Renewing your Research Visa.

Good luck with that.

No, seriously, it can be done, but it is going to take more patience than you probably have after 12 months in India.

First, the good news for all you Fulbright people: the USIEF office will write you a letter that should help smooth things over with FRRO. Yes, FRRO. I'm afraid you have to go back there. You should take with you:

• your own pen with black or blue ink
• passport photos (take 4, just in case, but refer to my previous FRRO post for instructions on how to find a photo place near FFRO itself)
• passport w/visa
• photocopies of your passport and visa
• FRRO registration book
• photocopies of the first and last page of your FRRO registration book
• Original letter from USIEF, recommending visa renewal
• Photocopy of letter from USIEF
• Letter from Indian university (JNU, DU, etc.) advisor recommending that your visa be renewed (THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL)
• Proof of residence (utility bill, C-Form, etc.)
• Flight arrival information (I know, who cares, you've been in India 12 months, but they still want it)
• 4000 INR

You know the drill. Compile all the copies into a pile to leave at FRRO. Get up early, try to be the first person in line at FRRO. I got there at 8:45 this time, and was about 12th in line, an almost perfect position. I was done by 10:30, so it was worth the early start. The paperwork you will be handed is similar to registration paperwork, and if you have all the proper items listed above, you should be golden. Take the USIEF phone number with you, though, just in case someone gives you trouble.

Okay, now the bad news for all you independent researchers, or people on something like a SSRC-IDRF. It's going to take you an extra day or two to renew your visa. Plan for a total of three days: 1 day to get letters from the U.S. Embassy and your advisor on campus; 1 day to visit the Ministry of Home Affairs; and 1 day for the FRRO.

This is what you need to do. Get a letter from the U.S. Embassy reconfirming your status as a researcher. Get a letter from your Indian university advisor recommending your visa renewal and noting your good research progress. Photocopy them. Then get up early and go to the Ministry of Home Affairs (Jaipur House on Mansingh Road, New Delhi) and take the following items:

• your own pen with black or blue ink
• passport photos (I honestly can't remember if I needed them, but it can't hurt to have them)
• Original letter from U.S. Embassy
• Photostat of letter from U.S. Embassy
• Original letter from university advisor
• Photostat of letter from university advisor
• Original letter from home (U.S.) institution praising your work
• Photostat of letter from home institution
• Passport with visa page
• Photostat of passport with visa page
• FRRO registration book
• Photostat of FRRO registration book
• Proof of residence (utility bill, C-Form, etc.)

Compile all the copies together, these are what you will attach to the forms given to at MHA. You also need the originals, though, because the interview (see below) will ask to see them. If you forget to make a photocopy, don't worry, there is a copy station at the bottom of the stairs, only 1 INR/page.

When you get out of the autorickshaw at Jaipur House, the reception desk is in the little building to your right. Go in there and show your passport. This room has AC, but don't think you have it made, because this is only the reception hall. They will give you a number and tell you to go to the visa room. Go out of reception and into the complex to the office building to the left (ask the guards where to go). Wander into the building, look for stairs. The visa room is on the first (upper) floor. The copy station is right at the bottom of these stairs.

Generally, this part is hot and chaotic, even though the visa people follow a clear procedure. You will be given some paperwork with a number. Fill it out, and bring it back to the same desk. Eventually, some officers will come out and sit at the long desk at the side of the room, and start calling out numbers. You'd think people would wait until they heard their number, but no, the moment one number is called, there is a stampede. For this reason, I recommend sitting in a chair in the side room so you will already be there when the stampede happens. You might be tempted to sit in the larger visa room, where there is a hint of AC, but I think you will regret it when the chaos starts.

What happens is this: your number is called, and you go sit at the long desk for an interview. I never said a word during my interview, so I'm not sure why they call it that. An officer looks over all your photocopies, asks to see the originals, writes some mysterious notes, then tells you to come back at 4:30. Here is the frustrating part. You will come back at 4:30 as directed, and be handed a sealed envelope. This envelope you take to FRRO the next morning, along with all the documents/money listed above. DON'T OPEN THE ENVELOPE. I know, it's hard, because in that sealed envelope it either says "give this person a visa extension" or it says "deny this person's visa extension," and it would be lovely to know which it is before you stand in line at FRRO. But if the seal is broken, you will be denied your visa extension for certain.

In my case, I was recommended for a visa extension, and the less than two hours I then spent at the FRRO a miracle. I hope this description of the process bears equally good results for you.

FRRO Advice

If you are planning on staying for more than six months in India, don't forget to register at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at some point in the first fourteen days of your stay. If you are going to be in Dehli, you can find the FRRO at East Block, No. 8, Level-II, R.K. Puram-1, New Delhi-110066, behind Bhikaji Cama (9.30 am- 1.30 pm; 2-4 pm). You need to go through the gates and follow the signs for "FRRO" or "visa office" or "visa renewal," whichever sign you see first.

[Check here for FRRO addresses in a few other cities.]

Officially, the office opens at 9:30, but my advice is to get there at 8:00. I showed up between 9:30-10:00, and the process took almost five hours. A friend of mine showed up at 8:00, was third in the queue, and was done by 10:00.

Here's what you should take to the FRRO (if you are an American, anyway):

• comfortable shoes because you will not be able to sit down
• your own pen with black or blue ink!
• your passport, with research visa glued inside (if you don't have this, you're probably still sitting in the airport, waiting to be deported)
• 3 photocopies of your passport
• 3 copies of the research visa
• 3 copies of the affiliation letter stating that you are a legitimate researcher (for instance, I brought my certificate of affiliation with JNU)
• 3 copies of your hotel/guesthouse C-Form if you have one
• 4 passport photos
• The flight number and date you arrived in India
• Address in India
• Address in U.S.
• A book to read while you wait, or an MP3 player for chilling
• A snack (you're not supposed to bring food, but I did eat a granola bar while standing in line)

Here's what you should expect at the FRRO:

The general process is this: first you stand in line to get a form to fill out (I got the green form, "Applicaton for Registration"). You fill that out with passport number, visa number, flight number, etc. You also get a little book, fill that out with the same information. If you are lucky, they will give you three green forms, and you can fill them out in triplicate. If you are unlucky, you will have to run make photocopies of your one form, because you need to turn in three (make a fourth copy, just in case). You can find a photocopy shop outside the gate, to the left, across the road, maybe 100 yards down the street. This same shop will do passport photos, so don't panic if you forget them, you can buy some after you get the registration form.

Take four passport photos, glue three to the triplicated form, and one in the little book (glue stick is outside main room door, on desk, if someone hasn't stolen it). Collate your documents into three packs. Each pack should have copy of passport, copy of visa, copy of affiliation letter, copy of (green) form.

If you look at the top of your registration form, there should be a handwritten note on it, something like "3/25" or "2/17". This number tells you which counter to keep your eye on (2 or 3 in these examples) and what number you are in the queue (25th or 17th in these examples). In theory, you can take a seat and wait for your number to be called. In practice, you will notice a crowd around each counter, and the truth is, whoever is closest usually gets immediate service. They do call out numbers, but if your papers aren't on the desk approximately two seconds later, you will be passed by. So be alert!

After your number is called, you approach the desk, and the person behind it looks over your forms, types some things into the computer, and stamp stamp stamps everything. Then she or he will send you over to "In Charge." At this desk, you simply hand over the stamped forms, and they smile and tell you to have a nice day as they drop the forms into the in basket. Process complete.

The process takes longer than it needs to take because some people have really odd registration requests. It takes ten people to solve their problem. This is why it is good to be 3rd in the queue, that way no odd problems stall out in front of you. It's not a complex process--pick up form, fill out form, glue photos on form, have form stamped, drop off stamped form--but be prepared to spend a number of hours getting it done.