Passport Received Today : SFO, Tatkal processing

USA Indian Passport Renewal
1

I finally received my passport by Fedex. Took me exactly 2 weeks in Tatkal @SFO.
No police verification in India so far.
Special thanks to Anil Gupta, Pankaj Diwedy and Kalpesh Dalwadi for their guidance and quick response to all my queries.

2

Hi - i am also planning to apply in tatkal. Did u get an email approval from the consulate for your tatkal process?

1 Like
3

No, you don’t need an approval from consulate for Tatkal.

2 Likes
4

Thank you for the quick update

5

Was there anything special you had to do for the tatkal service other than paying the extra fees? Were there extra documents you had to send along with your application?

Thanks.

6

No, same documents. There is a checklist on the VFS that shows documents for tatkal processing. You can also refer to this link Renew Indian Passport in USA (VFS Process, Documents) - USA as it gives you step-by-step instructions along with the documents/affidavits that need to be notarized.

7

Thanks so much for your reply. One question - was your passport already expired when you applied for your tatkal passport renewal? My wife’s passport has expired and I am trying to find out if she can apply under tatkal.
Thanks.

8

No, mine had not expired, but i think you can still apply as the following are the categories that cannot apply for Tatkal
a). Lost / Damaged beyond recognition / Stolen Passport

b). Renewal of Short Validity Passport (SVP)

c). Major Change in Name (cases different from minor change case)

d). Change in Sex

e). Change of Appearance

f). Change/ Correction of DoB

g). Change/ Correction of Place of birth

h). Change in Signature

i). Change of Father/ Mother name

9

Thanks again, that helps.
I saw that list, but just before the list, the following is written,
TATKAL’ Passport Service is an ‘Emergency’ Passport Service. All applicants (except below-mentioned categories) residing in the USA and having valid Passport and Valid Visa Status (i.e., “Visa Page/EAD/Green Card/I-797A Approval Notice) are eligible to apply for re-issue of Passport under Tatkal Passport Scheme

The bold part where it says valid passport is what I am worried about. And I am seeing conflicting information in the internet regarding this, so I thought I will ask someone who recently got this done.
Thank you.

10

Hey Folks, has anyone’s tatkal passport application status changed to ‘print’ post July 15th. I applied in tatkal at SFO, status changed to ‘Passport application is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate.’ on July 14th, today July 22nd still same(though tatkal says 5 days processing time). Appreciate any comments

11

I think you cannot apply for tatkaal if the passport has been expired over 3 years. In your case since it expired recently, you should be fine.

12

Though mine was prior to July 15th, but the status did change to “Printed” after 4-5 days. Please give it couple of days, sometimes it takes more time.

13

2024 Data point

  • Day -2 - Applied on gov site, gov site status “Passport application form has been submitted.”
  • Day 0 - Fedex to VFS
  • Day 1 received by VFS - Didn’t show up in VFS system i.e. track application kept giving invalid input, gov site status “Passport application form has been submitted.”
  • Day 2 No change in status
  • Day 3 VFS email notification/confirmation - ‘Received’ your Application and your application is now ‘Under Process’

“Your application is being verified and currently under process at the VFS Indian Consular Application Centre” at VFS

  • Day 4 VFS email notification - Application ‘Processed’ at the VFS and currently is ‘In-Transit‘ to Embassy
    System status - Your application has reached at the Embassy/Consulate and is currently under review process
    Gov site - Passport application along with fee details have been received. The same is under processing at the Embassy/Consulate.
    Later in the day on Gov site - “Print has been initiated for passport.” / VFS no change in status
  • Day 7 later in the day Gov site “Passport has been printed.” (VFS - no change in status)
  • Day 8 Gove site “Passport is printed and will be delivered shortly.” (VFS - no change in status)
    Later in the day: VFS site - Dispatched

"Your document (s) is dispatched using the return label purchased or sent by you. If using VFS courier, please check for email from “pkginfo@ups.com” for details.If you have used your prepaid label then track the status via the website of the concerned service provider.Note: Information is printed on the documents as what you have filled while completing the online Form on the Government Portal. If you have made mistakes while filling up the Govt. form then VFS Indian Consular application Centres wont be in a position to assist. To get the corrections done, you should contact the Embassy of India or its Consulate directly based on your Consular Jurisdiction. Customer Experience: VFS Global is committed to delivering a world-class experience and welcomes your valuable feedback.

Note: VFS email notification indicated Fedex below email message:

"Your document (s) is dispatched using the return label purchased or sent by you.If using VFScourier, please check for email from TrackingUpdates@fedex.com

however received no email from Fedex

  • Day 9 - Fedex Delivered (Even though had Fedex email-sms notifications (separate fedex feature) for my address it didn’t notify me of incoming delivery)
    (Above includes Sat Sun, so ~7 business days to get it processed)

Issues encountered: VFS doesn’t send Fedex tracking number and just punts it to carrier sending the tracking info which carrier didnt send any email. If VFS is handing over to fedex, they should have the tracking number as well so instead of indicating please check email from Fedex, they should providing tracking id. Guess Too much to ask!

Gotchas, while applying on gov site, it asked for pan and aadhar number and keeping aadhar number blank gives an error, so need to enter the number or put NA (didnt try NA since I had aadhar number).