Effective April 1, 2008, applications for all passport services must be filled out online. Online filled application should be printed and can either be mailed or submitted in person to the Indian consulate in whose jurisdiction the applicant resides.

The Consulate is obligated to issue a Machine Readable Passport. Therefore, the download application form can not be used and the consulate can not send you the passport application form by fax or email.

Unlike earlier passports, new passports that are being issued nor do not carry "ECNR" endorsement because ECNR is included by default.

Indian Consulates in USA provide passport services only to the legal residents of the U.S. If your parents or other relatives are visiting the U.S. on a tourist visa on short term, the Consulate can not provide the passport services to them. Therefore, if their passport is due to expire during their visit, it is best to get it renewed in India itself before their visit.

• Complete an online application.
  
  Please look at the online application guide to get help to complete an online application.
  
  
• Print the online application. It has a total of four (4) pages. Page one and columns 5, 6, 8 and 10 on page 2 are already completed by an online application form. You will have to fill rest of the form (several columns on page 2, 3 and 4) by hand.
  
  Please note down and use the web file number generated on the application for corresponding with the Consulate. Whenever you correspond with the Consulate, make sure to mention the web file number and the full name of the applicant.
  
  Complete rest of the form in BLOCK letters and with black or blue ballpoint pen.
  
  
• Photographs:
  Actual number of of photographs required may vary depending upon the type of service you desire and the consulate you apply to.
  
  
• Signature/ Thumb Impression:
  • Sign in the box provided for signature on the first page to the left of the photograph.
    
    
  • Sign below column 26 (DECLARATION).
    
    
  • Sign in the boxes in Column 29 on page 4.
    
    
  • If you are applying for 'Passport for Children up to 15 years of age (minors)', both parents should complete entries in 'column 27 on page 3' and sign or affix thumb impression on page 4. Then get your signatures notarized.
    
    
  • If you cannot sign, you should affix your thumb impression (right thumb for female applicants and left thumb for male applicants) in the boxes provided for signature. You should either sign or affix thumb impression, but not both. If you are applying for a passport for your child and he/she can not sign, you should affix his/her thumb impression as you can not sign on behalf of your child.
    
    
• Documents:
  You need to send additional documents accordingly to the type of passport service you are applying:
  
  New Passport or Renewal of Passport
  Reissue Passport - All Pages Exhausted
  Extension of Short Validity Passport
  Duplicate Passport in lieu of Lost Passport
  Duplicate Passport-in lieu-Damaged Passport
  Emergency Travel Document
  Passport for Children up to 15 years of age
  Passport for child away from parent(s)
  Indian Passport-US-Born Child-Indian Parent
  Change of Name - Complete
  Change of Name - Splitting Name
  Change of Name - From Maiden to Married
  Addition of Spouse's Name
  Deletion of Spouse's Name
  Change of Date and Place of Birth
  Change of Appearance
  Change of Address
  Canceling Passport After Foreign Citizenship
  Tatkal Passport
  ECNR
  
  
  
• Fees:
  Depending upon the passport service desired, passport fee varies.
  Passport Fee
  
  
• Return Postage:
  Make sure to enclose return mail fee or stamped self-addressed USPS Express Mail envelope.
  
  
• Tatkal Service: (Optional)
  If Tatkal Service is required, follow the instructions given under Tatkal Service. Additional Tatkal Fee must be paid.
  
  
• Application in Person:
  Present the original print out of the completed application with all supporting documents at the Consulate on the date of appointment generated on the extreme right of page 1 of the application or any date thereafter.
  Exception: At the Consulate General of India in New York, you can come on any working day after following the date of online registration. At the Consulate General of India in Chicago, you can come any time after 2 days from the date of online registration.
  
  Make sure to check the Consulate timings before going.
  
  The application can be submitted in person either by the applicant or immediate family member of the applicant.
  
  The appointment date generated on the passport is meant to provide smooth and efficient services to the applicants. If you would like come before the appointment date, you will have to pay an extra fee of $150 for out of turn consideration.
  
  In case you realize that you have filled the online application forms incorrectly and/or can not keep the original appointment date for any reason, you don't have to cancel the appointment date. Just complete the online form again and come on the date generated on the new form.
  
  
• Application by Mail:
  Send the application irrespective of the date of appointment generated on the application. You can send the application and the documents as soon as possible.
  
  Mail the application to the 'Passport Cell' of the appropriate Indian Consulate.
  
  The Consulate does not have a mechanism to acknowledge applications received by mail. You should therefore send the applications by trackable means such as certified mail with return receipt, express mail or private courier. The Consulate is not responsible for documents lost in mail or misplaced by Travel Agent/Third Party.
  
  Whether you send the application by regular mail, certified mail, express mail, FedEx, UPS or any other way, all the applications are treated equally.
  
  
• Application Tips:
  
  • Application forms should be completed in all aspects before submitting. Misrepresentation or suppression of facts may result in denial of Passport or other Consular services.
    
    
  • Make sure that no column is left blank or unfilled/unresponded to or vaguely filled with a dash, tick-mark etc.
    
    
  • All signatures in the application form should be with ballpoint pen as signatures in ink or feather tip pen are likely to smudge while laminating. Please ensure that the specimen signature are within the box provided in the application form.

• Even if the applicant meets all the laid down requirements for obtaining a particular service, the Consular Officer reserves the right to demand any necessary additional and original documents at any stage of processing. The documents demanded by the Consular Officer should be presented by the applicant for scrutiny and satisfaction of the Consular Officer before the service is rendered.
  
  
• The processing timings are indicative and can vary from time to time.
  
  
• The processing time does not apply to services where prior approval has to be obtained from authorities in India or elsewhere. For such cases, the processing time is a minimum of thirty (30) business days.
  
  
• The Consular Officer can at any time call an applicant for a personal interview.
  
  
• Applicants are advised to refrain from making telephonic or written enquiries of status of their applications during the normal processing time.
  
  
• The Consulate will return applications that:
  • are incomplete or not correctly completed; and/or
    
    
  • lack supporting documents; and/or
    
    
  • have been mailed with inadequate fee; and/or
    
    
  • have other deficiencies
    
    
  When the Consulate returns such applications, they would utilize the return postage/envelope supplied with the application that was originally meant to send back the completed application/documents.
  
  
• When you get a new passport, your old passport will be cancelled and returned to you. Any visas in the old passport are still valid until the date of expiry. You would need to carry both the passports to travel using the visa in the old passport.
  
  

Processing times vary from one Consulate to another. When the application is sent by mail, the processing time does not include the mail time, and the application will only be processed after the appointment date. Processing times below do not include the date the application is received by the Consulate.

Normal Processing Time:
  Embassy of India, Washington DC - 4 to 7 working days
  Consulate General of India, San Francisco - 10 working days
  Consulate General of India, Houston - In person - 7 working days, By mail - 20 working days + mail time
  Consulate General of India, New York - 4 to 7 working days
  Consulate General of India, Chicago - In person - 5 to 7 working days, By mail - 15 to 20 working days + mail time


Lost/Damaged Passport:
  Embassy of India, Washington DC - 30 working days
  Consulate General of India, San Francisco - 30 working days
  Consulate General of India, Houston - 30 working days
  Consulate General of India, New York - 30 working days
  Consulate General of India, Chicago - Up to 45 days


The processing time indicated above does not apply to cases where references have to be initiated; and in a case where the passport has not been renewed for more than six months after the date of expiry.

If the prior approval is required from authorities in India or any other Passport Issuing Authority other than the office where the application is made, the processing time would be in weeks or even months.