PIO Card

do we need to apply for VISA for my son to go to India
i applied for PIO card recently and i am waiting for the PIO Card

somebody was saying that they give the PIO for like 6 - 9 months, because the facial features of the child changes a lot and hence they only give it for shorter periods. Is that true?

What is the duration of PIO cards did you guys get for?

Any idea about how much time it generally takes for a new PIO card (minor) to be processed in New York consulate?

I applied for my daughter PIO on June 3, 2014 at San Francisco. I applied through CKGS so i made sure that all my documents were correct and in order.


The PIO application can be notarized at Bank of America free of cost (in case u have an account there). At UPS they ask for \$10 for each signature, so we have 2 copies of the application with 2 signatures (both parents) costing \$40.
We also took the \$15 FedEx courier service.

The documents were submitted at Indian Embassy on June 12 and on June 20 the application was collected from the High Commission/Embassy. On June 23 I received the PIO card and Passport.

I applied for my kids PIO in Washington DC on 04/04/2014 in person. A provided a prepaid USPS priority mail envelope for return.
The Application was sent to the Embassy on the same day. I got a response on 04/25/2014 that my son's passport is despatched. I waited till 04/29/2014, still USPS doesn't show any tracking data update. I complained to BLS a number of times but they said USPS delivery takes longer. Their tracking shows that its been shipped by fedex.
Now I am reading all the articles about lost and stolen passport in BLS.
I am horrified. No one answers the helpdesk. There is no one you could reach out to.
I have a travel planned on 05/09/2014. I am frustrated, I dont know what to do.

I had a very good experince overall and got the things on time

Submitted to 24th via USPS and BLS recieved the application on 28th.

Also those who are applying for PIO can select fedex courier option or can simply go to USPS and buy postage packet $5.60 each

BLS Receipt Number => PION10201914
Current Aplication Status : Your Application has been received from the Consulate General of India and is being dispatched using the postal method chosen by you.Kindly allow up to 24 hours for change of status
(Last Updated On 10-04-2014 16:36)

 
Application accepted by BLS:28-03-2014 , 15:03
Appliication Processed on Date : 28-03-2014
Application Processed and Ready to be submitted to Consulate : 28-03-2014 , 17:40
Application submitted at Consulate :10-04-2014 ,16:33
Application processed by Consulate : 10-04-2014 ,16:35
PIO Card received at BLS Center : 10-04-2014 , 16:36
PIO Card handed over to Applicant : -
PIO Card Dispatched to Applicant :-

I tried all day to reach someone at the Helpline for the Houston office. No luck.

Govt of India does not outsource what it needs to outsource, it outsources what needs to be done by the Govt.

Not everything can be done via e-mail. It is pathetic to have a helpline and no one to answer it.

Hello

I am very happy to see all of your feedback about BLS and its services and I too very pleased to see that BLS is just taking max of 3 weeks to deliver new PIO card. In my case, I did not see any response from BLS until now for PIO application I applied for my daughter. Its almost 40 days now, we did not receive PIO from BLS center yet. I called couple of time to BLS customer service center and have been told that I will receive soon. Should I follow up with different team or people to get PIO. Please response to my post

When I checked my order status, this is the one I could always see from last 40 days

Current Aplication Status : Your Application has been submitted to the Consulate General of India for processing at 26-02-2014 11:03. Kindly note that the status will change only post the Application is Processed by the Consulate General of India.

Application accepted by BLS:27-01-2014 , 15:25
Appliication Processed on Date : 25-02-2014
Application Processed and Ready to be submitted to Consulate : 26-02-2014 , 10:42
Application submitted at Consulate :26-02-2014 ,11:03
Application received at BLS Center : -
Application handed over to Applicant : -
Application Dispatched to Applicant :-

Your timely response on this will surely make me happy

Applied For PIO for my wife from Seattle into the San Francisco CGI Office and door-to-door it took 14 days (incl 2 wkends) and I used regular USPS (because there really is no reason to expedite and pay FedEx). I did read a TON of negative feedback on this forum that unnecessarily made me a bit anxious, so I figured sharing a success story will help others applying not get carried away by all this negativity.

BLS emailed the day after USPS delivered it, and likewise, they emailed the day they got the documents back from CGI. CGI Itself took only 6 days (incl 1 wkend). They had advertised for the whole thing at CGi to take 4 wks, so I had anticipated 5-6 wks with postal issues and BLS processing, but 2 for everything was fantastic.

Keys for this IMHO:

a) Follow the convoluted (yet not indecipherable) instructions. like everything. here are examples:
    i) Do a total of 2 copies of everything. the only originals i had to send was the passport
   ii) They asked for 2 photos and had space for 2 photos in forms, so i sent them 4. they sent back the unused 2.
  iii) Notarize all documents that are being asked to be notarized like marriage forms, birth certs.
  iv) Make sure the money/check is valid for the 30-40 days it could take to process this
   v) Make sure the passport is valid and sent
  vi) I have almost all the important passport, immigration(GC/i94 etcetc), birth, marriage certs on hi-res scans on google drive and update them when they are renewed) Considering no one never needs originals and scanners/printers these days are impeccable - these things take hassle out very quick
 vii) Use the Checklist BLS gives and score off things as you collect them and organize docs as they asked.
 vii) Read the "reasons we reject apps" most often list and don't do the same silly mistakes.
b) Relax. Don't panic or get anxious and micro manage - trust the system. I didn't call BLS or CGI ever. I figured the time they wasted with me would be better spent working on the application or someone elses application

Worked for me.

Posted with USPS: 3/17/2014
Delivered by USPS: 3/19/2014
REceived by BLS: 3/19/2014
Application accepted by BLS: 3/20/2014
Appliication Processed on Date : 3/20/2014
Application Processed and Ready to be submitted to Consulate :  3/20/2014
Processing at Consulate 3/26/2014
Application received at BLS Center : - 3/26/2014
Application Dispatched to Applicant : 3/27/2014
REceived by USPS 3/28/2014
Delivered by USPS: 3/31/2014

I had very good experience with BLS Internationsl India Visa for my Son PIO card processing. Before applying to them i was so affraid that whether i will get PIO on time as i need to travel to india in a month and processing time was given for SFO location was 45 days. Even i have gone through with many reviews about BLS visa and 90% were negative. I applied by Post (Fedex with return shipping) to them and my Son PIO card was processed within 10 days. So from my experience if you are applying with all correct documents and as per BLS requirements given on website then i believe there should be any issue to get your PIO card soon.

Below are my PIO card status summary from BLS International website:

BLS Receipt Number => YYYY YYYY (hide for security reasons)

Current Aplication Status : Your Passport has been dispatched on 13-03-2014 12:01.Please check the status on the Courier Company's website post 48 hours

Application accepted by BLS: 03-03-2014 , 09:35
Appliication Processed on Date :03-03-2014
Application Processed and Ready to be submitted to Consulate : 03-03-2014 , 15:59
Application submitted at Consulate :13-03-2014 ,11:11
Application processed by Consulate : 13-03-2014 ,11:18
Application received at BLS Center : 13-03-2014 , 11:19
Application handed over to Applicant : -
Application Dispatched to Applicant :13-03-2014 , 12:01

Hi
I have applied for my son for PIO. I sent all the documents on 24th Feb and BLS received on 25th Feb. The status shows as below, there is no update of 06th March. How many days will it take normally by Washington consulate to issue the PIO

BLS Receipt Number => PIOW10063514
Current Aplication Status : Your Application has been processed at BLS office and is ready to be submitted to Embassy of India office. Kindly note it may take up to 48 working hours for status to change.
(Last Updated On 06-03-2014 09:31)
Application accepted by BLS:28-02-2014 , 13:31
Appliication Processed on Date : 28-02-2014
Application Processed and Ready to be submitted to Embassy : 06-03-2014 , 09:31
Application received at BLS Center : -
Application handed over to Applicant : -
Application Dispatched to Applicant :-

Regards,
Vijay Gopal