american husband - visa or OCI?

[mandh]

I am an Indian citizen with a green card in USA.
My husband is american born and raised here. He has no indian roots. Only connection to India is his Indian wife
Our daughter was born in USA.

I was wondering if my husband can get OCI if he wanted? or PIO?

Can my daughter get OCI directly without PIO? Will that be better for her?

If my husband can't get OCI may be he can get a 5 or 10 year visa to India?
We plan to travel soon . Does OCI take a long time to process?

I am thinking that may be both my husband and daughter can take a 1 year visa for now and then come back and my daughter can get an OCI for future trips.

Please advise what is the best way for us. We plan to travel in January.

[curtdfw]

From the American husband of an Indian national with Green Card:

For your husband, PIO yes, OCI no. Processing time varies by consulate. Mine took four weeks from Houston last year. Check the consulate time estimates for the one with jurisdiction over your area, and keep in mind that they are just estimates. Remember that you have to have been married for one year before applying for PIO for your husband. Here's a list of the documents I sent:

http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51948&highlight=houston+consulate

If you go for PIO you should get it started right away for January travel. If you prefer to go the tourist visa for now you have more time. Five and ten year visas are the same price, so you may as well go for 10 years.

Not sure about your daughter's situation.

[immihelp]

What your country of citizenship?

[mandh]

hi Curt,
Thanks for your reply. We may take a 6 months visa for both hubby and baby and later work on PIO for them.

Just wanted to clarify- do you have any Indian roots? My hubby has no Indian roots. Did they tell you that you can't get OCI?
Once you arrived in India did you have to go to police station to register. What was the procedure there?

Immihelp, Iam an Indian citizen. I read somewhere that if only one parent is Indian citizen then the kid can get OCI directly.

[immihelp]

Your child is not able to apply for OCI because neither parent is a foreign citizen of Indian origin. In other words, no parent is eligible for OCI and therefore child not eligible for OCI.

[curtdfw]

Just wanted to clarify- do you have any Indian roots? My hubby has no Indian roots. Did they tell you that you can't get OCI?
Once you arrived in India did you have to go to police station to register. What was the procedure there?

No Indian roots at all, so I didn't even consider OCI-- my wife & I met while I was working in Delhi for a few years. If she decides to take US citizenship we'll apply for OCI for her once that's done.

No registration is required on a tourist visa as each stay is limited to 180 days. Registration is required for PIO cardholders only if you're there longer than 180 days in one stay. The process is not complex or expensive, though it can take some time plodding through the usual government office routine. I was fortunate that my employer hired someone to do the legwork for me. FRRO office list here:

/frro-offices-in-india/

[mandh]

Hi Curt,
Thanks again for the helpful tips. Nice to see a non-desi husband with a desi wife. We see many couple where wife is American and husband is Indian and not the other way around. Nice to see a couple like us for a change. Even though all these citizenshio issues could be bit of a pain with international marriages, you will have very beautiful kids (if that is any consolation) - going by how our kid turned out.

Back to our issue here: So I understand that my hubby can get PIO and if he does not stay more than 180 days for each visit he has no hassles like registeration.( Is there any link where this is stated specifically?) Do they look for that at the airport when you fly back? I was hoping to get OCi for my daughter. Seems like she will get PIO too.

Now, would you be able to get OCI after few years or now if you wished? If you wished to buy property in India that could be useful?

Do you think we would get PIO cards by mid January if we apply in a week?

Immihelp: Thanks for yoru reply. I was hoping that my daughter could get OCI. Do you know if my husband ( who has no Indian roots) can get OCI?

[immihelp]

1. Your husband can not get OCI, only PIO.
2. You can read details about PIO at New
3. You can read the difference between OCI and PIO at /compare-oci-card-with-pio-card/
4. A person can't upgrade to OCI from PIO later, unless he/she is specifically eligibile for OCI at that time. I don't see how your husband would be eligibile at any time. Your daughter would be eligible after you acquire foreign citizenship and become eligible for OCI.

[curtdfw]

Back to our issue here: So I understand that my hubby can get PIO and if he does not stay more than 180 days for each visit he has no hassles like registeration.( Is there any link where this is stated specifically?) Do they look for that at the airport when you fly back? I was hoping to get OCi for my daughter. Seems like she will get PIO too.

I've never stayed over 180 days since getting the PIO card, but the safe thing to do would be to properly register. When I was on an Employment visa 2004-2008 I always carried my registration papers with me, but was never asked to produce them when leaving. Others in similar situations have needed to show them. As often happens, it's the whim of the immigration official you happen to deal with.

PIO details are here:
New

Now, would you be able to get OCI after few years or now if you wished? If you wished to buy property in India that could be useful?

I'll never be eligible for OCI as I've never been an Indian citizen. Once (and if) my wife becomes a US citizen, she'll be eligible for OCI. PIO & OCI both come with property rights (except for agricultural property) so no worries there. See the link above about that.

Do you think we would get PIO cards by mid January if we apply in a week?

It's a bit tight, and is partly dependent on which consulate you'll be using. The four weeks for mine was right in line with the Houston Consulate's estimate. Others:

Chicago:
Submission at Counter between 900 to 1230 hours (Chicago time): 7 working days
By mail: 4 weeks

New York:
# Ordinarily, it takes about 4 working days to issue a PIO card, but this schedule does not apply to cases where approval is required from authorities in India.
# Applicants are advised to find out at the time of application the exact date on which PIO card would be ready.

San Francisco:
15 Working days

DC:
May require more than 45 business days if clearances have to be obtained from India or other PIO card issuing agencies

If you're in the jurisdiction of the Chicago or New York consulates, and can drop the applications off personally, it appears you're in good shape for January travel, though there's always the risk of complications.

The tough part is that there's no tracking mechanism for PIO so, with a tight schedule, it could be anxiety-producing as the clock winds down. The Consulates rarely seem to answer the phones.

[mandh]

Now we are debating if we should just get a 5 or 10 year visa for both hubby and daughter. Then get PIo in the meantime.

Husband says he is not sure why he would need PIO. Visa will be enough to travel and visit families.If we buy any property in India it can be in my name. I think daughter should have PIO anyways - she may have inheritance. Anyways I like her her to have PIO. What additional advantages does PIO have.

Also is it difficlt to get a 10 year visa Vs 5 years visa?

[curtdfw]

There should be no difficulty in getting a 10 year vs 5 year visa. Americans are the only foreigners that have the 10-year visa option due to the US offering reciprocal 10-year visas to Indians. And since it's the same price...

As for the advantages of PIO, well, in addition to the duration of 15 years, the additional privileges of:

# ease of entry and exit

# being able to work there without sponsorship

# stay longer than six months

# ownership of property

# investment opportunities

and there are probably others. Yes, some stuff could be done in your name (my wife and I are thinking about that too). Tourist visa options do change -- India is certainly tightening up on the duration for some. Though I don't know for certain about this, should something happen to you, I would think your husband would have a stronger status as as PIO cardholder than if holding a tourist visa.

Granted that getting a PIO card would take a little more effort and money than a tourist visa. But for me, the PIO status is an absurdly good deal. I feel special. I can use the shorter PIO/OCI lines at immigration. It gives us the flexibility to easily and simply move between the two countries. As your daughter grows, should you want her to have a longer-term experience of India, there are no official impediments to your doing so. I suppose that your husband could always apply for PIO later on but, as it's available now, why not grab it. Governments have been known to change their minds about these things.

Anyhow, I can't imagine not taking advantage of it. For us, the possibility of moving back is significant (if I can land a nice expat job) so my not needing a Business or Employment visa should make me more attractive to employers during this period of tightening up on B & E visa access.