NRI Services Archives

How Can You Change Your Name Legally in India?

July 13, 2018 Manoj Sodhani Comments 0 Comment

Are you thinking of changing your name?

It’s a ritual in the Indian society that you have to adjust your surname according to your husband’s name. It’s a tradition. It determines that you have to make the necessary updates in your all documents, like Aadhaar Card, Voter ID card, Driving Licence and so on. Otherwise, several frictions will hamper your way to get visa or passport. At the worst, your application for these documents might be rejected.

So, always stay aware of this fact.

This article is really a helpful guide for those who want to change their name legally. If it’s adjusted in a document, you won’t have to wait for long to apply for the passport/visa.

Steps to change your name legally in India:

Get an affidavit:

An affidavit is a sworn statement in a document. The Indian court accepts this vital evidence. The practicing notary lawyer approves it via a notary stamp and his signature. He, usually, drafts it on a non-judicial stamp paper. It costs around INR 20 in India. Once the oath is written, the notary attests it with it while registering its entry into the Notarial Registration Book.

If you’re an NRI, you can follow the same process. Thereafter, you can get it attested by the nearest consulate in your residence country. It’s quite similar to withdrawing CENOMAR before marriage.

Who can attest the affidavit?

Commissioner for oaths by state, according to Section 3(2) (b) of the Oath Act (XLIV, 1969)
Notary recruited under the Notaries Act, 1952
Magistrate of the regional area

What to be written in the affidavit:

As aforesaid, you should take a plain white non-judiciary paper. It should consist of all these details:

Current name
The name that you want to replace the former one with
Father’s name
Husband’s name
Address
Mention the name of the employer, if there is any.
Get the signature, name and address of two witnesses.

Publish publically:

This is a vital step to publicly announce that you have changed your name. The medium will be a newspaper. Choose a column that is specifically dedicated to serve this purpose in one of the reputed newspapers. What points it should read are:

Name of the person (who changed his name)
Old name of the person
Father’s name/husband’s name
Address

When it is published in the newspaper, keep its original copies with you as a proof. It’s paid. You have to pay for this NRI service. They will be used later when you will alter your name in other documents.

To Whom to send the documents:

Once you’ll have the published news of your changed name, you can take it along with other documents, like affidavit. Now, you have to visit the controller of publication. It basically verifies the inquiry regarding any publication in the Gazette in India. If you don’t intend to go in person, you can drop a message in its inbox via acobdep2017@gmail.com.

Take these documents for verification:

Attested affidavit/ sworn document
The sworn statement with the details of witnesses
Two passport size photographs
The newspaper wherein the change of name is publically distributed
The printing cost (It can vary due to revised service cost). If you want, pay for it through a demand draft/ Indian Postal Order. Mention the controller of the publication as the name of the recipient.
If you’re an NRI, the service cost will be in ‘K’ or thousands. It includes air mail charges also.
If you want some extra copies of it, you have to bear an additional cost per copy.
You can either scan and mail or visit the publication office physically along with the documents. These documents should not be older than a year.
Always keep this fact in your mind that the documents that you would enclose shall not be returned. So, send them cautiously.
If you’ve adopted the name from another religion, make sure that you’ve submitted an affidavit. It should read that you have named yourself on the other religion but the religion is unchanged. It should be duly attested by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). The cost of advertisement of such ads differs from the other one.
Get along two witnesses. The oath statement would be similar (as aforementioned).

What do NRIs do after changing their name?

Many NRIs alter their name after solemnizing marriage with a foreigner. They have to publish the advertisement in a prominent newspaper wherein they live. It can be any foreign country. Remember that they have to specify the permanent address of place in India.

Subsequently, they have to follow the fourth step. Once these formalities will be fulfilled, they can alter the name in your passport or visa. Enclose all the requisite documents while following the steps.

Tips to Avoid Visa Interview Via Indian Consulate Chicago

June 15, 2018 Manoj Sodhani Comments 0 Comment

Do you want to travel across Chicago?

You can enjoy its fast life. It’s very different from Indian culture. But, millions out of 85,000 Indians go there for employment. Many of them take this route to study in and make a career. Later on, they call their parents to live with them.

So! Do all parents manage to go to Chicago?

Do they go through the ordeal of visa interview easily?

If not, what’s an alternative to reunite with their son or daughter?

Well, it’s not easy to pass through the volley of questions in English language. It can prove a nightmare for a non-native English speaker. But, it doesn’t mean that they can’t join their children there.

I’ve an NRI solution to settle up this matter. Catch it on below:

USCIS Provision of Visa Interview Waiver:

Exemption for 80+ Years Old:

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has a provision for 80 years old or more. It’s true that an interview is a mandatory step to pass through for getting the US work visa. But, this provision becomes null and void if the visa applicant is an 80+ senior citizen.

Yes! It’s absolutely true. Such visa applicants can qualify for the visa interview waiver program. It implies that they don’t need to interact with the Chicago consulates. Absence of one-on-one session means that you do not have to face any hassle in getting visa from Indian Consulate in Chicago.

But, it’s not compulsory that you won’t have to have any interview in the future. It squarely depends on the circumstances.

Exemption for B1 & B2 visa holders:

There is another way to get off such interview. If any other one wants to skip it, that individual should have the history of Chicago visit on B1 & B2 visa. It determines that the person should have B1 & B2 visa. Whether or not B1 & B2 visa is valid or expired in the previous year, it won’t hamper the visa processing.

What if your passport is going to expire while being stayed in Chicago?

It’s a common issue. Many NRIs face it off. Sometimes, it does expire during your visit and you realize it meanwhile. Mistakes do happen. But, a preplanning and a thorough check can turn you on the safer side. It’s always recommended to check the expiry of your passport as well as a visa. Otherwise, you might be deported on the spur of the moment. Alongside, you would have to burn a hole in your pocket. Simply saying, you may have to pay fat amount as a penalty for delaying the renew process of your passport or visa.

You should bear an immigration policy in your mind. It goes with the possession of your passport. It should be valid for at least six months after the period of your intended stay in the US. However, this rule is not meant for Indians.

But it doesn’t mean that the similar privilege is associated with your passport validity. It must not be expired for the intended period of accommodating that country.

There is one more case associated with this six month rule. If you’re transiting through any other country to Chicago in the United States, this six month rule might be in effect. Therefore, it’s good if you take a cursory look over the passport as well as visa validity before intending to travel anywhere in the world.

The immigration policy gets renewed many-a-times. Therefore, you should catch its update. Just browse the official website of Indian Consulate Services in Chicago. You’ll get all updates regarding changes through its notification or news section.

How Can NRI Provide Best Parents Care in India from Abroad?

October 9, 2017 Manoj Sodhani Comments 1 comment

NRIs settle abroad by leaving their belongings here in India. Their biggest belonging is their parents. They sigh; they cry; they often chat and even, talk via video calling. But all these efforts are not enough to fill the chasm of their bereavement.

Parents grow old. On reaching such age, they seek the support of young shoulders. They want to rely upon their own grown up children. But the urgency of earning livelihood takes them away. Staying abroad doesn’t deprive them of sensibility & responsibilities towards their parents. And many of them tend to get worried about their old father & mother. This is where they need a help. They search for the person who can take intensive care of their parents.

There are many organisations, like APRIO-Association of Parents of Indians Resident Overseas & BAYADA. Such organisations bear the major responsibilities to provide NRI parents care in India. Thereby, the children can heave a sigh of relief a bit. But they should know how to choose the best care for them.

Let’s start with the basic requirements that are a key to select the best caring partner.

Basic Requirements:

Health Care: Growing age invites many health issues. This is the biggest threat regarding the parents for the NRIs. Therefore, the selection procedure should be critical. Pick the one that is experienced in delivering:

Routine health checkup
Taking calls
Nursing at home
Help to disseminate information and many more embedded things.

Financial Care: Money is a basic need to survive in the world. Therefore, they require it for making their living smoothly. Mostly, the pension is their source of earning at that age. But it may not be enough for them.
Companionship: Isolation kills. At the age when the body gives up functioning properly, they need the partner to talk, to get amused and to gossip. Therefore, the selected organization should have proficiency in providing the best companion to the old people.

How can NRI provide the best parents care in India from abroad?

It’s fine if the non-residents are unable to attend their parents’ need personally. There are many deemed and authorized entities that take care of their parents at a definitive service cost. Since they have the capacity to afford such entities, they can hire them. But meanwhile, they should probe if the hired organization provides holistic parents care or not.

Here are some points that they can bear in their mind while picking up the best one.

Attend if they provide monthly & quarterly health assessment.
Check if they avail free visit of a physician without any emergency to the parents at home.
Know do they provide routine/weekly health checkup by the nurse.
Find do they arrange an in-house nurse for meeting emergency requirements.
Determine if they have any provision for periodic amusements, like parties, and outings.
Identify do they look into arranging conduits for transferring funds via NRO, NRE or FCNR bank accounts of the children.
Know do they deal in dissemination of the information, like taking care of the national and international couriers, letters and emails.
Seek information over do they set up the inbound and outbound communication, including chat through mobile phone & internet.
Identify do they render health assessment report & the feedback of the aged parents to the NRI children.
Check if they pay utility bills, like electricity bill, water bill & telephone bill on the parent’s behalf.
Determine if they pay tax on the parent’s behalf.
Find out if they indulge in conducting banking transactions.
Determine if they can collect rental payment from the tenants.
Know if they safeguard them by deploying a security guard.
Check if they have any provision of the insurance of the old people.
Look into if they go for travel arrangements.

How can you select in-house nurse in India?

Hire the certified from the Nursing Association of India
She should have working experience as well as on-the-job-training experience of at least 3 years
In-house nursing experience would be a plus.
She should be affiliated & recognized by any deemed hospital or social welfare agency.
Access all previous working experience reports for verification via a reliable source.
The physician of the family should interact with her to know about her abilities and potentials. He must communicate the responsibilities to be undertaken.
Police verification must be undertaken before employing her.

10 Tips to Crack Green Card Marriage Interview for the US

August 14, 2017 Manoj Sodhani Comments 0 Comment

Getting settled post marriage with the US spouse in America is a can of worms. A little mistake can create barriers in union with the better-half.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) holds all responsibilities to carry on all formalities ethically. Be it rendering K1 or K3 visa for marriage or H1 B visa for business travel, it looks after every matter that is concerned with the immigration process.

After getting the K-1 or K-3 visa for solemnizing marriage with the US partner, the immigrant spouse must apply for a change of status. Green card awards this status. But getting it is not like a piece of pie. The foreign spouse has to pass through the ordeal of ‘question-n-answer’ round at the USCIS office. The interview goes on and finally, the permanent residency is awarded.

But out of around 45K immigrants, only a few enable to get it. Most of them fail in the green card marriage interview in the US. So, this blog surrounds that specific interview and the tips to crack it.

Be Punctual: Don’t be late for the interview. The coolest way to get off the grudge of the USCIS officers is to reach half an hour before the scheduled time of interview. It’s better to mark presence in the pair.
Dress Properly: I’m not saying that you have to dress like to kill. But your dressing should be impactful, sober and sophisticated. You have to put on formals for looking good before the federal. Bear in mind that you are going for one-o-one round in the federal building.
Be ready with all documents: The officers would appreciate with a whole heart if you come with all the documents of marital relationship. If there is any marriage certificate from the foreign country where matrimony took place, take it along. If there is no such proof, apply for it. Don’t forget to apply for the certificate attestation in India at MEA office and embassy. These proofs can be:

Wedding invitation
Wedding photograph/portfolio
Birth certificate
Birth certificate of children (if any)
Property papers
Photographs
Marriage certificate
Joint bank account
LIC or any other insurance document and so on.

Be a good listener: It is advisable to mark your presence at the federal building with a fresh mind. Be ready to all ears and answer accordingly. The interview will go on around 30 minutes. So, carry all the documents in organized format.

Don’t try to be over smart while providing additional answers to the simple question. Make eye-contact while talking and be patient while answering.

Don’t sound fake or unnatural: Don’t be the story-teller. If you don’t remember the date or time of first meeting before marriage, confess that you don’t remember. Creating a story may reflect you fake or sound unnatural. The officers can be skeptical, then.
No specific query: No specific questions are there in preparation for the interview. All questions would be spun around the marriage, such as when did you meet first, which gift your husband gave after marriage and so on.
Ask from the marital history: Most of the questions would have the dash of history of the relationship. For example, was it the arrange marriage or love marriage? When did you meet and where for the first time? And so on.

Therefore, memorize all such things and be ready to answer in the short fragment of time.

Do you know each-other well?

The officers will try to identify the truth of your relationship. The way you show your mutual understanding while answering will satisfy them. But if the answers of both do not match, they can run “Stroke interview”.

In the stroke interview, each spouse has to counter the questions separately. The queries will be very common and easy to answer. At the end, the officers will match the answers of identical questions. In case, they find any difference, they can reject your petition for the green card.

Test of mutual understanding: The officers would be adept at noticing your gestures and body language. If they trace any sign of fake relationship via your talkative nature or too much of clarifications, they would reject the petition.
Take assistance: If you have any immigration attorney, take along. And face the interview with him/her. You can premeditate or consult the attorney for taking a few vital tips for facing that interview.

How PMAY Can Help NRIs to Take Care of Parents In India?

July 10, 2017 Manoj Sodhani Comments 0 Comment

Good news for NRIs who have left their parents in India ‘homeless’! The newly introduced scheme of “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)” emerges as a ray of hope to homeless elderly parents.

Many parents are left with pinching pennies in their old age. They turn blind eye to owning a house for themselves in their youth while dedicating all resources to their child’s education. As the time passes away, their efforts pay off. Their child gets employment in the multinational firm in the US, UK or any other foreign country. Consequently, he/she sets off to take charge of their professional responsibilities in abroad.

Meanwhile, he/she leaves their parents ‘homeless’ at the back. However, he/she wants to bear the responsibility of the parents. Distance and scarcity of funds shoot as a major boulder.

Now, NRIs don’t need to battle out with such critical situations. The launch of PMAY has introduced healing scheme called PMAY. By enrolling to it, he/she can provide a nest to the homeless parents in India.

What is PMAY?

As aforementioned, it stands for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. It is commenced for providing shelter to all homeless people in India on easy terms and benefits. This scheme has an entry under the title ‘MIG’ which denotes Medium Income Group. It’s a category added to this scheme. It is further segregated into two sub-sets which are:

MIG I for those who have income between INR 6,00,000 and INR 12,00,000.
MIG II for those who have income between INR 12,00,001 and INR 18,00,000.

What’s the eligibility criterion for enrolling to PMAY?

Since it’s a housing scheme, the NRIs can take care of their parents in India by registering for the house. But before that, they must drill in their head the eligibility criterion, subsidy and home area. Catch on these points that display what this scheme requires for registration:

Eligibility:

The couple would be treated as a ‘beneficiary family’ of this scheme. It comprises of a husband, wife, unmarried son(s)/ unmarried daughter(s). If the beneficiary family has another couple or earning person in the family, it would be treated as a separate beneficiary family. It also can apply for the house under this scheme separately provided that it also doesn’t have any pucca house.
It should not have any pucca house is their name.
They should not be getting central assistance under any housing scheme from the government of India.
The couple living in a rental house will be a separate household. Therefore, the parents of NRIs who accommodate rental house can apply for the same.

Subsidy: It’s a parliamentary grant to the sovereign of the state needs. It benefits the low income group by keeping the price of the housing or commodities as low as it can afford.

This housing scheme has also a provision of subsidy grant. The NRIs can apply loans for their parents at subsidized rate. But the rate is different for both segments. These are:

MIG I is eligible for 4% subsidy on a loan up to INR 9 lakh.
MIG II is eligible for 3% subsidy on a loan up to INR 12 lakh.

The categorization defines the limit to which extent the subsidies can be granted. If anyone wants to borrow more money as loan, he/she can grab it. But the subsidy will not applicable on the additional loan amount.

Suppose an expat wishes to buy a house worth INR 50 lakh for his parents. He has to pay 20% of the total cost as down payment. As 3 percent subsidy is applicable for the amount up to INR 12 lakh, the subsidy would be applicable on that amount only. The balance amount, i.e. worth INR 38 lakh, can be borrowed as loan but it would be available at subsidized rate.

Adjustment of subsidy: The interest subsidy amount will be the net present value (NVP) (the difference between the present value of cash inflows and cash outflows). Under the scheme, 9 percent discount will be applicable on this value. Loan’s amortization schedule is a must since interest amount of the each EMI is to be considered.

Loan: It is not essential that only government bodies would be open for subscribing loan for PMAY. The expat can contact a developer or builder for buying a house from the secondary market. If he is willing to construct it, he can do so also by taking loan.

No home loan provider can reject application for loan under this scheme. Be it for the purpose of adding a room, kitchen or balcony to the existing house, he can apply for the loan.

Length & breadth of home:

Under these two categories, the land area is mentioned as:

For MIG I, 90 sq ft (968.752 sq ft) would be granted as carpet area. The carpet area means the length and breadth excluding walls that are covered by a laid carpet. It’s different from built area which includes the thickness of the inner walls.
For MIG II, 110 sq ft (1184.03 sq ft) would be availed.

How can NRIs provide home to their homeless parents under this scheme?

Since the wholesome amount of the home is difficult to arrange for the expats, they can contact lending institutions in India. The following list of banks would provide easy finance under nri services at no processing fee if the loan is taken at subsidy. The balanced loan amount would require nominal processing fee.

Scheduled commercial banks
Housing finance companies
Regional rural banks
State Cooperative banks
Urban Cooperative banks
Small Finance banks
Non-Banking Financial company

How I Renew Old Indian Passport? Can I Add My Spouse to It?

May 18, 2017 Manoj Sodhani Comments 1 comment

The validity of my passport is going to expire in 2 months. Do I need to verify with police again? One thing more I want to add my spouse’ name to it. Do I need to file a fresh application for new passport or will the old one be renewed? Please explain ‘how’ also.

Yes, you can get it renewed and you are permitted to add spouse’ name to your new book. Indeed, what you asked are pretty common problems. Hundreds of expats are encountering it. Such inflicted non-residents can go through the following procedure of passport renewal in India.

Online registration: With the transformation of typical passport application format, the new digital format is quite impressive. Believe, it’s really very easy to apply for renewal of passport by following these steps.

Browse official government website of passport.
Get registered with the PSK site by clicking the hyperlinked ‘Register Now’ on home page.
Access the link on your email id.
Login through the activated account.
Click “Apply for fresh passport/re-issue of passport”.

Fill application: After getting registered, you would land to the page that would have 2 formats of application. You can select either of them to apply for fixing Indian passport renewal time. Subsequently, the verification would take place in-person at PSK office. Those2 formats are:

PDF of re-issue of passport application.
Softcopy of the same application form.

Fill the requisite information, like name, residential address, contact details, DoB, village/city/district and so on. If you had already enjoyed nri services while being in foreign country, you would have OCI card. You should mention it there.

Upload the filled application form. The system will ask for verification before saving.
Click ‘validate’ tab.
Take out its hard copy.

Pay: Once the application of the Indian passport renewal form is completed, the browser will automatically direct you to the tab that points to fulfill all requirements to pay its online charges.

Click on ‘’Pay and Schedule Appointment”.
The options will be in front of you. Choose either ‘online payment’ or ‘challan’.
If you select online method, the browser will redirect you to the netbanking wherein you can made payment in account of PSK.
Download the receipt afterwards.
Check if the barcode and payment confirmation are clearly visible on it.

You can appoint an outsourcing entity like Services2nri.com for getting rid of sweat & hassles.

Fix an appointment: After payment, the website will redirect you to the page where you can choose the ‘date of appointment’. An auto-generated slot would be available there. You need to pick up the most suitable from those dates.
Documents required: Visit the PSK office on the selected date & venue with these papers:

Hard copy of the application form with the Application Reference Number.
Old passport’s photocopy of first, last and the page with ECNR information.
Address proof, like Utility bills/electricity bill/proof of gas connection/ ration card/bank passbook/ aadhaar card or voter id.
Marriage certificate & its photocopy.
Originals of 10^th mark sheet/college degree.

After verification there, the police verification will occur within a week or 10 days. The applicant must be ready with 2 witnesses and their aadhaar card.

S2NRI

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