I had to recently apply for a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card for my son who was born here in the US. Filling up Government paperwork ranks below the most mundane items on my list like getting a haircut or shopping for clothes. However, because I had no intentions of procrastinating this item on my to-do list I started where I always do-Google!
Found out a ton of things about the PIO card program. Apparently the dual citizenship initiative of the Indian Govt went only so far. In the interim there are two schemes for people of Indian origin who want to enjoy a visa free entry to India- PIO and the OCI(Overseas citizen of India). In typical fashion where Govt procedures make everything more complicated,this too was headed in the same direction. Well, after a bit of more research discovered that the OCI program is NOT open to children whose parents have Indian citizenship. The OCI scheme grants more or less lifelong permanent residency in India. The PIO on the other hand is also similar except that you are still considered an NRI and have to register your presence with local authorities in case your stay extends beyond 6 months.Additionally it needs to be renewed every 15 years.
Since PIO was the only option, I went about following the specified procedure.In no time encountered the first red tape- "Fill form in duplicate". Agreed this was a minor hassle,the next one was "thumb impressions" for all minors who cannot sign.The Parents cannot sign for the minor child. This is absurd,when all paperwork is being done by the parent then why on earth he or she or both cant sign for the child applicant is beyond me.Worked around that by taking thumb impressions of our 1.5 month boy while he was asleep.Also,no mention whether right or left thumb is required or it doesn't matter which.
I normally fill all forms online and then just print and sign it. This way its much easier to type in the information legibly than putting someone else at the inhumane task of deciphering my sloppy handwriting. Alas, no such luck this time. The PIO application says at the top "date in format dd/mm/yy". My acrobat reader would pop a big red at that saying "incorrect date format". Moreover the font sizes seemed all screwed up. With a heavy heart, I took out my pen and hand filled the forms in the best writing I could muster. It was somewhat frustrating because the space provided for writing was just too measly at many places.
The red tape continued. The Indian consulate wouldn't accept payment in personal checks,only money orders or cashier's cheques. This meant a trip to the bank and extra $$ in money order fees- a definite hassle.Passport photos- another rip off. This time not by the consulate but by American businesses. A set of 2 pictures costs about $10 and no digital copy provided means you go back and pay every time you want more copies. Google to the rescue again-The folks at
www.epassportphoto.com have done a BIG service . Just take a shot using a digital camera at home,use their software to crop/size the picture and print in on your photo printer-neat!.Taking a picture of a 1.5 month old with eyes open and mouth closed can be a challenging task.Anyone who has gone though the exercise will concur.
Some inaccuracies I noted - The PIO card fee has apparently been increased recently to $185 for minors. This important fact is inconsistently reported. At some places it still says $155.The address on top of the form has a different zip than the one in the mailing address.Also discovered to my astonishment that back in 1999 when the PIO card scheme was launched the fee was $1000!!.However to be fair still far less than what the US Green Card entails.
The good thing- application by mail doesn't require you to send in the original Passport.Notarized copies suffice. This was definitely a positive. Another nice thing - the form is only 2 pages and instructions are quite clear.Now why doesn't the Govt stop this business of handing out PIO's and OCI's and pass that dual citizenship bill is hard to understand. With the bill being lost in the myriad dust of Indian political establishment,whether it will ever see the light of the day is anybody's guess and your's is as good as mine.
Found out a ton of things about the PIO card program. Apparently the dual citizenship initiative of the Indian Govt went only so far. In the interim there are two schemes for people of Indian origin who want to enjoy a visa free entry to India- PIO and the OCI(Overseas citizen of India). In typical fashion where Govt procedures make everything more complicated,this too was headed in the same direction. Well, after a bit of more research discovered that the OCI program is NOT open to children whose parents have Indian citizenship. The OCI scheme grants more or less lifelong permanent residency in India. The PIO on the other hand is also similar except that you are still considered an NRI and have to register your presence with local authorities in case your stay extends beyond 6 months.Additionally it needs to be renewed every 15 years.
Since PIO was the only option, I went about following the specified procedure.In no time encountered the first red tape- "Fill form in duplicate". Agreed this was a minor hassle,the next one was "thumb impressions" for all minors who cannot sign.The Parents cannot sign for the minor child. This is absurd,when all paperwork is being done by the parent then why on earth he or she or both cant sign for the child applicant is beyond me.Worked around that by taking thumb impressions of our 1.5 month boy while he was asleep.Also,no mention whether right or left thumb is required or it doesn't matter which.
I normally fill all forms online and then just print and sign it. This way its much easier to type in the information legibly than putting someone else at the inhumane task of deciphering my sloppy handwriting. Alas, no such luck this time. The PIO application says at the top "date in format dd/mm/yy". My acrobat reader would pop a big red at that saying "incorrect date format". Moreover the font sizes seemed all screwed up. With a heavy heart, I took out my pen and hand filled the forms in the best writing I could muster. It was somewhat frustrating because the space provided for writing was just too measly at many places.
The red tape continued. The Indian consulate wouldn't accept payment in personal checks,only money orders or cashier's cheques. This meant a trip to the bank and extra $$ in money order fees- a definite hassle.Passport photos- another rip off. This time not by the consulate but by American businesses. A set of 2 pictures costs about $10 and no digital copy provided means you go back and pay every time you want more copies. Google to the rescue again-The folks at
www.epassportphoto.com have done a BIG service . Just take a shot using a digital camera at home,use their software to crop/size the picture and print in on your photo printer-neat!.Taking a picture of a 1.5 month old with eyes open and mouth closed can be a challenging task.Anyone who has gone though the exercise will concur.
Some inaccuracies I noted - The PIO card fee has apparently been increased recently to $185 for minors. This important fact is inconsistently reported. At some places it still says $155.The address on top of the form has a different zip than the one in the mailing address.Also discovered to my astonishment that back in 1999 when the PIO card scheme was launched the fee was $1000!!.However to be fair still far less than what the US Green Card entails.
The good thing- application by mail doesn't require you to send in the original Passport.Notarized copies suffice. This was definitely a positive. Another nice thing - the form is only 2 pages and instructions are quite clear.Now why doesn't the Govt stop this business of handing out PIO's and OCI's and pass that dual citizenship bill is hard to understand. With the bill being lost in the myriad dust of Indian political establishment,whether it will ever see the light of the day is anybody's guess and your's is as good as mine.
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