hey garian and pasi, i am thinking of giving written explanation about pcc from oman. but if this info is of any help to you then- i have applied for indian pcc from indian embassy here, they returned my passport after checking with the copy as i said that i cannot leave it with them for a month. they returned our passports, retained the copy of required pages and gave us a slip (receipt). i have been asked to check after two weeks if clearance has been received from india, and then bring my original passport for police clearance stamping. so i am sure the consulate in washington also would have an option like this. i agree that its always better to send all documents together unless you are really stuck like ME.
rgds-roy