Recipient Bank Details

I am planning to Wire Transfer USD from Chase Bank to HDFC Bank to open an FCNR B deposit. The instructions here - HDFC Bank state that I should enter the customer ID instead of the account number for the Beneficiary Account Number.

Just want to confirm whether someone followed this and was successful with the wire transfer.

Also, their webpage says a 6.25% interest rate; can someone confirm they actually got 6.25% by putting it in for 36 months? Interest Rates

hi

how soon one has to convert bank a/c to nro/nre after becoming US citizen?

reason I m asking is I have several joint accts with my aged mom, who is unable to do bank related activities so I manage all that like kyc, atm renewal, tax filing, investments and having joint a/c helps.

I will have to remove my name from the joint a/c and it is not a straight fwd process with India banks… I will have to be in India for several weeks/months to do that.

note I dont want to convert these accts to NRO as its my moms money n best way to handle is to remove my name from the accounts.

will one get in trouble as soon as US citizenship is given?

also what will happen to sbi ppf account of mine after I become citizen? Can that stay as is?

Despite Love and patriotism for my country. When expressing myself as an indian in foreign countries feels uncomfortable. and peoples perspective changes as soon as they know the other person is indian. I dont know if this is normal or not. do anyone feels the same? if yes , WHY?

I am selling a piece of land and the actual market rate is higher than the government market rate. My agent is suggesting to deal in black and that this is how things work.

He said that the sale agreement will reflect the government market rate and the rest of the amount will be given to us either as cash or as a personal cheque. I am not comfortable with both these options and want to keep it completely transparent and reflect the actual sale amount in the sale agreement.

Can anyone who has recently done any real estate transaction please let me know the process. I just want to know how things work and that there is hope for a full white transaction. Thank you.

Hello All,

I’m currently facing a bit of a difficult situation and would really appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Applied passport with VFS London - 15th July

Status Updated to "Passport has been printed; post quality check will be dispatched to OSP in the coming weeks." on 13th August. The status has not changed since.

I have flights booked to India for 28 August, and I also need to obtain my newborn’s UK visa before we travel. Naturally, I’m becoming quite concerned about whether the passport will arrive in time.

Has anyone experienced something similar with VFS London or the High Commission of India? I’d like to understand what options may be available in this situation.

I have already reached out to the helpline email of High Commission, the response I got was it will be "dispatched shortly".

My main questions are:

1. Is it possible to visit the High Commission at Aldwych and request collection of the passport in person?

2. Or should I start considering rescheduling my travel plans?

Any advice, guidance, or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I used to keep my India prepaid Jio SIM activated by recharging it with the annual plan, but I switched it on after a few days and today I see that I do not have any network. I used this number two weeks back to get OTP, but now there is no network and hence I am not receiving OTP. Can someone please help me understand what’s going on? Has something changed?

Will WAR affect my visa procedure due to ongoing war

Hi,

I am looking for suggestion on how NRIs transfer money to the builders when they book the apartment or if the have to make the subsequent payments?

I tried few apps like Xoom, Remitly etc. but they dont allow sending money to escrow accounts. Any help would be highly appreciated.

Sharing my recent in-person Indian passport renewal experience through VFS Edison for the New York Consulate.

Timeline

• August 10: In person appointment at VFS Edison, NJ. The application was marked as received.
• August 13: The Passport Seva Kendra website updated the status to “Passport Printed.” Parents also received a call regarding police verification that day.
• The following Saturday: My parents attended the police verification and carried all the required documents, including my Aadhaar card, I-797, and 2 photographs.
• August 18: Received my renewed passport through FedEx.

Documents and photos

• I notarized only the I-797 at UPS.
• I did not notarize the affidavits.
• I gave my Indian address as primary address and US address as additional address. Gave parents phone number on the application
• I used 35 mm × 45 mm photographs for the affidavit. I printed the photos on a 4 × 6 sheet at CVS, which cost about $0.20 per print.
• Make sure to carry all the documents listed in the checklist applicable to your specific case.
• At your appointment time, someone will call your name and they will check your documents, next they will ask you if you want to do a FedEx premium shipping.
• The FedEx counter for premium shipping is next door.
• After paying for shipping, come back to the appointment area and give documents to the person at the entrance, they will give you a token. Wait at the area until someone calls your token.
• Attend to the person, he/she will check everything and tell you to pay after verifying and then you can leave.
• Reach the appointment area at least 30 mins, sometimes in the morning rush is there in the Edison area.
• One odd thing - I was never able to track my ARN on the VFS tracking. It always showed Invalid inputs. I mailed them couple of times they always came back with change browser or device, still did not work. I always used the passport seva kendra website.

Overall, the process was very simple and smooth. Make sure to follow everything listed on the VFS website carefully, especially the appointment-booking instructions and document checklist. Having all the required documents ready can help avoid delays.

Got FTITTP done in January, got the eOCI done a couple months ago. Got a chance to experience both with Delhi as port of entry this Sunday. Had e arrival and e airsuvidha as well.

The e-gates glitched a few times with not being able to read the passport the attendant came in to help she kept asking me if my FTITTP was active, it was and then on the 5th attempt it worked.
(Despite multiple attempts it was quick).

Then as I crossed the first gate into the enclosure with the screen and camera the finger prints wouldn’t work, then the attendant said my hands were too dry and to rub my fingers in my hair so it picks up natural oils - it worked!

No one asked for OCI physical card or eOCI card Or the eArrival form either.

They did ask to see the airsuvidha declaration form pdf but it felt like a minor formality because she seemed to not even read it.

All in all despite the malfunctioning / waiting the entire thing took about 10 minutes. About the same as what it would take in the regular line but much quicker compared to the waiting time for your turn on a regular line.

Assuming a best case glitch free process it is rapid and painless
, the agents are prompt, competent and polite, feels really nice to see us stepping up our game!

I hold Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and have invited my mother and brother to visit me in the UK on a Standard Visitor Visa. Their eVisas were successfully issued a month ago.

Because my own previous transitions to the UKVI account were seamless, I didn't try to link their eVisas until today. Their flight is tomorrow from Mumbai (BOM) via Air India, and we are stuck. The UK Immigration ID Check app is completely failing to scan or process their documents.

I have already done the following to prepare them:

- Checked that their passport numbers, names, and personal details exactly match the application.

- Forwarded them the official "Visa Issued" emails from the Home Office containing their GWF numbers.

I read that airport check-in counters can contact the UK Home Office Carrier Support line to verify digital statuses manually.

My questions for the group:

- Has anyone recently flown from India (specifically Mumbai) with an unlinked eVisa

- Did Air India or Mumbai immigration give you any trouble during check-in or boarding?

- Any last-minute tips on what they should say or show at the airport to ensure they can board?

Any urgent advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I’m moving to the US soon on an immigrant visa and I’m completely new to this, so would really appreciate some advice.

I currently have multiple savings accounts in India. I’ll be closing 2–3 of them but will likely keep around three accounts with a decent amount of savings. I’ll also need to use some of this money to pay off a loan in India.

Should I convert my existing accounts to NRE or NRO? What would be the best way to manage the existing savings and loan payments, and how does TDS work on the interest? I’d especially like to understand how to avoid unnecessary/high TDS legally.

I’ve searched online but can’t find a simple explanation that covers this situation. If anyone has gone through something similar, I’d really appreciate your advice!

Thanks!

I moved to the US around 6 months back and now kinda got things reasonably settled in terms of house, family, kid’s school etc.

Looking for advice from fellow NRIs here on investments. Am not looking for GC etc, so will be here for ~3-5 years max. What are the avenues for investments? Like index funds or govt bonds for moderately aggressive risk appetite? And do we have fund houses here like back in India we had for direct MF investment into S&P500/Nasdaq?

Currently I have only 401k which is maxed till company match. Looking for some more exposure to their equity & bond market. But need to have the flexibility to liquidate & move the money back home when I leave. Not looking to hold anything till 59 years of age as ‘kal kisne dekha hai’ 🤷🏼‍♂️

Thanks in advance 🙏

I have seen many NRIs holding more than one NRE account to manage their savings, personal monthly finances, long-term investments, and funds. However, there are several reasons why NRIs maintain multiple NRE accounts.

Yet, what is the most significant and compelling reason that drives them to do so? After all, managing multiple accounts is not exactly easy.

What would be your reason for opening more than one NRE account?

So, I'm with Airtel right now, and I'm in India. I'm thinking about switching over to Jio. The main thing is, I have to shell out around Rs.118 every month when I'm abroad just to get SMS and OTPs. That's on top of already having an active plan. It just feels way too pricey just for those OTPs. My wife has Jio, and she doesn't need to recharge any plan to get her OTPs or SMS.

Can anyone on Jio back this up? And would it be a good move for me to switch?

Hello as the title says, I renewed my passport under normal scheme from Germany. During the process I received notification for the police verification. My parents went to the police station with my documents. I collected my passport from the embassy in early May (3 months ago) however today I received a SMS on my Indian number saying the police verification status completed- status : Rejected.

What does it mean? Does it mean I can not travel or passport is impounded? Has anyone ever faced this?