ICICI Money transfer NEFT working day restriction

When transferring money via the ICICI bank account, if you are transferring via the NEFT facility and you don't do so in the working hours then you get the below error








Most banks simply log the request for money transfer and simply show an alert at the end saying that since you transferred in the cutoff period for the day, you money will be transferred in the next working day. Instead ICICI bank does not allow to log the request. So now I have to log back in on their schedule to schedule a transfer. Totally inconvenient and BS. As per the cutoff times on the screehshot above, they are based on IST. This is an NRO account which means it for Indian citizens residing abroad. I reside in Arizona USA so what this means is that I gotta wakeup before 6:00am in the morning to log a transfer funds request? Goes to show that was there any thought kept when designing this thing for NRI's? Another reason to stick away from ICICI for NRE/NRO accounts. My other NRO account is Citibank and it clearly allows me to transfer money anytime of the day and internally schedules it on same day/next day based on cutoff times.

Do not open ICICI NRE/NRO account

I recently visited India 3 months back and unfortunately chose ICICI bank for an NRE/NRO account. Ever since I opened the account I have had problems with it. I have opened several accounts all over the world and none is problem laden as this. The site enforces excessive security that is totally not intended and unseen of. The site and its related services are down most of the time.

I have been trying to setup fund transfer on the site and have been unable to do it for the last two months. First there was an issue with setting up mobile banking. You cannot setup a fund transfer account unless you have a mobile number setup on the account. There is no online way to provide your mobile number. You will need to download a form, manually fill the details and then mail it to the ICICI center. Took two retries to make it work. Once the mobile number was setup, it had a problem sending SMS authorization code as I had registered a US mobile number. I was clearly told that US numbers will work and that SMS will be sent to any registered domestic/foreign number. I inquired about the issue and was told that the system may not support US numbers. What the %^ck is that supposed to mean? Its a NRE/NRO account and the account holder has to reside outside India and the system does not support US number? bull%^$%. Then I had to call a number in India to ask for authorzation. Once that issue was resolved then I had issue with the transaction password. The password issued to me first time had expired and it was not valid anymore and guess what, there is no way to re-issue the password online. I had to make a request and they would send the password to home address in India. That frickin took forever. Ok so once that was resolved then the site was complaining about no debit card linked to account so sorry cannot transfer funds. What the crap? I called the service once again and asked why was I not issued a card for this account? And the guy was like for NRE we issue the card but for NRO you have to manually request the account. I am like dude no bank in the world has this policy. Then guess what, I can only place the request via online and that frickin service has been down for the last 15 days and they don't know when it will be UP. The other way is to visit a local branch in India to make a request. Hah!!!! what a %6cking joke. As of now I am waiting for the system to be UP. This is it. I am pretty soon going to close this account once I get my money out. totally advise to choose another bank for your NRE/NRO account.

Panasonic phone replacement batteries

I have a Panasonic phone model number KX-TGA430B. I was looking to replace their batteries as they lost most of the juice. The official documentation recommended to only use Panasonic rechargeable Ni-MH batteries with codes HHR-65AAABU or HHR-4PDPA with 630mAH min. These branded replacement batteries are expensive. I instead bought a set of AAA Sony rechargeable batteries with a high capacity of 900mAH and NI-MH and they seemed to work just fine. Just make sure that any set you buy is Ni-Mh and has a min of capacity > 600mHAH.

Sedona Fall Color Report 2009

This weekend went for a hike at the West Fork Oak Creek trail but was disappointed as the leaves had almost fallen out. We were still able to catch a glimpse of some colors though however I am afraid that last weekend was probably the last time to catch colors. I believe the colors were at there prime on the weekend of 10/17/2009.

We went for a hike yesterday (10/25/2009) that is a week after the prime time. Here are some pictures I found online from a guy who hiked in the prime weekend: http://english.wunderground.com/wximage/viewsingleimage.html?mode=singleimage&handle=Lou427&number=26&#slideanchor

H1B Non-Cap Exempt to Cap Exempt

I had a question regarding transferring from a Non-Exempt H1 to exempt H1B and had a hard time searching online as most cases refer to the issues from transferring in the other order. My question was lets say I decide to transfer from Non-Exempt H1 to exempt H1B and after a couple of months decide to switch back to a non-cap exempt H1B then will I be subjected to the cap? The answer is NO. Once you are counted towards the cap (basically if you ever held a non-cap exempt H1B) then you are no longer cap subjected in the next 6yr period. This is good info to know as it allows me the flexibility to switch back and forth without needing to worry about the quota. With the quota being especially tight these days and the whole April to October wait period, it certainly helps to not bother about quota when applying for a H1B transfer.

H1B Cap Exempt Filing Fees

I found this online after a lot of searches so I thought wise to blog it here. Below are the filing fees for regular non-exempt H1B with a side note on whether it is applicable to camp exempt H1B. Also the below filing fees are for petitions filed from inside the US. Petitions from abroad might have to pay some additional fees.

Base Filing Fee : The standard H-1B filing fee is $320 for the 1-129 petition. This applies to both cap/non-cap exempt H1B petitions

ACWIA (Training) Fee : The employer must pay a fee of $1,500 towards a training fee meant to fund the training of U.S. workers. This fees DOES NOT apply to cap exempt H1B petitions. But if the employer has less than 25 full-time employees, they must pay only one-half of the required fee which is $750 [see Section §214(c)(9) of the Immigration & Nationality Act].

The training fee is paid one time to initially grant the H-1B petition and to extend H-1B status. But if this is the second or subsequent extension with the same employer, then the training fee is not required.
The following are exempt from the training fee: primary or secondary educational institutions, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations related to or affiliated with any institutions of higher education, a nonprofit organization that engages in established curriculum-related clinical training of students registered at any institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations or a governmental research organizations [see Section 214(c)(9)(A) of the Immigration & Nationality Act and 8 C.F.R. §2l4.2(h)(19)(iii)-(iv).

Fraud Fee : A $500 fraud prevention and detection fee is required for the initial H-1B petition or to switch employers. The fraud fee is not required for extensions with the same employer. This fees must be paid with both exempt and non-exempt H1B petitions.

Premium Processing : Optional fees to expedite the H1B processing. Decisions are made within 15 business days. This applies to both exempt and non-exempt H1B petitions if premium processing is desired.

References:

http://web.mit.edu/scholars/administrators/h1b/antifraudfee.html
http://thevisabulletin.com/2008/h-1b-filing-fees-overview-and-questions/

DJ Tiesto @ House of Blues 06/15/2008

I was in Chicago during that time and came across this flyer for DJ Tiesto performing @ The House of Blues. Its been in my wish list to attend at least one performance from the top 10 DJ's in this list (http://www.thedjlist.com/). I have had chances to visit performances from ATB/Paul Van Dyk/Paul Oakenfield but have been waiting to see a performance from Tiesto. Well it was worth the expectation. Although it was not an enjoyable experience for my wife, but I loved it. The club was fabulous too. This is a pretty famous club and is frequented by many top artists often. The club is right in the heart of downtown Chicago. The interiors have the old rustic symphony hall type design with decorative gold colored designs on the wall. It was an awesome experience and the crowd was just in vibe too. The next in my list is Armin Van Buren. Hope to catch his performance soon.