change of photo in the passport

hi all!

My cousin is staying in the US and the photo in his passport has been damaged...he's coming to India sometime this month..
I wanted to know if he could just change only the photo in his passport without changing the passport as a whole here, in India,at Bangalore...
all suggestions are welcome...
Quick replies are very much appreciated...

Quick replies are very much appreciated....

Not that I know of no, and I'd be very surprised if he could. Kind of an obvious answer, isn't it.

Moreover, I reckon he'd need to get it replaced before traveling over to India.

He will not pass immigration check in India(even if he somehow manages to board the flight).

He should contact the nearest Indian consulate or embassy in USA.

The photo in my passport is not properly aligned in the space provided for the photo. I get some grief for it every time I have to pass any immigration. A damaged photo would be an absolute no-no for any international travel.

Thank you very much for your prompt replies..
and well..so both of you say that its better off if he first rectifies the error in his photo and then come to India?
and if so, do you know about any websites which give a very clear idea about the procedures to be followed?and any idea how long it might actually take?

I think we're not saying he needs to get the pic rectified, he needs a new passport, and before he travels.

On how to go about this, like Nayan said,

Or his US municipal passport peeps or whoever handles such things there if he falls under their jurisdiction instead of that of India, it should all be pretty obvious. I.e., wherever one normally applies for a passport.

So you go there or contact them first, you say look my passport got messed up, I need a new one. You then pay whatever applicable fee and get a new one. How long that might take over there I don't know, it's probably wise to look into it now and not leave it to the last day.

I dont think there is such an website.

look at the link below for the indian embassy in USA. it gives a phone number where you can enquire about passport related queries.

http://www.indianembassy.org/newsite/passport.asp

ask you friend to call ASAP. A mutilated/damaged passport should b attended to as HIGHEST PRIORITY.

Is it possible what is meant is this person has two passports, so (presumably) a US and an Indian one? (I seem to remember having read here the US doesn't allow for this though.) I mean if he were traveling on another passport, I guess he could look into replacing the Indian one at home, indeed.

Otherwise, I don't really get the question. Passports are commonly understood to be a bona fide travel document no, how would one get them in order after travel?

India does not allow it. India doesnot allow dual citizenship... so no question of allowing 2 passports.

If he had travelled to the US on a Indian passport and he is not taken US citizenship then he can only travel back on Indian passport.

I dont think 2 passports is the case here. some people are amazingly cavaliar about this kind of things.... do we get posts about how some one forgot to arrange a visa

Indeed, remember the thread well... one has to wonder how do they get anywhere though, find and manage work or studies abroad, etc.

Oh well, not my business. (Now that you mention, it's likewise been asked here if a torn passport could be taped together I think. Or a photo or missing page pasted in, indeed. Er, in this day and age, rather less likely than it never was you'd think.)

No he cannot do that.

Passports are deliberately designed so that the photograph cannot be changed without it being very obvious. If it was obvious that a photograph had been changed, it would make the passport useless as a travel document as it would not be accepted.

He needs a new passport.

Let me just add that since his passport is probably at least a few year old he would have to replace it anyway. US passports have been "upgraded" with new technology so unless it is a mistake on the part of the embassy, it would have to be replaced regardless of the circumstance. If there are any worries about process time then please urge him to pay the extra for expediated processing. It works like a dream.

I think the passport in question is an Indian passport.