NOTE FOR READER:-
Renewing Indian passport through mail in USA has become easy .All that we require is the existing passport,photos and a set of documents notarized. The time required to get the renewed passport is mentioned in BLNS website as minimum 1-3 weeks.Refer below link.
http://www.passport.blsindia-usa.com/
Please note that the weeks mentioned above are the minimum time and there is no maximum time mentioned. For my friend it took 5 weeks.Here is the status messages
BLS International accepted the application
Application has been forwarded to the Embassy/Consulate General of India
Processed application has been handed over to Courier Company
Complete all the fields, if there is any information request that is not relevant to you, please mention NA. Almost all the information requested here can be obtained from your current passport as well as the application form that we just completed apart from item 13 and 15.
For item 13, please mention Not Applicable
In item 15 you need to mention the name and address of the travel agent who provided you the ticket for your last travel from India to USA. For corporate like TCS,Infosys etc there will be a travel agent to which the ticketing is outsourced. You need to provide their address. For others, you need either have it in your memory or refer a copy of the ticket. I had emails from my travel agent and I had the address and name there.
Now you can mention the from address as the address of the consulate and to address as your address since this is for return mail in which you are going to get the new passport and other documents..Click on the below link and then click the consulate name to get the address.
Renewing Indian passport through mail in USA has become easy .All that we require is the existing passport,photos and a set of documents notarized. The time required to get the renewed passport is mentioned in BLNS website as minimum 1-3 weeks.Refer below link.
http://www.passport.blsindia-usa.com/
Please note that the weeks mentioned above are the minimum time and there is no maximum time mentioned. For my friend it took 5 weeks.Here is the status messages
BLS International accepted the application
Application has been forwarded to the Embassy/Consulate General of India
Processed application has been handed over to Courier Company
1. Original Passport
• Please make sure that you remove I94 document from the passport and keep it in a safe place. I94 is not required to be sent along with passport for renewal.
2.Complete the online application form here
To view online sample form: http://www.passport.blsindia-usa.com/forms/sampleFormUS.pdf
You need to complete all the fields in the application. Following points need to be taken care while filling the application
For example a person living in Florida should select USA-ATLANTA as the Indian Mission. Similarly a person living in Iowa should select USA-CHICAGO as the Indian Mission
• Select the Service Desired as Re-issue of Passport
• District/Country- If you are born in India, you just need to mention here only the name of the District where you are born.
• Qualification -Fill in your qualification. Examples- B.Tech,B.E,B.Ed,B.Sc . This information is used to determine your emigration status. That is Emigration Check Not Required(ECNR)/Emigration Check Required(ECR)
• Profession- Fill the name of your profession. Examples- IT Professional, Software Engineer, Network Engineer etc. Please note that employee of Govt. Service/Public Sector Unit in India should write GOVT SERVICE/PSU SERVICE
• Visible Mark-You can refer your SSLC Book or CBSE records or school records. The mark should be permanent. For example A black mole on upper left arm, a mole in the left wrist etc. If you don’t have any marks, please mention NIL in the textbox.
• Address to be Printed in the Passport – Here you need to mention your USA address and not the Indian Address and you should have a proof handy for this US address. Please note that this is theaddress which is going to be printed in your passport and not your Indian address.
• Other Address – Here you need to mention your Indian address.
• Phone No and Mobile No-Mention your USA phone number. Please don’t mention “0” here .Give a number where you are reachable.
• File Number - This can be found in the last page of your existing passport
Once you complete the application, click on Save and Print. You will be asked to verify the details once again. Please go through each and every field and make sure there are no spelling mistakes or wrong information. You will not get a chance to make changes to the form once you save and print the form. After saving and printing, if you find that there is a mistake, your only choice is to open the application form link again and then fill all the information again.
• When you print the form make sure that the barcode on the top appears in the prints out
• It will provide you an appointment date. Ignore this. This is not your appointment date. In our case anyway we are applying through mail. So not need to even bother about this.
• You will have four pages to print and you need to complete the information requested in rest of the fields using pen.
Now we will see the fields in the rest of the application which might cause confusion.
• Specimen Signature - You need to sign with in the box and this is what is going to appear in your passport.
You can make the payment by following below mentioned payment methods (To know more about the Passport fee and charges go to Passport Section on the top Menu):
- Attach a Money Orders / Pay Orders / Cashier's check / Banker's check favoring “BLS International USA”. Mode of Payment - Money Orders / Pay Orders / Cashier's check / Banker's check: Passport fee (depend on the service) + BLS service fee (USD 13.20).
- A copy of the BLS Order Form MUST be enclosed in the postal package.
- Make sure you paste the shipping label on the postal package. The shipping label is generated and emailed after you fill the order form.
- Prepaid Self Addressed Track able Envelope.
- Send your application as per your jurisdiction.
3. Nationality Verification Form with Photograph
Download the Nationality verification form from below link
Attach a recent photo in the space provided. Refer below link for photo specifications
For item 13, please mention Not Applicable
In item 15 you need to mention the name and address of the travel agent who provided you the ticket for your last travel from India to USA. For corporate like TCS,Infosys etc there will be a travel agent to which the ticketing is outsourced. You need to provide their address. For others, you need either have it in your memory or refer a copy of the ticket. I had emails from my travel agent and I had the address and name there.
4. Photocopy of first five and last 2 pages of passport5. Notarized photocopy of proof of valid visa
• Take color photo copy of your valid VISA page in your passport and get it notarized.
• If you are a Bank of America or Chase customer, they should be able to help with notarization free of cost. Otherwise you need to approach a public notary. They normally charge $10 for first document and then a max of $25 even if the documents are more.
6. Notarized photocopy of proof of residence
The proof can be your US Driver’s License, US State ID, US Utility bill such as gas, electric or water or Rental Lease agreement or Home Mortgage bill. For applicants above 60 years of age who do not have any such documents, a copy of their State ID may be enclosed.7. Three photographs as per specification and with White background
Here there can be confusion. Does this 3 photographs include the one that we pasted in the application?. Yes, it includes the one that we pasted in your application. So apart from the one that you pasted in the application, you need to have two more .
8. Application Fee:
verify the Application Fee by using below link.
9. Prepaid self addressed envelope with tracking facility
You can get the prepaid envelop from any service provider USPS,FedEx etc. I preferred USPS. You may either go for USPS Express Mail 12-1/2" x 9-1/2" envelope with a single day guaranteed delivery with tracking-this will cost you 18.95 or USPS Priority Mail 12-1/2" x 9-1/2" with 2-3 days guaranteed delivery with tracking-this will cost you $5.90 .Now you can mention the from address as the address of the consulate and to address as your address since this is for return mail in which you are going to get the new passport and other documents..Click on the below link and then click the consulate name to get the address.
The above documents are mandatory. Based on your specific case, you might require to provide additional documents. For example, if you are recently married and want to include your Spouse's name in the new passport, you need to provide notarized photocopy of your marriage certificate along with above documents.
Once you have all the required documents,take a print out of the checklist available at below link and mark whichever is applicable to you and then place it in the same order as mentioned in the checklist along with the marked checklist.
Once you have all the required documents,take a print out of the checklist available at below link and mark whichever is applicable to you and then place it in the same order as mentioned in the checklist along with the marked checklist.
Once you place all the documents including your passport as well as the prepaid self addressed envelope in the envelope in which you will be sending the documents to consulate., you can head to the post office for sending it to the consulate. Again address for sending the documents can be obtained from above link.
Note:
Incomplete/ Improper Applications will be turned back at the counter or returned if applying by mail
Embassy/ Consulate Reserve right to ask other document from the list of document mentioned above and/or may call the applicants for interview.
Embassy/ Consulate Reserve right to ask other document from the list of document mentioned above and/or may call the applicants for interview.
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