Renewal of Indian Passport in US

Truely_Desi · Post by **Truely_Desi** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:32 am

Hello!

My current passport with 10 years validity is expiring soon and I want to renew it in US. Can someone share their experiences with getting this renewed here.

I have the following questions:

1. Is it safe to send passport through Fedex/USPS etc. to Indian Consulates in US for renewal
2. How much time does it take (It was issued in India)
3. Will it be a renewal or a fresh passport
4. Do I need to restamp my visa or it will remain valid on my old passport

Appreciate any help on this.

Thanks...TDesi

anandr2i · Post by **anandr2i** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:27 am

Truely_Desi;47791Hello!

My current passport with 10 years validity is expiring soon and I want to renew it in US. Can someone share their experiences with getting this renewed here.

I have the following questions:

1. Is it safe to send passport through Fedex/USPS etc. to Indian Consulates in US for renewal
2. How much time does it take (It was issued in India)
3. Will it be a renewal or a fresh passport
4. Do I need to restamp my visa or it will remain valid on my old passport

Appreciate any help on this.

Thanks...TDesi[/quote]

1) Yes. I have done it.
2) I think the timeframe is 15 working days. To be safe give it 1 month.
3) Not sure on #3 and #4 - I think it will be a fresh pp.
Old visas will be on the old passport and they will cut the front cover and staple it to the new passport.

Dont worry, the renewal process is pretty standard - just make sure you dont leave any loose ends and follow the procedures given to the T.

ARGS · Post by **ARGS** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:27 am

Truely_Desi;47791

I have the following questions:

1. Is it safe to send passport through Fedex/USPS etc. to Indian Consulates in US for renewal
2. How much time does it take (It was issued in India)
3. Will it be a renewal or a fresh passport
4. Do I need to restamp my visa or it will remain valid on my old passport

[/quote]

I have had my Indian passport validated after expiry of 10 years from the Indian Consulate in NY. It's a very easy and straightforward process. If you can go to the consulate in person, you can get it done the same day. Even otherwise, the process is safe and reliable via mail too.

1. Send the passport via USPS certified mail with return receipt.
2. Takes less than 3 weeks. I had my passport back with me on the 20th day.
3. A fresh new passport with name/address and all other information printed legibly (vs. the handwritten scribble that I had in my old passport) will be issued. Your old passport will also be returned with a hole punched through to indicate that it is not valid anymore.
4. Visas if any, stamped in the old passport and have not expired will be valid. You will just need to carry both passports with you.

You may follow detailed instructions for passport renewal found at www.indiacgny.org, or www.cgisf.org (which I assume is the consulate for your jurisdiction, based on your profile)

Hope this helps.

Truely_Desi · Post by **Truely_Desi** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:12 pm

Thanks Anandr2i and ARGS for your responses. My doubts are clear now.

yooper · Post by **yooper** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:13 am

I renewed my passport at chicago consulate few months ago and they were still issuing handwritten ones. Does anybody know whether or when they would start issuing printed ones? Thanks.

anusril · Post by **anusril** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:38 am

#2, #3, Anand & ARGS,

My wife needs to renew her passport. We fall under the Houston jurisdiction. They require that we send them a notarized copy of the Permanent Resident Card.

The notaries are declining to notarize the copy as they say the Green Card is a Government document. What was your experience?

She is going to call the consulate tomorrow and check if she can just send a non-notarized copy of the Green Card but I wanted to see if any of you had similar experience.

ARGS · Post by **ARGS** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:00 am

anusril;77121

The notaries are declining to notarize the copy as they say the Green Card is a Government document. What was your experience?

[/quote]

so is a passport, birth certificate etc. I had no problems notarizing a copy of my greencard (front & back). You may want to take it to a different notary. Most banks have atleast one notary among their staff who would be willing to notarize the document as long as you show them the originals.

- ARGS

anusril · Post by **anusril** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:21 pm

#7 ARGS,
Thanks. We managed to find a Notary who was willing to Notarize a copy of the Green Card. He was the 5th person we had to ask. The other 4 refused.