US Citizens: Get your India Business visa with the TDS Houston Office

Please send TDS your current valid and signed passport. It must not expire within 6 months and must have at least two blank side by side visa pages. Foreign Embassies cannot issue a visa on a page not labeled as a Visa page. Ammendment and Endorsement pages in the back of the passport cannot be used for issuance of a visa.
A visa cannot be stamped on a page even if only one Small Stamp is on the visa page. If you do not have at least two blank visa side by side pages in your passport, TDS can assist you in applying for additional pages. If your passport expires within 6 months, you must renew your passport and then we will secure your visa with the new passport.

Please send 2 recent professional passport-type photographs.
Digital and non-passport photographs are not acceptable.
No eye glasses are to be worn for passport photo.
Passport Photo Guide - Click Here

Proof of residential address in the United States:

Please submit a clear copy of applicant's Driver’s License.
Major Utility Bill (Water, Gas, Electric. Sewage).
Copy of a valid / current lease containing both the landlord and tenant signatures.

One of the items above must be submitted as proof of residence in the Embassy's area of jurisdiction, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas.

The address on the document cannot include a P.O. Box and Must Match "present address" on the visa application form. The Present Address will be used as the return shipping address by the Indian Embassy.

The following items are NOT accepted as proof of residence: Cell Phone Bill, Phone Bill (landline), Credit Card Statement, Bank Statement, Cable Bill.

Photocopy of a Birth Certificate is not required, however the embassy reserves the right to ask for a copy of the applicants Birth Certificate at any time.

Indian Born US Citizen: Those born in India can use their birth certificate, old Indian passport or school leaving certificate. (Do not send original)

A business letter of responsibility is required, to be typewritten on your company letterhead and addressed to:

Consulate General of India, Visa Section, Houston TX
The letter must explain all of the following:
Nature of business to be performed
Name and address of reference to be visited
The letter should be signed by an officer of the company other than the applicant.

The business letter must also state the validity of visa applied for (1 Year, 5 Year or 10 Year) and indicate who will be financially responsible for the applicant.

Note: It is recommended to submit the original business letter, a copy is acceptable in most cases although the consulate reserves the right to ask for the original at any time.

Note: The Indian government offers the option to apply for a 10 year multiple entry visa, however the majority of applicants will only recieve a 5 year visa. The embassy will make a decision as to the validity of the visa issued on a case by case basis.  

Official Invitation Letter:
A letter of invitation from sponsor (either host company or individual) explaining the relationship to the applicant and the purpose of travel. In addition, the letter must indicate the length of stay, place of stay, and contact information and MUST be addressed to the Houston Consulate General of India. The invitation must also confirm the validity of visa applied for (1 Year, 5 Year or 10 Year).

The Invitation Letter from the company in India MUST include the following statement:

(Write name of applicant) will not receive any form of remuneration from any sources in India and will remain an employee of (write U.S. company name) in the USA. (Write the name of applicant) will not engage in any activities in India other than the stated purpose of the visit.

The Business Letter of responsibility (above) and Letter of Invitation must clearly state the validity of the visa you wish to apply for ( 1 Year, 5 Years or 10 Years ) and the visa application form (below) must match the stated validity in these two letters.
If these three items DO NOT match your application will be rejected by the Indian Consulate.

Note: It is recommended to submit the original business letter and invitation letter, a copy is acceptable in most cases although the consulate reserves the right to ask for the original at any time.

Note: The Indian government offers the option to apply for a 10 year multiple entry visa, however the majority of applicants will only recieve a 5 year visa. The embassy will make a decision as to the validity of the visa issued on a case by case basis.

It is mandatory to provide a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation from the host company in India in addition to the Letter of Invitation (above).

A sample of the certificate can be viewed here:  Sample

Please note this is a new mandatory requirement as of May 21st 2014. 

All applicants MUST complete and sign one Additional Particulars Form.

Click Here for a guide to completing the Online Indian Application.
TDS strongly recommends printing this guide and refer to it as you fill in the Online Application.

Please complete the Indian Governments online application form. (Note you are not applying online, only completing the application). When you have completed the application please print and sign before sending to TDS along with supporting documents.

Note: The application must be printed on TWO sheets of paper, the Embassy/Consulate will NOT except applications on a single sheet of paper back to back.

Note: The Indian government offers the option to apply for a 10 year multiple entry visa, however the majority of applicants will only recieve a 5 year visa. The embassy will make a decision as to the validity of the visa issued on a case by case basis.

All Journalist applicants MUST complete the Journalist Undertaking Letter.

Pilots and Crew members of all Chartered, Private jets, Cargo, Demonstration and Trainers Flights are in the category of unscheduled airlines and are treated as Reference cases needing prior clearance from competent authorities in India. The minimum time required for processing such visa applications is 5 weeks. No visa will be issued without mandatory clearance. The following additional forms are required:
1) The landing permit issued to the airline or cargo operator by the DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation) in India.
2) Copy of the A999 (Air Operators Certificate) issued by the FAA.
3) A copy of the ICAO issued by the FAA.
4) A Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Government of India to the company's India office.
When completing an application for a flight crew business visa the specific job title must be on the application "crew member" is not an acceptable occupation. Please specifically designate Pilot or Flight Attendant in occupation.

Persons of Indian origin are required to surrender Indian citizenship. Those who have already renounced Indian citizenship must provide a copy of a renunciation certificate AND naturalization certificate. Persons of Indian origin who have NOT renounced Indian citizenship or CANNOT SHOW PROOF of renunciation must first apply for renunciation directly through CKGS: https://www.in.ckgs.us/renunciation/
CKGS does not accept renunciation applications from travel agencies, visa services or other third parties.

Please Note: U.S Citizens who require a reference have a minimum processing time of one to two weeks and some cases may take longer.