Indian paperwork from the United States
Nine Indian missions now cover the United States, not six. Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle were added in July 2025, and eight more VFS application centres opened that August, bringing the total to seventeen. Guides written before then send people to the wrong place.
Below is what each service costs, itemised, and how long each one really takes.
Services
Passport renewal
$146 all in for a 36 page adult re-issue
OCI card
$297 for a new registration
OCI re-issue rules
Once at 20, and not again at 50
Surrender certificate
The gate before any OCI application
Police clearance
Which one immigration accepts
PAN card
Form 93 and Form 95 replaced 49A
The most common case, itemised
Passport re-issue, 36 pages, normal
| Government fee | $125 |
| Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) | $2 |
| VFS Global service fee Reported as $15.90 by the Washington DC centre — the two figures genuinely disagree. | $19 |
| Total you pay the government and VFS | $146 |
Add 3.75% if you pay by card. Checked 2026-08-19 against the official fee schedule.
How long things take
| Service | Officially | Reported |
|---|---|---|
| Passport re-issue, normal | 3 to 4 weeks | 4 to 6 weeks, longer if police verification is triggered |
| Passport re-issue, Tatkaal | 3 to 5 working days | 8 to 10 business days |
| OCI, new registration | about 1 month | 5 to 8 weeks, because the file goes to the Ministry in India |
| OCI re-issue / miscellaneous | about 1 month | 4 to 6 weeks |
Every official timeline starts when your file reaches the mission, not when you post it. No government page tells you that, and it is why so many people believe they are late.
Get it done quicklyPrepared the same day you send it.