SILICONEER | COMMUNITY: New Visa Rules: SF's Indian Consulate General at Town Hall Meeting | OCTOBER 2010

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New Visa Rules: SF's Indian Consulate General at Town Hall Meeting

San Francisco’s Consulate General of India and the Sunnyvale Temple board held a public meeting to discuss the new visa regulations for traveling to India. A Siliconeer report.

(Above): Seen at the town hall meeting at Sunnyvale Hindu Temple, Sept. 14, are (l-r): Sunnyvale Temple’s Surajit Sengupta, Deputy Consul General of India in San Francisco Kumar Tuhin, Consul General of India in San Francisco Susmita G. Thomas, Consul for Community Affairs Ashok Sinha, and Sunnyvale Temple’s Raj Bhanot. [Photo: SILICONEER]

The government of India recently made a lot of changes in visa regulations for visiting India. These changes have created a lot of confusion amongst those seeking to get a visa to visit India, whether as a tourist or on business.

The Consul General of India in San Francisco, Susmita G. Thomas and her team of officers met with the local resident expatriate community at the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple to address these new regulations, Sept. 14. The meeting was organized by the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple board.

After offering prayers at the temple, Consul General Thomas addressed a packed audience at the Sunnyvale Temple auditorium. She spoke about the new visa rules, explaining the changes and how one could work towards meeting those regulations.

The keynote was translated in Punjabi as well and was followed by a Q&A session. The audience had the opportunity to ask questions, present their case and exchange thoughts on their experiences with the activities of the Consulate office in San Francisco.

(Above): Consul General Thomas offers prayers at Sunnyvale Hindu Temple, Sept. 14, flocked by members of the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple board. [Photo: SILICONEER]

The event was well coordinated by the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple board and a lot of quality information was readily available for the attendees. Security was strong and vigilant for any rude behaviour from the crowd. People were allowed to ask question specific to their applications to get the first-hand information on how to go about when applying for an Indian visa.

It was an eye-opener for many as people shared their experiences with the Consulate team. Some of the issues included documentation problems, unclear intsructions, asylum case delays, and special needs.

The Consulate team answered most of the questions patiently and efficiently. Readers can find more details on the new visa rules and forms at the San Francisco Consulate General of India’s Web site at www.cgisf.org.

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