PIO Card

Folks

i had submitted for PIO for my son on 10/13 that was finally sent to SFO consulate on 10/28. So far no update and we need to travel to India on Dec 2.

A. I have emailed CKGS several times and havent received any updates or follow ups. on the forum i have seen several folks mention they called and spoke to someone and got email responses back. Can you pls share the numbers you are calling (the numbers i call i am on hold for 90 mins or longer and then gets disconnected) or email IDs you are receiving responses from

B. How long does it take for walk in PIOs? is the time faster? like same day or next day? if so, can i withdraw my current application and re-submit for walk in?

C. if PIO is not an option, do anyone of you know about the visa on arrival option that was announced by PM Modi for US citizens of indian origin ? has anyone availed of that option?

Thank you for any help. We live outside of California and your guidance will help us decide on flight plans to the consulate and beyond to India

Thanks
Vento

Is anyone visiting CGI New York tomorrow (Monday Nov. 24) to withdraw PIO application/ try to get an urgent visa or somehow expedite the PIO applications itself, can you please reply to this email? I would like to exchange contact information so that we can help each other out if necessary.

Thanks!
Soniya

I have a question that I hope you can help me with. I filed PIO applications (4 total) for my family beginning of Nov. They lost the package for a couple of weeks and finally registered the applications on Nov 14th. I used their online service to pay for one way courier charges ( from the center to my home). I paid for it four times, one for each application and have the payment confirmations/ receipts. When I tired to generate the airway bill it gave me a "page not found" error. I called their customer service line and they advised to send the payment receipt with the package and not "worry" about the airway bill and that "it would all be fine". I did exactly that and also attached a letter with the applications summarizing the issue and conversation with the customer service representative. We'll it so turns out that not sending the airway bill is an issue, My daughter's PIO got approved earlier this week (her's was a simple validation against her new US passport, where as the other applications were for new PIO's so we were expecting an earlier approval for her) and her approved PIO has been sitting in SFO since Tue, and they still haven't shipped it out. I got an email asking for her airway bill, so it's quite obvious that they didn't bother read the letter or refer the attached courier payment receipt. I called the customer service line and he gave me some BS, stating that the airway bill is only generated if you pick courier for both ways and not one way??? Makes no sense........
I would like to understand if you were able to generate the airway bill and sent it with your application for a one way courier payment (center to home) or if you just sent them the courier payment receipt. I appreciate your feedback!

 What is going on with Indian Consulate in sfo from last two they dint approve any application from last two days. The last application i heard got approve was on 24th October.

Any updates is Highly appreciated .

Dear Friends,

How long did it take for you to get the PIO and Passport in hand once the application was approved and it came back to CKGS. My current status says

Your application has been collected from the Embassy/Consulate and is being sorted. Your application will be ready for collection from our Application Centre within one business day. 11/20/2014

I'm wondering how long it took for others to get the documents back.

Sharing my experience of PIO appl for my daughter from NY. I was initially worried after reading from forums that it takes longer than 4 weeks but luckily my daughter's PIO got approved in 3 weeks time.

The PIO Appl was sent to Indian Consulate on 11/5 and it got approved on 11/19. I received the Passport and PIO Card on 11/20.

From my personal experience I would suggest if you have any concerns/questions please email CKGS and they will reply back in 24hrs. Also make sure you have the documents in place based on the Checklist provided, then it should be a smooth process.

-Ravi

Does anyone know if I can get a visa (30 days or slightly more than that) at the port of entry in Mumbai? I am Indian born US Citizen.

Also, in case of emergency visa (not related to death etc..) that I understand can be obtained if I get one of the 60 cards distributed in the morning at the SFP embassy, can I apply for my wife in SFO even if she is not there?

Thanks

Finally went to the CKGS office in SF today, I played double role and picked up a token for urgent visa (#30 when I reach at 7 AM) and also went to the 1st floor office to check if they already have my passport available so I could file the visa. ( I had mailed the passport withdraw form 3 days back and it was received by CKGS on 11/18).

it took forever for the fromt desk guy at the first floor office to call out my name and check what i needed ( i was 11th or 12th person in queue there at 9:20 AM) , he finally called me at 11 AM . I will write more about it later.

Unfortunately the mail thing is highly unpredictable, they mentioned they have no such withdraw form even though I had the fedex delivery receipt :(. To cut the long story short, I submitted a new application for passport withdraw right there and the lady who handles it, said she has talked to consulate and I should come back by evening 5 PM today to collect the passport. I will update more once I get the passport back.

Another long day for me on Friday to go back to apply for the Urgent visa. Also since I anyway had the urgent visa number for today, there is a verification counter before the visa is applied. I got my papers verified that everything was in place to apply for the visa. I have to go back in the evening now to collect the passport and they either Friday or Monday submit the urgent visa. My travel dates in 11/28 and the PIO application was with consulate on 10/31 (even if I get the PIO it might be cutting too close, so I will apply for visa anyway). Fingers crossed.

One thing for sure, they are highly disorganized. so people walking in and submitting applications (PIO, Visa, withdraw) seem to get processed much faster than what is coming over mail. The system does not look fair at all for people not closer to the consulate, I can only imagine the plight if you were trying to work this remotely from outside of North California. And the Phone numbers for CKGS seem to common for all consulates, so it is same two numbers handling entire US traffic (most likely a call center in India), I wonder if the same call center is used for other countries as well. No wonder none of us can get through to them over. I was on hold twice for 1.5 hrs yesterday and both times gave up on the hope.

What are current processing times which people are experiencing at Houston Consulate for New PIO application for a minor?
Any tips or tricks that help to get it faster
Thanks

Please let me know if anybody got PIO for minor from DC submitted on 10/24. My Travel date is on 11/25. I called CKGS on 11/13 and they promised that I will get PIO approved by 11/20 but it didn't happen till now. Please advice if it helps if i go in person.