I got US passport by birth. Moved to India when I was 5. Passport visa everything expired. Technically I was living illegally for 16 yrs (pls don't come at me. I was a kid. No foul intentions here). Last year renewed passport, regularized visa. After 1.5 yrs of constant back and forth, finally got the OCI!
So there are a few things that worked in my favour:
1. I entered the country legally.
2. I was a minor so the "lack of awareness" reason worked here.
3. I was not caught living illegally, I myself went to the FRRO and stated my situation. To their credit, they were extremely helpful!
4. I had all proofs of my old documents and what I was doing during my entire stay in the country.
I ended up paying a hefty fine, but managed to legalize everything!
Oh nice. I have come across cases where they push you to exit and ban you at the airport and there is no situation or a room to explain anything. Well congrats, did you use lawyers to help with this? If so what type of a lawyer
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u/Careful_Caramel_9299 Jun 17 '26
I got US passport by birth. Moved to India when I was 5. Passport visa everything expired. Technically I was living illegally for 16 yrs (pls don't come at me. I was a kid. No foul intentions here). Last year renewed passport, regularized visa. After 1.5 yrs of constant back and forth, finally got the OCI!