not for their citizens. But they impressed.

And thanks to Houston Consolate, after 4 1/2 yrs in the US, I have a Name as it should be. My orginal passport that was issued had it all jumbled and the 2nd part of my full name (my dad's name) was my first name.. which caused so much confusion at the DMV and elsewhere. When I sent for a re-issue, I had to only enter my name properly in the passport application and nothing else was required and I got it in 10 days and now my name matches everywhere.

Houston atleast has a contact phone number where you can discuss your file if its caught up somewhere. And they were also very nice when we called them up for suggestions on the current problem we have. They asked us to drive down there and come with the documents in the morning and they'll give us a passport in 2 hrs. But that would have been cutting too short to our flight, we might not have made it.

[Brocksby]

Visa renewal is one of the most annoying step specially visa of a minor who is so young not fit for travel alone to India.But I am sure there will be no problem when you explained all the details to the immigration department.

[ramreddy]

crows are black everywhere ......but esp 2 of you ...are cash cows ...for the Govt. ...lets. do an analgy here to get my pt across...


Did you every travel in First Class Compartment in Mumbai Railways ..... the cost of a first class ticket is Rs 70 compared to a second class ticket Rs 4 . Do you know what you pay the extra Rs 66 for..?
when you buy a 1st / Business class ticket ticket in AA / Delta ... as against a Eco class... you spend .... how much ...approx 2x - 3x ...more ?.what do you get..more leg space..... ample area to stretch your legs.... personalized entertainment system..custom meals..and dedicated staff service..... so you pay the extra money for .....EXTRA SERVICE......ok..


NOW ..lets go to India ( in this case Hyd or Bom or Del etc ) .... you pay How much more in train fare more than 10X fare from 2nd to 1st class..WHAT DO YOU GET ...? NOTHING... in the 1st class....no AC ..stretching place ...just NOTHING ....except the seat changes color from brown to green....
.but people pay for 1st class ..WHY ..?because they DON'T want the nonsense value of the crowd....they want to be LEFT ALONE....
In india ..... the govt is like the crowd.... waiting with cutting teeth to bite you...and you pay money to govt. .....NOT to get service but to get rid of nuisance value .......
WHILE NRI's continue to sustain a big part of the economy's growth ..the congress govt WILL HAS AND HAD FOUND 1000000 CREATIVE OR OTHERWISE WAYS TO BLEED YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY / PAINLESSLY TO EXTORT MONEY FROM YOU.....
WHY PASSPORT PROCEDURE ..THIS IS THE REASON WHY SUCH LAWS LIKE 498A / DV ACT ARE MADE BY RENUKA CHOWDHARY.....
If you DONT Like the system..can I ask what you have done to change it ...? get yourself a start by partaking in Anna Hazare's / Ramdev Swami movement ........and if this exp really pinches you below the belt ....? make sure that you make EVERY EFFORT TO RUIN / FRUSTRATE / OVERTHROW THE CONGRESS GOVT...