[carbookie]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

It is a well known fact that touts/agents have a quota in the slots.

One of my friends got his passport done through an agent and was given a guaranteed slot in the next 48 hours. The way 900 slots get booked in less than 2 minutes, no one can guarantee a slot unless they have a quota in the system.

Do you have any citation, proof or just shooting in the dark...

I have seen how these touts/agents book the slots. And they don't do anything special. They just have experience on their side as they book a lot of slots everyday.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by carbookie

Do you have any citation, proof or just shooting in the dark...

I have seen how these touts/agents book the slots. And they don't do anything special. They just have experience on their side as they book a lot of slots everyday.

What experience are we talking about here ? Operating a mouse to click on an HTML link for an available time slot ?

And why is it that people pay a high price to these touts just for getting an appointment, when they can get it done much cheaper at a cyber cafe ?

Obviously I have no concrete evidence to prove that these touts/agents have quota in the available slots. This can only be proved by conducting a sting operation by some news channel, the way Star News did for tatkal ticket bookings.

Rohan

[carbookie]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

What experience are we talking about here ? Operating a mouse to click on an HTML link for an available time slot ?

Setting up your clock to match server time.
Submitting form at exact 6:00:00 PM.
Increasing keep alive time in your browser to higher value.
Entering captchas fast.
Knowing many actions on site are considered illegal (multiple login, multiple submit, page refresh)
Login IDs get disabled for a year after few passport application have generated through it.
Multiple attempts from a IP lead to IP ban.

And why is it that people pay a high price to these touts just for getting an appointment, when they can get it done much cheaper at a cyber cafe ?

Not everybody understands technology. In fact your question is quite stupid. Its like asking why people pay money to get Driving license when you can get it for free. My father cannot book PSK slot even if he had a 1 Gbps internet line. He just doesn't understand technology that well and is now too old to react fast enough.

Obviously I have no concrete evidence to prove that these touts/agents have quota in the available slots.

Why accuse some one of impropriety if you don't even have a shred of evidence. I have seen these brokers book PSK slots. They do nothing different from what everybody else is doing. They just have experience on their side.

[Ketan]

Originally Posted by carbookie

Why accuse some one of impropriety if you don't even have a shred of evidence. I have seen these brokers book PSK slots. They do nothing different from what everybody else is doing. They just have experience on their side.

I guess I still don't get what you are trying to prove here? What kind of experience are you talking about, that question still remains unanswered.

EDIT::
sorry, I just saw this and adding my view on this::
Setting up your clock to match server time >> This is not a magic, most of the people are connected to internet / intranet where computers sync time automatically
Submitting form at exact 6:00:00 PM. >> everyone knows about it, agents are not going to benefit of this point for sure
Increasing keep alive time in your browser to higher value. >> there are few different types of timeout that can play role here (from server and client perspectives), My browser (IE10) waited for about 20 minutes without getting timed out and finally got me the confirmation, I don't seem to have any special settings for this, but this can be further debatable, this cannot be the hidden secret in my opinion
Entering captchas fast. >> Everyone with average computer usage can type at 90% of what the expert agents can do, cant be real factor it seems
Knowing many actions on site are considered illegal (multiple login, multiple submit, page refresh) >> This can very well be an issue with new guy, but then if we read the guidelines on passportindia, which is very helpful we can avoid this or at max, one will avoid this after making mistake once
Login IDs get disabled for a year after few passport application have generated through it. >> I'm not aware of this, if this is the case, are they managing with multiple logon IDs being operated from same IPs?
Multiple attempts from a IP lead to IP ban. >> Not sure about such rule either, but it will be good if they have one, it will not help agents in anyways, but prevent them misusing the facilities.


Are there any other ways people (mango or agents) can book slots apart from online form or e-form? I see just those to alternative on PassportIndia website.
If that's the only way, Its surprising to understand how are they managing with booking so many slots! are they changing their IDs and IPs frequently? I don't think they are going to get so many IDs and IPs to do this business, at least the IPs are going to be limited even if they keep changing ISP every now and then..
It will help if you talk more about their experience, other will surely benefit from it
We cannot generalize with the example of a senior citizen whos not technology aware and cannot book his/her slot. I can probably find you more examples of sr. citizens who are tech savvy and can do better than you and me with a computer.

[Ford5]

Synced my clock to the passport page clock. Started the process 10 seconds prior to 6 PM. Everything went smooth. The website responded properly until the last captcha page where we select the slot. Selected noon. Website did not respond for about 15 seconds.

Error popped up. Later Checked status and my appointment was confirmed.

[mjumrani]

Hey guys,


My passport expires sometime in 2015 and since I will be heading out of the country for a long time in 2014 I was thinking about getting it renewed right now.

Could someone guide me on what and how I should proceed?

Also I have multiple valid visas on my passport, what about them when I renew it?

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Quick update: My application status shows, printing in progress! Really impressed i am, exactly a week from the day i dropped in at the PSK.

Finally status changes to printed and await SMS for dispatch! So the delay was actually in printing in my case i guess.

[aka_iitd]

Originally Posted by mjumrani

Hey guys,


My passport expires sometime in 2015 and since I will be heading out of the country for a long time in 2014 I was thinking about getting it renewed right now.

Could someone guide me on what and how I should proceed?

Also I have multiple valid visas on my passport, what about them when I renew it?

I think you can go ahead with reason like face change/other updates like address etc
VISA would be valid. You always need to carry the old passport with you
If PSK is applicable in your city just update the application get the appointment and visit with relevant documents.

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by mjumrani

...My passport expires sometime in 2015 and since I will be heading out of the country for a long time in 2014 I was thinking about getting it renewed right now...

If you are going out of the country for at least 6 months and you are on a work permit, then you can use the Indian Mission in that country to renew your passport. Much easier, and hassle free.

[mjumrani]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

If you are going out of the country for at least 6 months and you are on a work permit, then you can use the Indian Mission in that country to renew your passport. Much easier, and hassle free.

I wouldn't be going on a work permit but on a student visa. Would this still be applicable then?

Originally Posted by aka_iitd

I think you can go ahead with reason like face change/other updates like address etc
VISA would be valid. You always need to carry the old passport with you
If PSK is applicable in your city just update the application get the appointment and visit with relevant documents.

PSK would be valid in Delhi.

I'm curious, does having a lot of stamps on your passport be helpful after I submit an application for any visa?

The current valid visas are tourist visas.

If you are on a non-immigrant visa and the passport is valid for more than 6 months when you enter the country, then the local embassy / consulate will be able to issue a new passport. But normally this is valid for either 1 year or 5 years.

Regarding multiple visas in your passport, Country A will not issue the visa on the basis of you having visas from B or C. They all follow their own procedures and policies. But having a visa from US Embassy / consulate might help in few cases while getting the visa from others. Also in some Carebbian countries, Latin America, you could get visa on arrival if you are coming in from a US destination with US visa.

[mjumrani]

Originally Posted by shimshumara

If you are on a non-immigrant visa and the passport is valid for more than 6 months when you enter the country, then the local embassy / consulate will be able to issue a new passport. But normally this is valid for either 1 year or 5 years.

Regarding multiple visas in your passport, Country A will not issue the visa on the basis of you having visas from B or C. They all follow their own procedures and policies. But having a visa from US Embassy / consulate might help in few cases while getting the visa from others. Also in some Carebbian countries, Latin America, you could get visa on arrival if you are coming in from a US destination with US visa.

In that case I will pursue the consulate route when I'm abroad.

Generally how long is the process (embassy route or getting in done right now)?

Generally how long is the process (embassy route or getting in done right now)?

Since these Embassies / Consulates are not much crowded with Passport seekers, its either same day by EOD or definitely the next business day.

Ijeet, try Suresh@Vijayanagar, he is reachable at 988 039 3060. I think he has raised his tarrif and is around 750/-.

[ijeet]

Guys,

Do you know any agent who can get me an appointment in Bangalore. I am trying since last 2 weeks but not able to, yesterday all slots were exhausted in 1 minute :(

-Ijeet

[SILVERWOOD]

Originally Posted by ijeet

Guys,

Do you know any agent who can get me an appointment in Bangalore. I am trying since last 2 weeks but not able to, yesterday all slots were exhausted in 1 minute :(

-Ijeet

I can help you.

Have sent you a pm.

Waseem.