Indian Consulate Services

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kjp7075

New Member
Hello,

I would like people to know that Indian Consulate Services are the worse in the world. You tried to call any consulate Services you do not get any answers. They don't even pick up their phones. Speciall with Washington DC service. They have no respect for their own kind people. They talk with attitude. You can't even complaint to anyone. Noone listens to you there. How come our consulate services are not like american consulate service. We need to raise our voice against this kind of service. we really need improve in services. I feel like taking this matter to media. P
 
kjp7075 said:
Hello,

I would like people to know that Indian Consulate Services are the worse in the world. You tried to call any consulate Services you do not get any answers. They don't even pick up their phones. Speciall with Washington DC service. They have no respect for their own kind people. They talk with attitude. You can't even complaint to anyone. Noone listens to you there. How come our consulate services are not like american consulate service. We need to raise our voice against this kind of service. we really need improve in services. I feel like taking this matter to media. P
Click to expand...

Courtesy, respect for fellow countrymen, these are alien concepts to us Indians, especially GOI employees. You should size your expectations when dealing with our kind :)
 
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It definetly is a cultural thing but that shoudn't be an excuse. They need to be called out on their horrible service.
 
I will respectfully disagree. I've had the best service both in San Francisco and New York from the Consulate folks. While I was an Indian citizen, passport renewals were turned around the same day. As a US citizen, I got a visa in a few hours. The OCI process was fast (NY) and smooth.

Yes, the consulate was crowded, but so are many other consulates. If you talk to the officer politely, they return the favor. I did notice them being difficult with a couple of people, but that was because those folks were being rude and obnoxious themselves - as though the officers were their minions (the same Indians would not talk to USCIS officers the same way).

Don't mean to get into an argument with anyone :), but just to say that I've had a completely different experience and I personally think they rock!
 
Thanks for letting others know about your positive experiences. As with many forums, bad experiences are amplified (one of the main reasons for coming to the forum is cause of some delay/trouble somewhere), and favourable experiences are forgotten.
 
My dad sent his passport to Washington DC for renewal. We waited like two months for it but we did not get any answer from them. So We started calling them. We tried about 2 weeks in a row but noone ever picked it up. Finally ,someone picked up the phone and we told him about the passport.We also told them that we have purchased the ticket to go to india. The passport officer replied with an attitude saying did you ask us before you purchase the ticket and hung up. Then we sent bunch of email and finally got in touch with Head of chancery Alok pandey. He inquired about this and someone from passport office, called us and said that we didn't send the return money so we have to go in person and pick it up. I don't understand what kind of service is this? Firstval, once they received the application , they should check every document and see if there is anything missing. IF there is something missing they should notify via mail,email or call. but they didn't do any of this. So my dad went in person and pick up his passport. I am telling you it is so much trouble with indian consulate services. I am not the only one saying , i can prove it with so many other people who had more worse experience than we did..
 
My experience with the folks at Indian Consulates worldwide has been great. They are overcrowded and to my experience everyone steps into the consulate and demands everything done right away. As long you understand that and be courteous it works to your advantage.

I had this great experience in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I went to the Consulate of Argentina for a tourist visa. They wanted a no objection letter from the Indian Embassy before they could issue a visa. I went to the Indian Consulate and explained what I wanted. The Officer personally typed out the letter right away and asked me to proof it to make sure that it was adequate. I was so happy and was thanking him profusely for the help, he just shook his head and said "Thats why we are here. To help you when you need assistance".

I admit I was a bit sceptical about Indian Consulates, but there have been more than one occassion that they have come through.
 
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My experiece with Indian Consulates has been great. I have applied for a brand new passport. I did my wife's name change etc through CHcago CG. I hope my OCI experience is similar.


I have a feeling that OCI has complicated the processing times. In this country there could be 1.5mill PIOs living and we could see most of them apply for OCI because for $275 you get a life long visa and indefinite stay if wanted.
 
We cannot judge Indian Consulates using US standards.

We have 1.3 billion people and we are financially still behind US. But all this is changing except that to catch up with US will take a long time.

So be patient, and approach staff with respect, the same amount of respect that you expect from them.

I am amazed that the volume of work they can do.
 
Great Experience - Kudos to Indian Consulate

I have seen nothing but good service from the Chicago Indian Consulate. Those guys are awesome - in the past my Indian passport renewal was done in 3 weeks (mail) without any issues, my child's visa was done in 3 business days (by mail), and very recently our OCI was done in a total of less than 2 months.

Each time I made sure that I submitted all the documents and when I went to pick up the OCI I was polite and respectful. When I sent an email to them with questions about OCI pickup I got an answer within a few hours.

Sure - their service is not as sophisticated as the service from US government offices, and certainly the instructions, website and phone service are not great. But remember guys - US is the richest country in the world and it is not fair to compare a developing country like ours against the US which has FAR greater resources than we do.
Note than even with all its resources, the US govt. takes 6 months to approve a citizenship application and 6-8 weeks to issue a passport - we are not that bad when you look at these numbers.
And for any of you who has the "pleasure" of going to the US Embassy in Chennai for a visa you know how truly bad their service is and how LONG it takes just to get an appointment to get a visa at that embassy..
 
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