vap2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Hi,I am living in Washington DC, and my Indian passport is about to expire (in 4 months). I have had this passport for the last 10 yr period (2004 to 2014) so it is a normal passport I suppose (as opposed to a 5 yr validity passport issued in some other circumstances). I wish to renew/extend this current passport that has all the ECR/ECNR stamps (I dont even know what ECNR means but it was never an issue for me so far) on it along with my current H1B visa which is valid till Sept 2015. My concern is what is to be filled out in the forms, is it gonna be a "renew" or a "reissue". Do I fill out the regular application form # 1? In either case, I will be getting a new (fresh booklet) passport I suppose, and if so, do I need to carry both passports at all times with me wherever and whenever I travel abroad? And will the new passport booklet have all the visa/stamps replicated as in the old (current) one ? Any suggestions/guidance is much appreciated. Thanks in advance! Link to comment
jairichi Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Hi, I am living in Washington DC, and my Indian passport is about to expire (in 4 months). I have had this passport for the last 10 yr period (2004 to 2014) so it is a normal passport I suppose (as opposed to a 5 yr validity passport issued in some other circumstances). I wish to renew/extend this current passport that has all the ECR/ECNR stamps (I dont even know what ECNR means but it was never an issue for me so far) on it along with my current H1B visa which is valid till Sept 2015. My concern is what is to be filled out in the forms, is it gonna be a "renew" or a "reissue". Do I fill out the regular application form # 1? In either case, I will be getting a new (fresh booklet) passport I suppose, and if so, do I need to carry both passports at all times with me wherever and whenever I travel abroad? And will the new passport booklet have all the visa/stamps replicated as in the old (current) one ? Any suggestions/guidance is much appreciated. Thanks in advance! It is RENEW. Yes, you need to carry both passports every time you travel. Though the passport has expired the stamped visas do not expire before its validity date and there fore will not be transferred to new passport. Link to comment
vap2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 It is RENEW. Yes, you need to carry both passports every time you travel. Though the passport has expired the stamped visas do not expire before its validity date and there fore will not be transferred to new passport. Thanks Jairichi. I plan to renew the passport from USA itself as it is faster (at least that's what I've heard). So you mean that the new/fresh passport booklet will be completely empty and nothing (Visas, stamps, ECNR) from my current passport would be transferred to it? Link to comment
jairichi Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Thanks Jairichi. I plan to renew the passport from USA itself as it is faster (at least that's what I've heard). So you mean that the new/fresh passport booklet will be completely empty and nothing (Visas, stamps, ECNR) from my current passport would be transferred to it? Yes, renewal of passport is quicker here. Only ECNR and no visas would be stamped in your new passport. Always carry both passports with you. Link to comment
NeverStop Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Yes, your new passport would be a truly NEW passport. Nothing from your old passport gets transferred to the new passport. You just need to carry your old passport (with visas, stamps) along with new passport when you travel abroad. Any new visas, or entry/exit stamps that you will get will be on your new passport. On the other hand, getting a passport renewed (techically a new passport issued in this case) is not difficult in India too. As long as you have the address on your passport unchanged (in other words, you apply for a renewal declaring that you live in the same address mentioned on your current passport), its very easy to get the passport renewed in India. This is because no police verification is required (assuming police verification was already performed when your current passport was issued). But, you need to be in India to renew your passport in India. If you have plans to come to India, you can go for this option. However, it is definitely easy to get your passport renewed in US itself. My guess is that you just need to send documents in mail. I recommend this option. I did it and got my new (renewed) passport within 4 weeks from San Francisco Indian consulate. PS: This question is more of passport related rather than H1B related :) Link to comment
vap2014 Posted February 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 @NeversTOP AND @Jairichi : I appreciate your time and assistance on this. @Neverstop: Agreed! I just couldnt find a "passport" related discussion board and also wasnt sure about my H1B Visa getting transferred onto the new booklet. Thank you guys! Link to comment
vap2014 Posted February 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Another question just came up in my mind, while filling out the National Verification Form (one of the forms needed to be sent to BLS Internation, USA, when applying for passport renewal). The field says "Date of Leaving India". I have no freaking clue what this means? I left india in 2008, went back there in 2012 and came back to USA in the same year, went again recently in 2014. There is no description about this field, like for example, Date of Leaving India for the first time or Latest Date of leaving india or whatever they intend it to be. Anyone came across this when renewing India passport in USA ? Please help. Link to comment
jairichi Posted February 16, 2014 Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 Another question just came up in my mind, while filling out the National Verification Form (one of the forms needed to be sent to BLS Internation, USA, when applying for passport renewal). The field says "Date of Leaving India". I have no freaking clue what this means? I left india in 2008, went back there in 2012 and came back to USA in the same year, went again recently in 2014. There is no description about this field, like for example, Date of Leaving India for the first time or Latest Date of leaving india or whatever they intend it to be. Anyone came across this when renewing India passport in USA ? Please help. I would enter date of the last time you left India. Link to comment
vap2014 Posted February 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Thanks jairichi Link to comment
vap2014 Posted February 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I am still stuck with passport renewal forms here. Now in the "Online registration form" they are asking for an "Address to be printed on your passport", which I stated and is the same as the address on my current passport (which is about to expire). On the next page, there is a compulsory field that says "Other Address". This field is mandatory and needs to be filled. There is no description for this field (again! ) so I do not know if they are expecting me to have a 2nd house in india or is it just a careof address or business address or what. Please help if anyone has a clue as to what this is. Thanks in advance! Link to comment
jairichi Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I am still stuck with passport renewal forms here. Now in the "Online registration form" they are asking for an "Address to be printed on your passport", which I stated and is the same as the address on my current passport (which is about to expire). On the next page, there is a compulsory field that says "Other Address". This field is mandatory and needs to be filled. There is no description for this field (again! ) so I do not know if they are expecting me to have a 2nd house in india or is it just a careof address or business address or what. Please help if anyone has a clue as to what this is. Thanks in advance! If it is mandatory then enter your US address. But, can't you contact them and get your doubts cleared? Link to comment
vap2014 Posted February 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 I've been trying to call BLS for the last few days but cannot reach a representative as "they are busy assisting other callers, please try again later, blah blah". They are in the process of changing their call center numbers too. Went through their escalation web page too. It seems like they are swarmed with calls and I haven't heard back anything from them. Link to comment
jairichi Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 I've been trying to call BLS for the last few days but cannot reach a representative as "they are busy assisting other callers, please try again later, blah blah". They are in the process of changing their call center numbers too. Went through their escalation web page too. It seems like they are swarmed with calls and I haven't heard back anything from them. Outsourcing is done to cut cost and provide better service. Looks like the old system of applying directly to Indian consulate is better as I got mine like that with no issue. Link to comment
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