Originally Posted by
ExpAAt05
I'll disagree with this statement, at least in the US. Since the Indian consulate outsourced the visa service to a private company, it's actually very easy. You go online, enter all your info, get an appointment and pay by credit card. On the morning of the appointment you bring in the docs (the queues are relatively short), and come back any afternoon to pick it up, also with no queues. US citizens can pick up same afternoon, others usually 1-3 days. I believe it can also be done by mail.
Well, the above being 'very easy' does depend firstly on you being able to take the day off work easily, and secondly, on actually living in or near a city where there is an Indian Visa processing centre (which I think a lot of people don't).
It is also surprising how many people seem to get turned away and have return another time because they have inadvertently brought the wrong/insufficient paperwork or made some other error in their paperwork (their own fault though I guess).
I'll admit though, it does feel a bit like a walk in the park compared to how it used to be before they outsourced the process.
