@Big Apple - Can't believe that I am on plane to US!

With all the pre-tour activity finished like a breeze, it was time for leaving and my neighbour very kindly dropped me to airport, saving me a lot of bother of trying to get a taxi / rickshaw to the airport, which was not a lucrative offer

@ Big Apple - Transit visa ambiguity costs me INR 8000!

Having got the US visa like a breeze,  I asked our travel agent to book our tickets. We got a very good deal 126000/- for Mumbai - Boston- Mumbai with transit at London.  I said "Yes"; Well, almost. I had second thoughts when I saw UK border agency web page which states that anyone who transits through UK, will require air side transit visa (which means that he does not pass through immigration, but lands from one flight and boards another flight passing through arrival-departure lounges) if he is from a country  on which UK has a DATV system. (What DATV means, I have no idea). Unfortunately, India is in the list of countries on which UK operates DATV system. However, there is a exemption clause for DATV hidden in the web page, which says that if we stayed in UK for less than 24 hours and had a valid onward ticket and US visa, we did not require transit visa.

To be fair, the travel agent checked with one of his seniors who was an ex-BA guy who confirmed that we did not need the visa. But I was not convinced and asked him to check with BA which he could do only next day.

By that time ticket cost had jumped to 1,34,000 which meant a loss of INR 8000/- !
So much for the "info on web"...

@ Big Apple - VISA - a breeze!

Now that I got my passport at last, I had very little time to plan and I got to US consulate site right away and looked at the procedures for non-immigrant visa, applied on line and paid the charges of visa and handling amounting to 7520/- per person on 24th March 2012 and fixed appointment for visa interview at the earliest date - 2nd April. This meant I had to get the documents submitted and verified before 28th March, as three working days were required between submission of form and interview.

On the day of interview, I reviewed the checklist of documents and took ownership papers of my flat. This was because, I had got advices from seniors that consulate was looking for proof that there would be no attempts to stay behind in US.

The interview went like a breeze - an hour and a quarter of waiting and five minutes of interview. I truthfully answered all questions and at the end - Yes! we were granted visa. 

What I did not know was that the same day at VFS office at Mahalaxmi, passports would be returned between 5 & 5:30 PM. So when I got an email from the consulate at 4:40, I was at Andheri 25 KMs away and just could not make it.  An hour later, a SMS arrived stating that our passports had been despatched through Blue Dart.

Sure enough, the passports arrived next day and we were to begin booking the tickets!

@Big Apple! - Passport travails!

From a generation for which "Foreign returned" meant people who had visited USA, it is difficult to see Big Apple in a different way. So, when I got to visit I decided to enjoy the whole thing.

Way back in 1985, I had applied for my passport by purchasing application form at the local post office @ Rs. 10/- and enclosing (probably) Rs. 50/- Indian Postal Order as application fees, documents like birth certificate &  degree certificate verified by a gazetted officer and sending the same to Regional Passport Officer by registered post. Back then there wasn't much of terrorist activity and even without verification by Police, Passport came home through registered post in six weeks.

Based on this experience, I did the same this time with revised fees & never got a reply from passport office for three months. After following up with RPO, they woke up. They did not want anything to be given in writing and so called me to the office and handed over the application back saying that they did not accept applications by mail anymore! I saw the futility of arguing and fighting my case and requested for considering expediting the process once I apply personally. I got assurance on that count, but when I applied on 1st Feb, my police verification papers reached passport office only on 29th Feb and my passport got issued only on 15th March 2012! So much for "expediting".

My lessons from whole experience:

• The requirements of the passport office are given in the website. However, the interpretation at various points of receipt are varied to such an extent that it is even reflected in the instruction boards. So a safe bet will be to carry more than one type of proof for residence - say ration card, employers certificate, electricity bill.
• Apply early and follow up with local police station for clearance.
• I don't know why, but in Mumbai the permanent address is something "back home" unless you own the house in which you are staying and is not verified. What happens to tenants who keep moving from house to house, I don't know!