In the order of their receipts in the consulate, applications are scrutinized to ensure the completeness of all required documents and information for deciding the eligibility of applicant(s) for granting OCI status. This process can take anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks, depending upon the consulate where you applied.

Incomplete applications will be returned. They can be resubmitted again with required documents, but you will have to wait for the entire processing period again.

During normal processing times, applicants are requested to refrain from making telephone/written/email enquiries regarding the status of their application.

Online Status Inquiry
(Please enter your Online Registration No USA.... and click go.)
The status report will show dates of "Registration Status," "Documents Printing Status," "Documents Printed On," "Documents Dispatched to concerned Mission/Office," and "Documents Received at."

After preliminary scrutiny, if there is no adverse information available against the applicant, the Indian Mission/Post shall register a person as OCI within the processing time of the application and the case shall be referred to MHA for post verification of the antecedents of the applicant. If during the post verification, any adverse information comes to the knowledge of the MHA, the registration as OCI already granted by the Indian Mission/Post shall be cancelled by an order under section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The persons will also be blacklisted, banning their entry into India.

After preliminary scrutiny, if there is any adverse information against the applicant, prior approval of MHA shall be required before granting of registration. MHA may approve or reject the grant of registration within 120 days from the date of the receipt of the application. If the grant of registration as OCI is approved by MHA, the Indian Mission/Post shall register the person as an OCI.

If the application is filed in India, registration shall be granted by MHA by following the above procedure.

If the registration as OCI is not granted, an amount of U.S. $250, or equivalent in the local currency, shall be refunded if registration is refused. There is a non-refundable processing fee of U.S. $25.

This procedure has been described only by Chicago. Procedures at other Consulates is not known.

Once your OCI application is granted, you will receive an email for the same. However, OCI documents still need to be printed at New Delhi and sent to the Consulate.

Through Online Status Inquiry, if you find that the OCI documents do not show the status "Documents Printed On" in four working days after the granting date, it means that the printing machine has rejected your photo at New Delhi.

In this case, please follow this procedure:

1. Visit Ministry of Home Affairs' web site and click on 'Online registration' and complete the form (Part A) online.
   
   
2. Take a print out of the form. Sign or put your thumb impression (as applicable) in the box near the space for photo. Sign or put thumb impression (as applicable) by thick pen (blue or black ink), do not spill over signature/thumb impression out of the signature box. Do not past photo on the part A. Scan only the first page of the form in the JPEG format.
   
   
3. Get your photo in the JPEG format which has a minimum resolution of 300 x 300 DPI and meets the specifications. Do not use the same photo as previously as it had the problems.
   
   
4. Submit the scanned copy of the first page of the form and the photo as separate attachments to the Consulate using their online form. Make sure to mention your name and the both online registration numbers (new as well as old).
   
   

Once they receive your documents, they will be processed again. You should check the status with the new online registration number.

Only after checking the OCI application status at Online Status Inquiry, after it indicates the documents have been received at the consulate, you should either mail the passports and other documents to the consulate (or FRRO if you are in India) or visit it in person. Documents are to be mailed or submitted in person only to the consulate where your application is getting processed or to the FRRO if you are in India. No letter will be sent regarding the OCI status. There is no need of further confirmation by phone/fax/email.

You need the following documents:

• U.S./Foreign passport, the details of which were furnished in the application.
  In case you have acquired a new U.S./Foreign passport since you applied for OCI, provide expired U.S./Foreign passport and a photocopy of the new U.S./Foreign Passport. The "U" visa sticker will be pasted on the passport with which the application was made.
  
  
• Valid Indian passport - if it hasn't already been cancelled. It will be returned after canceling it.
  
  
• PIO card - if it hasn't already been cancelled. It will be returned after canceling it.
  
  
• Print out of the Status Page from online status inquiry (indicating the date of receipt of OCI document in the Consulate)

Failure to submit a valid Indian Passport or PIO card will result in a delay in issuing the OCI certificate. Failure to do so will lead to inconvenience at Immigration Check Points.

There is no procedure or requirement of taking an oath before the Consulate of India for getting the OCI.

Along with the documents mentioned above, write a cover letter and mention the file number(s) in it. Clearly mark the envelope "COLLECTION OF OCI DOCUMENTS" or "OCI Dispatch" (San Francisco).

Washington, DC, San Francisco: Not available.
New York: You can visit the consulate between 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM along with your passports to get OCI Cards stamped. Passports will be returned within 3 hours.
Chicago: Persons can visit the consulate between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM.
Houston: Deposit the documents at the counter from 9:00 AM-12:30 PM and collect the OCI Card from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM on the same day.

Wherever applicable, you can visit the consulate in person to collect the OCI documents. One adult person in the family can collect OCI documents of all the family members. However, this person must bring an authorization letter that includes the name of the person authorized, his passport number and applicant's name along with his on-line registration number and signature. You need to show your passport to the Consulate official and bring the following:

• A print out of the status page (indicating the date of arrival of OCI document in the Consulate.)
  
  
• Applicant's U.S./foreign passport indicated in his/her application.
  
  
• Indian passport and/or PIO card if still valid.
  
  

If you have filed the application in India with FRRO, either you or your authorized person should go to the FRRO office. If you have filed the application in India with MHA, either you or your authorized person should go to OCI Cell, Ministry of Home Affairs, Jaisalmer House, 26 Man Singh Road, New Delhi.

This procedure has been described by the Indian Consulate in Chicago. It is not known whether other consulates allow this.

If you applied for OCI at the Indian Consulate and if your OCI documents are ready, but you want to collect them in India instead, you can send an email to the Consulate. Please state your name, online registration number and the name of the FRRO where you would like to collect your OCI documents. Once your email is received, the consulate will forward your documents to the FRRO and email you regarding it. You should contact the FRRO only after 6 weeks of you receiving the confirmation via email from the Consulate.

In case you have acquired a new U.S./Foreign passport since you applied for OCI, different rules apply for different consulates.

San Francisco, Washington DC: Kindly send Expired U.S./Foreign passport in original and a photocopy of first page of new U.S./Foreign Passport. The U visa sticker has to be pasted on the Passport with which application was made.

Chicago: OCI documents can not be issued on the old/expired/cancelled U.S. passport as it is not valid. The Consulate can not even issue the OCI documents on the new passport as the old passport number appears in the OCI documents. You need to apply through OCI Miscellaneous Services with new passport details. You must pay an additional fee of $25 using Misc. services.

A multiple entry, multi-purpose lifelong OCI "U" ("U" for Universal) visa sticker will be pasted on the foreign passport of the applicant. A registration certificate will also be issued. Registration certificate is printed like an Indian passport, but in a different color.

These two documents will have the photograph of the individual and all necessary security features. A separate OCI passport will NOT be issued.

San Francisco: 45 business days. You can not get your passport returned in the middle of the application processing. Therefore, make sure to plan your travel accordingly.
Houston: 12 weeks
Chicago: 6 weeks
New York: 2 months. If adverse information is found about the applicant, 3 months.
Washington, DC: 8 weeks to acknowledge OCI application online. 3 months total.

San Francisco: 7-8 working days.
Washington DC: 20-25 working days.

Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Washington DC: None
Others: Unknown