Pakistan born US Citizen applied for Indian Business Visa

FaisalAnsari

New Member
Greetings,

I am a Pakistani born naturalized US citizen, living in Atlanta. My US based employer has asked me to visit India to conduct some business meetings. So I visited Consulate General of India in Houston on Jan 11, 2007, applied in person with all required documentation. Lady at the counter accepted the application and informed me that it may take 2-3 weeks to process.

However, I have heard from other sources (including IBT, a concierge firm that arranges for visas on behalf of applicants) that Indian Consulate takes an average of 3-6 months to process an application. In one case, a visa application has been pending for over 9 months. This is only applicable to Pakistani born US citizens.

My concern is that the timing of my trip is critical to the business. So I seek answers to the following questions:

1 - Can I do anything to expedite the process?
2 - What prompts a visa processing to take such a long time?
3 - Does working with an offshore provider in India gives the application any preferred status as we are effectively outsourcing our entire helpdesk to India, and that is a good thing for the Indian economy?

Any help is appreciated. If someone has gone through a similar process, can you please share your experiences, and how long it took you to obtain a visa?

Thanks very much,
Faisal
 
You can ask your employer(both in US and indian side of company) to contact Indian Consulate directly to give validity of your request.As you are aware, India and Pakistan have long history of hostility so governments from both sides are wary of granting visas.
That said, make sure that you get multiple city visa, or if your visa has a city name to it, you can not venture outside that city.Both countries(India and Pak) enforce this strictly.
If your company is offshoring to big 5-Infosys/Satyam/Wipro/TCS/Patni then it would greatly help if some one from their HR contacts Indian consulate.
(I am an Indian national so really not familiar with indian visa system)
 
Hey, You cant don any thin. They refused my wife's visa.I am Indian and married to a british born Pakigstani origin. Since I am from Kashmir and Muslim they refused her visa. The problem here is that you are Muslim. It purely is a discrimination. I had to use political infulance to get my wife's visa.

When I was there in the Indian consulate there was an american lady who was married to American Pakistan born, they also refused her husband's visa.

But it happens same when Indian go to Pakistani consulate..... :)
Good Luck Dude..
 
FaisalAnsari,
There is no discrimination as you are Muslim.(India is home to more Muslims than Pakistan :) )
It is purely because of national identity and security concerns.
Indian nationals who are from Kashmir have to also undergo rigourous background check/police verification to separate honest citizens from terrorists.
Other indian nationals from UP,Bihar,West Bengal,Gujarat,Maharashtra etc, even if they are Muslims don't have to undergo those stringent checks.

Ask your parent company to directly contact Indian consulate and I am sure, your visa can be granted.If it is only to Bangalore , then shouldn't be a problem.(But if you want to include Kashmir,Hyderabad,Delhi in your itinerary then it can create a issue)
Good Luck!.
 
Update

Here's an update:

- Calling them does not get me anywhere as they do not answer their phones.
- Only spoke with the receptionist, left with her two messages so far. Sent email as well.
- Cant record a voicemail for the visa dept, their voicemail box has been full since who knows when.
- Here's an issue; I need to travel to Canada, but can't, they got my passport. Any suggestions?
- I believe the reason for delay is due to my country of birth, not religion.
- I will get my employer to send them a letter asking for update, doesn't hurt to get this process started.
- Worst case, I'll just show up at the counter and ask for a status update, let my employer pay for my trip, no problem.
Any suggestions or comments are welcome. Thanks
 
no racisam

hey bro ther is no discrimination at all..INIDAS predisent is muslim somany other big ppl in india is muclim ..indias cricket captain was muslim... NAD ONE MORE BIG FACT INDIA HAVE MORE MUCLIM THAN WHOLE ARAB COUNTRY MORE THAN ALL THE ARAB COUNTRIES DO U UNDERSATDN THAT FACT,,,,,,U STILL WANA SAY THAT ITS LIKE THAT INDIA IS HOMEW FOR ALL CULTURES ..I MEAN ..ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
ONLY THING MATTER IS IN INIA IS POLITICS.....THATS ONLY POLITICS....SO DONT BE LIKE THAT FOR INDIA OR PAKISTAN.......ITS NOT RACISAM OR DISCRMINATION IT IS ...100% AND PURE POWER AND POLITICS
 
Got the visa

Just a quick update for those interested; I received my passport via Fedex today. Visa is stamped, and I'm ready to go. :cool:

So it took a total of 2 weeks and a day for the entire process.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions

:D
 
Faisal,
You are lucky. The Indian consulate in Chicago took 22 months to issue me a visit visa. Mind you, I was not going to India for business. I wanted to visit Ajmer to pray for a child :)
The wait was worth it however. My wife and I had a real nice time in India.
 
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Reading all the posts here.I am in same boat as you all.I had to wait 6months frist time when I applied for wife.But after than they would give me a visa same day valid for year.They seriously need to address this issue.I will be going to embassy tomorrow to check on my sister's passport. I will try to talk to head hanco and gets some internal scoop on this deal.Will keep you posted.
 
Both countries need to shun this culture of paranoia and mistrust. Pakistan does the same. India born US/Canadian/British passport holders also have to be cleared by ISI first before any Pakistani embassy/consulate can issue them a visa. Both countries have work to do if they are serious about increasing person to person contact.
 
Pakistani born Dubai resident visited India: multiple cities on visitor visa)

I have a friend, Pakistani born Dubai resident visited India and multiple cities too on visitor visa. He visited Rajasthan state mainly.

I have a long time desire. One day, I will visit Pakistan. Multiple cities. Lahore, Karachi for sure. Any tips to get visa?

I am India born US citizen and non-muslim :(
 
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