How to Apply for an India Visa in San Francisco

San Francisco, known as the “City by the Bay”, is one of America’s most famous and beautiful cities.  Located in Northern California, San Francisco is just one of the many cities that together make up the San Francisco Bay Area, or Bay Area for short.  The 14-county combined statistical area (that comprises the Bay Area) has nearly 10 million people, making it the fifth-most populous region in the United States.  The Bay Area includes cities such as Oakland, Berkeley, Vallejo, Concord, Pleasanton, San Jose, San Mateo, and Palo Alto.  San Francisco is well known for its cultural diversity and large Asian population, including about 300,000 people with ethnic heritage from India, ranking the Bay Area as the second-largest Indian American population in the U.S.  Although Indians have lived in the Bay Area for many years—some coming through Angel Island in the 19th century to work in agriculture—most are recent arrivals that have come here the past few decades to work in information technology.  Cities like Fremont, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and Cupertino have a large concentration of Indians.  These cities have Hindu temples, Indian grocery stores, and restaurants.  There are even theaters that feature movies in Indian languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bangla.

India is the second most populous country in the world and has a population approaching 1.4 billion people.  There are 122 major languages spoken in India, including 23 official languages, with Hindi and English being the most widely spoken.  India is one of the most diverse countries in the world with regard to culture, religion, land, wildlife, and climate.  From the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the tropical beaches of Goa, this is a country with endless possibilities.  It is also one of the oldest civilizations on the planet and draws legions of Bay Area tourists each year to its 32 cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the Taj Mahal and Ellora and Ajanta Caves.  With such an ancient history and unique culture, India has long been a fascination for San Franciscans interested in spirituality and Eastern philosophy.  Now that India has made upgrades to its tourist facilities and infrastructure in recent years, the country is easily within reach for most American visitors; there are even direct flights to Delhi from San Francisco on Air India.  India’s economy has been developing fast and some of the country’s best minds are the driving force behind many American tech companies, including Alphabet (parent company of Google), Twitter, and Adobe, who all have Indian American CEOs.

Obtaining an India Visa from San Francisco

Traditional sticker visas for India (the visas that are placed in one of the pages of your passport) are issued by the Indian government in the United States.  The government of India is represented by their embassy located in Washington, D.C. along with five consulates in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco. 

To apply for a traditional India visa sticker from San Francisco or anywhere in Northern California, you will fill out the visa application and mail your original passport and supporting documents to the VFS Global office in San Francisco (VFS Global is the Indian government’s contractor that manages visa services).  VFS Global will examine your documents and get the application submitted to the consulate office in San Francisco for final approval of the visa.  Please review their website for more information: https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/apply-visa

Visas are also issued electronically by the Bureau of Immigration in India.  To apply for the electronic visa from San Francisco, applicants will compete the application online and pay the government fee using a credit card.  Here is the website to apply for the electronic visa: India Visa Online (indianvisaonline.gov.in)

Other things to consider:

  • Tourist visas issued before October 6, 2021 cannot be used for travel to India, however, tourists can easily apply for an electronic visa or a new traditional visa sticker as explained above.  Please review this link for more information regarding India tourist visas: https://www.indianembassyusa.gov.in/extra?id=87
  • Please refer to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website for information regarding the latest guidelines regarding travel to India during COVID-19: MoHFW | Home
  • Applicants applying for the traditional paper visa must provide a driver’s license, state-issued ID card, lease agreement, mortgage deed, or utility bill (water, gas, electric) to prove they live within the jurisdiction of the consulate in San Francisco, which includes the state of California along with Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and U.S. territory of Guam.  The address listed on the paper application must match the address that shows proof of residence within the consulate’s jurisdiction. 
  • Applicants born in India who are applying for the traditional India visa sticker with their American passports must first renounce their Indian citizenship and provide a certificate of renunciation or a cancelled Indian passport that has an endorsement showing foreign nationality was acquired.  The certificate of renunciation can be obtained through VFS Global following the instructions on this link: https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/apply-for-renunciation
  • Children under 18 years old require consent from both parents to obtain a visa and must provide a notarized parental authorization form, along with their birth certificate and copies of both parents’ identification and proof of status in the United States (for non-U.S. citizens).
  • For tips on how to complete the application for the paper visa, please consult the Visa Supply website for your visa category.  Here is the link to the tourist visa: India Tourist Visa : visasupply.com, then click on the “How to fill out the India visa application” button. 
  • It is recommended to purchase travel insurance before any international trip in case of medical emergencies.  We advise getting the Geo Blue Voyager Single Trip Plan.

Emergency Assistance for Citizens of India in San Francisco

If you are a citizen of India living in the San Francisco Bay Area with an emergency or require urgent assistance, you can reach the consulate in San Francisco by calling 415-483-6629 (using phone, text, or WhatsApp).  The consulate’s telephone number for non-emergency inquiries is 415-668-0662 or 415-668-0683.  Here is the link for the full list of contact information that includes email addresses for inquiries regarding visas, passports, citizenship renunciation services, PIO, and OCI cards: https://www.cgisf.gov.in/page/contact-us/

If you need to renew your Indian passport, you can renew by mail following the instructions on this link: https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/apply-passport

We Can Help if You Need Assistance

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area or anywhere in Northern California and have difficulty applying for an India visa or require assistance with any part of the visa process, please give our office a call at 404-682-5445 or schedule an appointment with our company.  We are a private agency in Atlanta providing India visa services for Americans and other U.S.-based residents.  Our number one goal is to ensure your application documents for a visa are submitted accurately to the Indian government.  Our services eliminate delays and give you the peace of mind to focus on your travel plans. 

We provide the following India visa services for our customers in San Francisco:

  • India Tourist Visa
  • India Tourist e-Visa
  • India Business Visa
  • India Business e-Visa
  • India Conference Visa
  • India Conference e-Visa
  • India Student Visa
  • India Work Visa
  • India Journalist Visa
  • India Volunteer Visa
  • India Medical Treatment Visa
  • India Hotel Accommodations