Indian Passport renewal in Houston while H1-B Extension is pending

[candi]

Hi,

Has anyone applied for re-issue of Indian passport in Indian Consulate Houston/VFS Houston Application Center while H1-B Extension is still pending with USCIS? If so can you reply on the below questions?-

1) Whether successfully able to get a new and the old Passports and the duration it took?

2) If Passport successfully renewed, what were all the additional documents submitted in order to support your 'No Status' case?

Please also share if any additional info or advise you have. Also if you have faced any complications.

Thanks much!

[lovely]

Hello Candi,

Indian passport is issued based on your current status, all they need is to verify if you are a legal immigrant or not, you need to furnish attested/notarized current immigration documents i.e. F1/OPT/H1b/L1 etc.....along with current passport & I94..... Identify which zone you fall under based on your current location and nearest Indian consulate, Documents/procedure differs a little based on that.....Provide 2 docs as address proof i.e Electricity Bill/Rental Agreement/Landline telephone connection/Home Internet connection etc.. Cell phone/Creditcard/Bank statements are not valid. You can renew your passport starting 1year before expiry, so I would recommend you to renew your passport first and then apply for H1b, that way your h1b can be approved for maximum of 3yrs, if you have already applied then it is upto the Immigration Officer's discretion that you may be granted 1-2 or 3yrs of H1b based on your passport expiry. Feel free to post anymore questions you may have but I think this should be good enough.

Thanks,

Lovely

[candi]

Thanks for the response! My visa was expired and I have already applied for my H1-Extension and it is still pending to know the status update. Now in order for me to apply for passport renewal I would need either a valid Visa or H1-Extension Approval notice to get me the new passport under normal processing. In my case if I provide any other supporting documents, then it could take its own processing time by the Indian consulate!

[SuryaRao]

HI @Candi

I'm also in the exact same boat, can you please explain what supporting documents that you have provided to India passport office apart from your H1b extension receipt notice?