OCI process and documentation
Genuinely asking is it just me, or is this absurdly convoluted for 2026? We live in a world where governments have digitized birth records, court records, and vital statistics, yet the OCI application demands physical documents, notarizations, self-attestations, and apostilles like it's 1995.
The US consulate already has my complete history 3 Indian passport issuances on file yet the system treats me like a ghost applying for the very first time. My kids already hold PIO cards and are now converting to OCI, but sure, let's start from scratch as if none of that ever happened. It's not an application process. It's an endurance test.
And just when you think you're done after painstakingly completing every section it demands documents that were never listed in the requirements. Name change affidavit? What name change? No name was ever changed.
Anyone else navigating this recently? Any tips that actually saved time?