Not sure -- this is going back 5+ years, but I recall it was -- at the time -- something in the neighborhood of $5000 to sponsor visitors from Romania (one of the countries that contributed most to the illegal immigration problem). That was then, however; I don't know the status nowadays. I also doubt it applies to Indians -- I just brought it up in case it did.

You mentioned he's got a good job at GM. Proof of this would be helpful (just for comparison, the US require such proof of Israelis who request tourist visas for the same reasons - to filter potential illegal immigrants and other factors).

I also DO certainly suspect that the Indian visa issuing procedures are quite efficient. While these things were just getting underway when I left Israel, Israeli companies have a LOT of close relationships with Indian companies. I suspect there is a lot of business travel between the two countries and, therefore, a streamlined process. Just had a thought: Does his GM office have a travel dept that could request the visa? Having the request come from a reliable and reputable source could circumvent any *potential* hassles and requests for extra paperwork, etc. (Not that there's any guarantee that such hassles will happen! Just why not avoid them if he can...)