sarahmaria said:
1. If he sends his passport by courier he will be in Qatar without a passport and means to leave the country
If this happens, he would need to get a travel document from the Indian Mission.
sarahmaria said:
2. We don't know if they'll take days, weeks, or months to get his passport back.
Are they requiring his passport, or requesting it? If they are requiring it, then he will have to submit it. I've read that it can either be carried by someone on his behalf or if he sends the request from CHC to the Indian governmental agency responsible for passports he can get a letter that allows him to use a courier service.
sarahmaria said:
3. India has strict rules about mailing passports across borders.
Yes they do, but apparently there's some question about whether or not a courier constitutes "mailing". Supposedly with an appropriate letter you can get a courier to accept the passport. Some people also just put it in a courier envelope and mark it as "documents" or "visas" or something vague. But the strict safest thing is for him to either go to India while they issue the visa OR to send his passport along with someone trusted (and an authorization letter). I'd also cover it with a letter explaining the situation and requesting rapid return of the passport. That may not matter to them, but it can't hurt either.
sarahmaria said:
4. He doesn't have the time or means to quit his job in the next few weeks and go sit in Delhi for an unknown amount of time waiting for his passport.
This will likely sound harsh, but CIC doesn't care about his convenience.
sarahmaria said:
- How long is the processing time once you've submitted your application in person in Delhi?
Most people seem to get it back within 6-9 months. If it is submitted EARLY (like when they request it not when they demand it) that's pretty common. I've never seen anyone report on the time when they wait until the demand for it.
sarahmaria said:
- Can you recommend any workarounds to this issue?
Check the NDVO threads. Folks there may have more information and ideas.
Finally, I should warn you that with the foreign service workers labour action all bets are off for processing times.