Another PIO question

Sorry if this has been covered before. I read a lot of threads and couldn't find it.

My wife (OCI holder) and I (US citizen) were married in Kerala last summer. The question is regarding the documentation my wife needs to submit when I apply for my PIO. This is what the application says:
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Documents from Spouse (If Married):
If you are applying for PIO on the basis that your spouse is of Indian origin, then you must submit one of the following:

* A copy of your spouse's original Indian passport, or
* A copy of your spouse's original PIO card

AND the following:

* A notarized copy of your original marriage certificate.

To be eligible the marriage must have taken place more than a year before the date of application.
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She will be submitting her OCI as her Indian passport. Does her OCI need to be updated to show my last name before being submitted? The Indian marriage certificate indicates her new last name. I'm not sure if they both have to have identical names.

If so, I believe we will have to update her OCI in Hong Kong since that is where it was originally issued. Maybe there is a way around this, but I haven't gotten that far.

I read the horror stories of PIO applications and I get a little paranoid!

Thanks all!
Brad

You will have to ask the VFS now. There must be an original marriage cert where her maiden name would be listed. Was this marriage certificate issued in India ?

Please remember that you can also read about them being granted with no trouble whatsoever. The horror stories are probably a minority.

But, of course... the better prepared you are, the more likely that is to happen.

Here's what I sent for documentation two years back -- details may have changed a bit. Keep in mind that there's an ongoing transition with the US Consulates for Travisa to do the initial PIO/OCI processing, and there conceivably could be some start-up glitches. The plus side is that there's a tracking feature (a la OCI) not previously available.

Like my experience -- I got my PIO from Houston within a day or two of the stated four week processing time. Of course if you elect to apply in India, paranoia is likely more justified.

Even here, there are relatively smooth experiences. Mine was easy-going.

Yes, marriage certificate was issued in India. Paid a bribe and everything. It was a great first experience with the Indian bureaucratic system. Her maiden name is not on the marriage certificate. They seemed to think it was ok like that when they were drafting it.

I will ask Travisa/Consulate and VFS. It is difficult getting straight answers though. When I was getting my tourist visa last year I needed a reentry permit since we were honeymooning in Sri Lanka before returning to India and visiting more relatives in Bombay. The Travisa and Consulate here in San Francisco SWORE that I would not need a reentry permit if I already had flights booked etc etc. Turns out I had to spend a very pleasant afternoon in customs sweating my behind off (literally and figuratively) trying to regain entry to India. I was ready to just give someone some money but my wife said the guy who was working my case did not appear receptive. I trusted her and went as far up the food chain as I could before being released into the wild.

I'm now attempting to learn malayalam because I feel like a lamb to the slaughter by not understanding the "behind the scenes" conversations.


I will get my papers in order and hope for this outcome!

They are switching over to Travisa in the San Franciscan consulate over the next 3 weeks. Travisa does appear to be very stream lined, however, they are also one more layer away from the actual decision makers. I was going to try and push it in by Friday before Travisa takes over, but they clearly state you have to wait 1 year after marriage to apply.


Thanks all for your input. I'll let you know what I find out.

Sorry, my response is not completely accurate. Her name is shown as "First Name then Married Last Name, D/o Maiden Name".

Maybe it wont be a problem after all.