PIO card mess in Chicago Consulate

[amateur]

Hi all,

I am desperately looking for help. I have applied for PIO cards two months ago at the Chicago Indian Consulate. The web-site says that it takes 20 days plus mailing time for PIO cards. No one picks up phone, no one replies emails. No one replies voice mails. Next week we are traveling. What is the solution? One option is go to chicago and apply for a six month visa for all of us. Is that the only option at this time or any other solution? We are American Citizens and people of Indian Origin.

[leifbooger]

There is too much of a rush these days for PIO cards and Indian visas. I would suggest postpone your trip by a month, you should receive all your PIO cards.

[amateur]

Gosh! Postponing is not an option for me. The cost of it is around $2000.00 plus a lot more issues. What I don't understand is what is heck is the problem for these SCOUNDRELS at the consulate to admit that there are delays. Their website says 20 days. My foot 20 days. I have applied TWO MONTHS ago. I think I am in deep shit now, for counting on the six-month visa possibility as the last option.

[cool_r2i]

Gosh! Postponing is not an option for me. The cost of it is around $2000.00 plus a lot more issues. What I don't understand is what is heck is the problem for these SCOUNDRELS at the consulate to admit that there are delays. Their website says 20 days. My foot 20 days. I have applied TWO MONTHS ago. I think I am in deep shit now, for counting on the six-month visa possibility as the last option.

Looks like your name suits you very well ...'amateur', huh? The website clearly says that it is 20 days for processing, you should add a few days for postal delays. Also, the website mentions that the processing can take longer if there is any verification to be done in India. So, you must have got into that.

I think you are over-reacting here. Just get the visa, you can get it in one day if you go to the consulate in person.

[amateur]

cool_r2i,

Although you are in a hurry to show your condescending attitude, I like your last line and wish it would be true in my case that I would get the travel visa at least. I will let you know what my experience has been. But my suggestion to you before you take this attitude and interpret the usernames and comment on people, is that you get to know your english better and refer to dictionary for the meaning of amateur!

[cool_r2i]

noun
1. a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons.
2. an athlete who has never competed for payment or for a monetary prize.
3. a person inexperienced or unskilled in a particular activity: Hunting lions is not for amateurs.
4. a person who admires something; devotee; fan: an amateur of the cinema.

–adjective
5. characteristic of or engaged in by an amateur; nonprofessional: an amateur painter; amateur tennis.

I think most of them (if not all) suits you very well. Isn't it?
I am not in a hurry to show any attitude here. But, feel bad when you call the people of your origin as 'scoundrels'.

[amateur]

Cool_r2i!

You are free to interpret what you may want to! I only meant the very first of your list.

Yeah you feel bad for my reaction. But what else do I do, when I did everything right, pay hefty amount of money (it costed me more than $950 for all the PIO card stuff), apply two months ahead of the journey time and don't get any help when I try to call them and leave messages, email them, fax them and so on. If there is a problem with the application, they wouldn't even tell you that, how do you know? I don't wish that anyone be in my situation., but now I feel that this experience should happen to you for you to realize what is getting caught between devil and the deep sea is! Just because they are from my origin does not mean I should not do the name calling. I am the victim here and hence you can see the frustration. I am sure I am not alone in this. I know quite a few of my friends who are in the same situation. What is the point of having all the technology and yet everyone needs to go in person?

I am surprised that someone is defending the consulate here! Either you have no perspective of what the experience is, or you are an employee of the consulate! If you are the latter, I clarify that it is not directed against you as a person but the whole system, for which the whole concept of being customer-friendly is a complete alien, from what I can see.

[cool_r2i]

amateur,

The very reason I said the name suits you 'amateur' was just to indicate that you are completely new to this! :). But, you wanted to test my English knowledge, which I believed and still believe is good enough at least for a forum like this one. Hopefully, I am not writing this to an English professor. Am I?

I am neither an employee of the consulate, nor a person without experience on these issues. I am completely aware of the way things happen with some of the consulates here and now I have learned to prepare myself for these kind of things. You make umpteen number of calls and faxes and you don't get replies. I can understand your frustration. But, it is not wise to call names on a public forum...isn't it?

There is nothing much that can be done to 'repair' (is that the right word?) the consulate. However, you can plan things better and factor all these delays into your schedule.

BTW, did you get your visa?

[amateur]

No, Coolr2i! You are again mistaken. I did not want to test your English knowledge. I know where you stand there!

BTW, I did not get my Visa. I got my PIO CARDS instead. But the indian consulate is such an atrocious organization. I had to deal with these SCOUNDRELS, BAS*****, MOT*** *******, ETC. so on! I don't have any sympathy for these fu***** just because there are from an Indian background. It is your choice if you want to have all the good feelings for them if you are one of them! :)

[cool_r2i]

No, Coolr2i! You are again mistaken. I did not want to test your English knowledge. I know where you stand there!

BTW, I did not get my Visa. I got my PIO CARDS instead. But the indian consulate is such an atrocious organization. I had to deal with these SCOUNDRELS, BAS*****, MOT*** *******, ETC. so on! I don't have any sympathy for these fu***** just because there are from an Indian background. It is your choice if you want to have all the good feelings for them if you are one of them! :)

Waw!, these are the words after getting the PIO cards, huh? What problems did you go through? Instead of calling names, if you describe the problem and the solution you found for it, it would be helpful for other members on the forum. At least, they dont have to go through the same.

I pity you for assuming that people from consulate are here on this forum to read your grievances! As always, you are living up to your name!

[shhivaa]

Waw!, these are the words after getting the PIO cards, huh? What problems did you go through? Instead of calling names, if you describe the problem and the solution you found for it, it would be helpful for other members on the forum. At least, they dont have to go through the same.

I pity you for assuming that people from consulate are here on this forum to read your grievances! As always, you are living up to your name!

Well,

cool_r2i, looks like you haven't had enough experience with these people at the consulates. What in the world is a consulate in a foreign soil for? To my little brain, it is mainly to represent the Nation/Government and to serve the citizens of the home country. What shit is it when no one > picks up the phone calls, responds to emails voice mails or fax messages? What the hell do they have a phone line for? Isn't it wasting the Indian taxpayers' money?

I am going through the same hell like amateur did.

Let them process at their comfortable pace, but what stops them from communicating it. The website is the ugliest one I have ever seen. Even an infant can do a better job.

I do not understand why the hell all the consulates have their own format of the forms and they all look different. And the Indian government boasts that Indians are the best in IT industry.

We have all the right to call names when they do not serve properly and mis-represent the Nation.

[knowledgeable]

If you have the time, energy and resources you can try to make a strong point of your problems with the Indian consulate.

Write to the Indian Ambassador in D.C., send a copy to your state's senator and to your local representative.

Then write to your local newspaper editors, start a blog, add in Sulekha.com

Finally write to the Ministry in India.

Basically if you hit all the points and if more and more people start doing this, there's bound to be positive changes benefiting everybody.

HOWEVER, what happens is that all of us vent our anger towards someone or something else and once we get our work done, we forget about the whole thing.

Best wishes to all.

[cool_r2i]

knowledgeable,

This is called living up to one's name (or nickname, screen-name etc). Agree with every word in your reply.

[aliasgar_ns]

knowledgeable,

This is called living up to one's name (or nickname, screen-name etc). Agree with every word in your reply.

And the same applies to you too.. cool as a cucumber.

[knowledgeable]

Good to read about nice words for/from forum users.

Let's have more pleasantness and information and little or no friction.

Have a good one guys.

[lresaeva]

I have applied more than a year ago. The computer showed that it was granted. But to this date I have not received it. No phone call answered, no e-mails answered, no letters answered. These scumbags should at least refund the fee. Indians are always Indians everywhere, I assume.

[icomplaint]

I submitted application for my Minor Child's PIO Card.

There was no Updated after 08/24/2011 till this Monring 9 Sep 2011.
I called Chicago Office to check the status, they put me on hold for half an hour and were n0o able to tell me the status
and told that someone will come me after an hour. I waited no one called.

I checked online status again and was shocked to see that Applicatioon was put on hold. I called again the Chicago Office to know the exact reason of Rejection.
The reson told was that the Thub Impression are in Greeen Ink. I was shocked to know this Invalid Reason. There are no instrcutions regarding color of the ink for
Thumb Impression. And we didnt use RED Ink which I think should not be used. Blue, Black or Green Ink shouln't matter and there are no instructions anywhere regarding
color of the Ink for Thumb Impression.
I called the PIO Chicago Office( 312-3462367) again and asked them why they have put the application on Hold.
He told me that we used Green Ink for thumb impression which is not acceptable. I told him there are no Instructions anywhere on PIO Application regarding the
color of the ink to be used. He told that on OCI Application it is mentioned that it should be a Black Ink.

I have below doubts in my mind:

1) Why should I go through the instructions for OCI when I am applying for PIO Card.
2) Why they didnt update any status online for 17 days and when I called on 17th day they found this point and put my application pon hold. What they were doing these 17 days
when they mention on the website that it takes 15 days to process PIO Application for a US Citizen.
3) I dont think that Outsourcing of these services are of any use. They are not processing the application in time and holding the application.
They are not sure of rules and guidlines too. It has been a pathetic Experience for me.

[icomplaint]

I put my complaint on Travisa Website and they sent a regret email and still told to sent again the document. The manager has assured she would personally look into the case after receving the new application again and will ensure that this time is is processed. She has provided her conatct no also, I havent called yet though.

Lets see what happens next ! Waiting for a positive result now.
I will update here.