Originally Posted by ChiTownAbs (Post 13664285)

Just got my visa after being snagged by the birth certifcate requirement.

The most interesting question was something along the lines of:

"Were you, your parents, OR grandparents born in Pakistan?"

WOW. :eek:

Originally Posted by saad (Post 13665167)

that's just the way it is....they are very careful about giving a visa to anyone with pakistani ties....

Originally Posted by ChiTownAbs (Post 13666951)

When was Pakistan created? 1947? My dad was born in 1948, so it's very feasible that my dad might be considered "Pakistani". (He was indeed born in modern day India) Asking about my grandparents? Now you're really digging ...

Originally Posted by ChiTownAbs (Post 13664285)

Just got my visa after being snagged by the birth certifcate requirement.

The most interesting question was something along the lines of:

"Were you, your parents, OR grandparents born in Pakistan?"

WOW. :eek:

Originally Posted by GUWonder (Post 13320451)

How ever would the average Indian consulate/embassy worker have a clue about which submitted birth certificate copy is legitimate or not, even if only dealing with a limited subset of the states (as is their normal desire)?

I doubt they are calling up the state vital records offices about each and every birth certificate issued and getting a timely response so as to turn over visas as quickly as they do currently.

These latest requirements smack of political-bureaucratic stupidity laced with CYA thinking of the worst sort.

Originally Posted by Athena53 (Post 13325259)

Yeah, that occurred to me, too. A colleague is getting her 5-year Indian visa transferred because it was in a now-expired US passport. (After researching on FT we decided that hoping she could get by with the old passport containing the valid visa plus the new passport was too chancy.) She still needs an invitation from our office in India. She still needs a letter from one of our officers saying that she won't become dependent on the government of India. And yes, after I suggested she look into it, she needs a birth certificate. The only difference is that it's cheaper to transfer the old one than to buy a new one.

Gotta love government bureaucracies. But then I hear what my colleagues in India endure to visit the UK, Switzerland and the US and I don't feel as bad.

Originally Posted by Yaatri (Post 13677819)

I have always been able to get through immigration with my 10 yr Indian visa in an expired U.S. passport. Are they now refusing to allow entry on a visa in an expired passport?

Originally Posted by Yaatri (Post 13677819)

I have always been able to get through immigration with my 10 yr Indian visa in an expired U.S. passport. Are they now refusing to allow entry on a visa in an expired passport?

Originally Posted by ChiTownAbs (Post 13666951)

When was Pakistan created? 1947? My dad was born in 1948, so it's very feasible that my dad might be considered "Pakistani". (He was indeed born in modern day India) Asking about my grandparents? Now you're really digging ...

Originally Posted by knit-in (Post 13678843)

My daughter has her "Lifetime" visa, that she received with her OCI card, stamped on a passport that has since expired. She was allowed entry last week with the expired passport with the visa in it along with a valid US passport.

Now with this OCI thing, turns out she will be traveling to India for the rest of her life (she is 5 now) with her infant passport, as well as an unexpired one, and the little OCI booklet. Probably not a question for this thread, but seems pointless to have the OCI booklet as well as a stamped "visa".

Originally Posted by Mr. Bean (Post 13679845)

I've wondered about the booklet, too. The immigration agents ask for it, but is it required if you have the visa in your passport? It doesn't really have any vital information in it that isn't in your passport and visa.

Originally Posted by knit-in (Post 13678843)

My daughter has her "Lifetime" visa, that she received with her OCI card, stamped on a passport that has since expired. She was allowed entry last week with the expired passport with the visa in it along with a valid US passport.

Now with this OCI thing, turns out she will be traveling to India for the rest of her life (she is 5 now) with her infant passport, as well as an unexpired one, and the little OCI booklet. Probably not a question for this thread, but seems pointless to have the OCI booklet as well as a stamped "visa".

Originally Posted by B747-437B (Post 13678268)

India and the USA have (assuming it hasn't recently been abrogated) a bilateral treaty on this issue that specifically permits each other's nationals to have full validity of visas regardless of passport expiry, as well as to enter each other's countries up to the last date of passport validity.