Good news for Indians in US: 8 new consular centres open for easier visa and passport access; check details

India has opened eight new consular centres across the U.S., significantly expanding the delivery footprint for visa, passport and other services and streamlining them to make them more accessible and efficient for the Indian diaspora in the country.  India’s Ambassador to the U.S. Vinay Kwatra on Friday (August 1, 2025) virtually inaugurated the new Indian Consular Application Centres (ICAC) in Boston, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Edison, Orlando, Raleigh and San Jose. An additional ICAC will soon open in Los Angeles. 

Starting August 1, 2025, all consular services, including passport, visa, OCI, surrender certificate, life certificate, birth/marriage certificate, police clearance, attestations, and more, will be provided exclusively through VFS Global Centres. The expansion brings the total number of ICACs across the U.S. to 17, making consular services more accessible to Indian and American citizens in the country. 

New Indian Consular Application Centres in the US

Mr. Kwatra described this as a “very significant” expansion of the consular services delivery footprint offered by the Embassy of India across the United States, which is home to a nearly five million-strong Indian diaspora. Mr. Kwatra said that the expansion underscores Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s deep regard for the Indian diaspora, which the Indian leader has described as the “strongest brand ambassador of India” and is at the heart of a strong India-U.S. partnership that is manifested through people-to-people ties between the two societies. 

“We are confident that these centres will play a crucial role in fostering and continuing a strong relationship with our diaspora, but at the same time also empower our diaspora to engage more deeply between our two countries,” Mr. Kwatra said. He added that the diaspora plays a significant and crucial role in strengthening and contributing to the India-U.S. relationship. Highlighting the “very strong political engagement between the two countries” in recent months, Mr. Kwatra noted PM Modi’s visit to Washington in February, visits by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, as well as the visit by US Vice President J D Vance and his family to India in April. 

Mr. Kwatra said these visits have "really deepened not just the discussions, but also the scope and the depth of our partnership.”  “It is my belief, as has also been stated by the Prime Minister, that you are a living bridge between our two societies, two countries. You contribute to the development and enrichment of this relationship, as also of the two countries. And I hope that you will continue to play this important and irreplaceable role,” he said. 

India’s Consul General in New York, Binaya Pradhan, attended the special inauguration ceremony at the Indian Consular Application Centre in Edison that was attended by Edison Mayor Sam Joshi as well as prominent members of the Indian-American community.  Mr. Kwatra inaugurated the centres and addressed the diaspora who also joined virtually from across the new centres that have been opened. 

Embassy of India aims to enhance operational accessibility

In addition to the new centres, the Embassy of India is enhancing operational accessibility and service deliveries effective immediately. As part of this, all 17 ICACs will operate six days a week, including Saturdays, offering flexibility for applicants to access these consular services without causing disruption to their work schedule during weekdays. To further streamline access, a number of miscellaneous consular and attestation services will be provided through the application centres. 

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, about 5.4 million people of Indian origin reside in the US, making them the third-largest Asian ethnic group in the country. The Indian diaspora has played a key role in cementing closer ties between India and the United States.

(With inputs from syndicate feed)