Consul General S M Gavai presented the OCI cards at a special ceremony at the consulate.
For Arulmani Periaswamy, who was the first to receive the OCI status, and perhaps the first one in the entire US, along with his family, it was the most "fulfilling moment" of his life.
"I looked forward to retain my Indian passport and now I am glad that my family is the holder of the OCI card which will strengthen the ties of my children, who were born in the US ," said Periaswamy, who immigrated as a student in 1989 from Tamil Nadu.
"Now we can travel, invest, live and work in India as long as we wish without worrying about visa expiry", said another recipient.
The Consul General, while presenting the OCI cards to the first batch of 37 Indian families living in Houston, said the response to the dual citizenship scheme from the community was overwhelming.
"We are processing the applicants without any delay and hope that the applicants would get the documents soon," he said.
