YOUR India visa application experience with CKGS @USA
Nov 29, 2017, 2:09 pm
#286
Join Date: Dec 2002
Programs: UA MM, Hilton-Dia
Posts: 1,480
Would if helpful if you could share why an e-visa is not an option for you.
Update:
Decided to apply for e-visa. Received approval 30 hours later. Payment by cc presented 2 options. State Bank of India option - transaction failed. The 2nd payment option (can't remember name of payment processor) succeeded.
Last edited by tide; Dec 12, 2017 at 9:24 pm Reason: added decision
Dec 1, 2017, 3:58 am
#287
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: **ATL**/PHX/MIA/LAX/HKG
Programs: AA-EXP/DL-Diamond/UA-100K/Hyatt-Globalist/Hilton-Diamond/Marriott-Titanium - Many more....
Posts: 546
Relatively FAST and EASY
I am US Citizen with no SE Asian background.
Had a paper/sticker visa in old passport for tourism about 20 years ago one year mutli entry that was not utilized
Had 2 successful E Visas in 2017 (Each processed within 24 hrs.(Tourist)
Had 1 E Visa application denied in 2017 as only 2 allowed (Business)
Applied for Business Visa 1 year multi entry with all requested documentation on Tues Nov 28 as a walk in (Had an appt for Dec 4 but did not want to wait) at the CKGS office in Atlanta Ga at approx 9am. Received message on Thu Nov 30 that visa was ready for pick up at CKGS office between 4p-6p on Dec 1. 2 Business days for notification and 3 business days from start to finish.
Pretty darned efficient with no complaints. The one denied E Visa was due to my confusion and an error on my part.
If you can follow instructions it is pretty darned straightforward and was very quick. Which was good as I have a flight booked on Dec 6 so this was the best possible outcome.
Had a paper/sticker visa in old passport for tourism about 20 years ago one year mutli entry that was not utilized
Had 2 successful E Visas in 2017 (Each processed within 24 hrs.(Tourist)
Had 1 E Visa application denied in 2017 as only 2 allowed (Business)
Applied for Business Visa 1 year multi entry with all requested documentation on Tues Nov 28 as a walk in (Had an appt for Dec 4 but did not want to wait) at the CKGS office in Atlanta Ga at approx 9am. Received message on Thu Nov 30 that visa was ready for pick up at CKGS office between 4p-6p on Dec 1. 2 Business days for notification and 3 business days from start to finish.
Pretty darned efficient with no complaints. The one denied E Visa was due to my confusion and an error on my part.
If you can follow instructions it is pretty darned straightforward and was very quick. Which was good as I have a flight booked on Dec 6 so this was the best possible outcome.
Jan 13, 2018, 10:35 am
#288
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: DCA
Posts: 69
visa issues with ckgs
I am scheduled to travel to India next month, and back in early November I applied for a regular tourist visa through CKGS, thinking that it would be nice to have a longer, multiple entry visa. In late November there was a request for some additional information (primarily a form asking me to affirm I wouldn't preach while in India (???)), and then there was no activity. I finally decided to give up, get my passport back (due to other travel that is looming), and just apply for an e-visa, which I should have done in the first instance. A week ago I requested my passport back, and there has been no action on that request. I have called and emailed, but no one has any real information, they just say "wait a few more days." I am in a real quandary. Do I have any options? Have they lost my passport? Will going to their office in person increase the chance that I will get my passport back? I am in a position where I am going to have to try to get an emergency expedited replacement passport if I can't get it back. Any suggestions welcome!
Mar 2, 2018, 4:58 pm
#289
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 32
I am scheduled to travel to India next month, and back in early November I applied for a regular tourist visa through CKGS, thinking that it would be nice to have a longer, multiple entry visa. In late November there was a request for some additional information (primarily a form asking me to affirm I wouldn't preach while in India (???)), and then there was no activity. I finally decided to give up, get my passport back (due to other travel that is looming), and just apply for an e-visa, which I should have done in the first instance. A week ago I requested my passport back, and there has been no action on that request. I have called and emailed, but no one has any real information, they just say "wait a few more days." I am in a real quandary. Do I have any options? Have they lost my passport? Will going to their office in person increase the chance that I will get my passport back? I am in a position where I am going to have to try to get an emergency expedited replacement passport if I can't get it back. Any suggestions welcome!
between thats ('expedited replacement passport') my backup plan if they loose mine for some reason
Mar 2, 2018, 5:03 pm
#290
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 32
How many photos?
Couldn't find the information and didn't spend much time searching the web for the answer and just sent 1 attached photos to avoid them asking for it later. (they have mentioned to not send extra photos so adds to worries. hopefully they just shred it if they don't want the 2nd one)
Last edited by Billy001; Mar 2, 2018 at 5:04 pm Reason: missed a word don't - negating the meaning of sentence
Mar 2, 2018, 5:29 pm
#291
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 32
Fees
Just got my 10 year tourist visa in only three business days! Summary and timeline below for data point purposes.
Total price was $140-ish. Card was charged 3 times for different services - visa $124.20, biometrics $1.04, shipping $15.53. There's a fee for CC payments which explains the difference between quoted prices online. Biometrics is a SF office only thing for now. I asked if I could just go pick up my passport in person when ready, they said no so had to pay for shipping too.
No Indian/South Asian heritage & US citizen.
Total price was $140-ish. Card was charged 3 times for different services - visa $124.20, biometrics $1.04, shipping $15.53. There's a fee for CC payments which explains the difference between quoted prices online. Biometrics is a SF office only thing for now. I asked if I could just go pick up my passport in person when ready, they said no so had to pay for shipping too.
No Indian/South Asian heritage & US citizen.
Apr 27, 2018, 9:44 pm
#292
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 32
Processing Timeline info for reference
Additional info on the processing -
Avoid paying fees until you are fully ready with everything (at least in the scenario where you are availing their shipping services). Since once payment is processed they provide the FedEx shipping label and indicate it’s validity to be 15 days. If you don’t get ready with everything (photo, notary etc.) in that timeframe, no idea how they process subsequently (whether they reissue new shipping label free of cost OR your shipping fees go waste and you pay again OR you have to manage on your own even though on application it’s indicated using their shipping services...No information on this scenario on their website)
Processing - After submission it was fairly hassle free and speed-wise reasonable experience (1 week - gone are days of visa processing in 1 or 2-3 days, across most countries).
Timeline (10 days from shipping, including 2 weekends/5-7 business days)
Friday - Shipped
Monday - delivered to CKGS
Tuesday- received email and sms notification for receipt of package from FedEx (content not yet verified)
Thursday- received notification “application under process at consulate and they may request additional documents if required”
Friday - Recieved notification “Passport has reached CKGS sorting facility where it is processed for delivery” and after few hours passport dispatched notification with AWB FedEx tracking number.
Monday - delivery of passport (guess CKGS doesn’t avail same day or weekend delivery for return)
Avoid paying fees until you are fully ready with everything (at least in the scenario where you are availing their shipping services). Since once payment is processed they provide the FedEx shipping label and indicate it’s validity to be 15 days. If you don’t get ready with everything (photo, notary etc.) in that timeframe, no idea how they process subsequently (whether they reissue new shipping label free of cost OR your shipping fees go waste and you pay again OR you have to manage on your own even though on application it’s indicated using their shipping services...No information on this scenario on their website)
Processing - After submission it was fairly hassle free and speed-wise reasonable experience (1 week - gone are days of visa processing in 1 or 2-3 days, across most countries).
Timeline (10 days from shipping, including 2 weekends/5-7 business days)
Friday - Shipped
Monday - delivered to CKGS
Tuesday- received email and sms notification for receipt of package from FedEx (content not yet verified)
Thursday- received notification “application under process at consulate and they may request additional documents if required”
Friday - Recieved notification “Passport has reached CKGS sorting facility where it is processed for delivery” and after few hours passport dispatched notification with AWB FedEx tracking number.
Monday - delivery of passport (guess CKGS doesn’t avail same day or weekend delivery for return)
Jun 18, 2018, 8:12 pm
#293
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 1
Awful experience. Worst service ever.
I applied for a conference visa for attending an academic conference in India. It was done by sending in the materials to CKGS, which take care of the process and transfer it to the India consulate in Atlanta. My application was“received”by CKGS more than three weeks before my departure date. After two days the status turned into“under process at the embassy; however, the status stayed at that stage for three weeks without any further information, and I had to cancel my trip and missed the conference.
The website stated that for non-US citizens the processing time is“7-10 working days. I am a non-US citizen but not from any of the countries that require additional verification. However, my application had just been on hold for such a long time. When I called them, they were not able to verify what was going on. The pending status had continued until one day before my flight. I ended up having to cancel the trip.
Since I already missed the trip, I decided to cancel my application to retrieve my passport. It took one week (plus pushing with two phone calls) to get my passport back to my hand. I was anxious for the whole week because I had googled about how bad the CKGS service could be and some had reported that their passports were missing due to the company's incompetence. Fortunately, my passport came back to me safely. There was no visa stamp, no denial information, no written materials, etc., any related information regarding the visa application. I have no idea why my application got so delayed and what might have gone wrong. I merely wasted $134 and had my passport travel to another place for a month without knowing what was going on.
To my knowledge applying through CKGS is the only way to get an India Visa in the US, except for doing an E-Visa. Thus, if you must go to India as a non-US citizen living in the US, I would recommend doing an E-Visa when it is applicable (You can not use E-Visa for conference visa though) or applies several weeks before the departure date.
The website stated that for non-US citizens the processing time is“7-10 working days. I am a non-US citizen but not from any of the countries that require additional verification. However, my application had just been on hold for such a long time. When I called them, they were not able to verify what was going on. The pending status had continued until one day before my flight. I ended up having to cancel the trip.
Since I already missed the trip, I decided to cancel my application to retrieve my passport. It took one week (plus pushing with two phone calls) to get my passport back to my hand. I was anxious for the whole week because I had googled about how bad the CKGS service could be and some had reported that their passports were missing due to the company's incompetence. Fortunately, my passport came back to me safely. There was no visa stamp, no denial information, no written materials, etc., any related information regarding the visa application. I have no idea why my application got so delayed and what might have gone wrong. I merely wasted $134 and had my passport travel to another place for a month without knowing what was going on.
To my knowledge applying through CKGS is the only way to get an India Visa in the US, except for doing an E-Visa. Thus, if you must go to India as a non-US citizen living in the US, I would recommend doing an E-Visa when it is applicable (You can not use E-Visa for conference visa though) or applies several weeks before the departure date.
Jun 19, 2018, 3:41 pm
#294
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 140
I applied for a conference visa for attending an academic conference in India. It was done by sending in the materials to CKGS, which take care of the process and transfer it to the India consulate in Atlanta. My application was“received”by CKGS more than three weeks before my departure date. After two days the status turned into“under process at the embassy; however, the status stayed at that stage for three weeks without any further information, and I had to cancel my trip and missed the conference.
The website stated that for non-US citizens the processing time is“7-10 working days. I am a non-US citizen but not from any of the countries that require additional verification. However, my application had just been on hold for such a long time. When I called them, they were not able to verify what was going on. The pending status had continued until one day before my flight. I ended up having to cancel the trip.
Since I already missed the trip, I decided to cancel my application to retrieve my passport. It took one week (plus pushing with two phone calls) to get my passport back to my hand. I was anxious for the whole week because I had googled about how bad the CKGS service could be and some had reported that their passports were missing due to the company's incompetence. Fortunately, my passport came back to me safely. There was no visa stamp, no denial information, no written materials, etc., any related information regarding the visa application. I have no idea why my application got so delayed and what might have gone wrong. I merely wasted $134 and had my passport travel to another place for a month without knowing what was going on.
To my knowledge applying through CKGS is the only way to get an India Visa in the US, except for doing an E-Visa. Thus, if you must go to India as a non-US citizen living in the US, I would recommend doing an E-Visa when it is applicable (You can not use E-Visa for conference visa though) or applies several weeks before the departure date.
The website stated that for non-US citizens the processing time is“7-10 working days. I am a non-US citizen but not from any of the countries that require additional verification. However, my application had just been on hold for such a long time. When I called them, they were not able to verify what was going on. The pending status had continued until one day before my flight. I ended up having to cancel the trip.
Since I already missed the trip, I decided to cancel my application to retrieve my passport. It took one week (plus pushing with two phone calls) to get my passport back to my hand. I was anxious for the whole week because I had googled about how bad the CKGS service could be and some had reported that their passports were missing due to the company's incompetence. Fortunately, my passport came back to me safely. There was no visa stamp, no denial information, no written materials, etc., any related information regarding the visa application. I have no idea why my application got so delayed and what might have gone wrong. I merely wasted $134 and had my passport travel to another place for a month without knowing what was going on.
To my knowledge applying through CKGS is the only way to get an India Visa in the US, except for doing an E-Visa. Thus, if you must go to India as a non-US citizen living in the US, I would recommend doing an E-Visa when it is applicable (You can not use E-Visa for conference visa though) or applies several weeks before the departure date.
Jun 19, 2018, 3:59 pm
#295
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 140
In any case I am going to post it here in the hope it might help some one.
I am a USC of Indian Origin and have an OCI, my wife who is now a USC has a 10 year visa to India which was issued without any problems.
Back when she was a Chinese citizen and had a green card it was a huge hassle to get an India visa and it took 3 months and a bribe(yes BRIBE) to get a single entry visa.
Indian Consulate will send all the information to the Home Ministry in India, After it is cleared by them it goes to another Intelligence Agency and once they clear it the Consulate can issue a visa. The major problem is the A$$holes at the consulate can take more then a month just to get the process started and then you are dealing with the bureaucracy in India.
Also on the way back she was harassed at BOM airport and again at DEL airport because she had a Chinese passport. I tolerated it at BOM but at DEL with a few beers inside me I let the security person have it, He just closed her passport and handed it back and apologized and said have a pleasant flight.
I am a USC of Indian Origin and have an OCI, my wife who is now a USC has a 10 year visa to India which was issued without any problems.
Back when she was a Chinese citizen and had a green card it was a huge hassle to get an India visa and it took 3 months and a bribe(yes BRIBE) to get a single entry visa.
Indian Consulate will send all the information to the Home Ministry in India, After it is cleared by them it goes to another Intelligence Agency and once they clear it the Consulate can issue a visa. The major problem is the A$$holes at the consulate can take more then a month just to get the process started and then you are dealing with the bureaucracy in India.
Also on the way back she was harassed at BOM airport and again at DEL airport because she had a Chinese passport. I tolerated it at BOM but at DEL with a few beers inside me I let the security person have it, He just closed her passport and handed it back and apologized and said have a pleasant flight.
Sep 12, 2018, 12:57 am
#296
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 1
please advise if you were able to log onto ckgs website, having same issue
Have others had issues logging in to the CKGS website after payment is confirmed? I am trying to log into "My Account" and despite having the correct information and receipt of payment the website says "Information requested does not matchup with criteria." I am using the correct criteria including web reference number and passport. Customer service was useless, they were not able to give me an answer.
Please advise, as read you have been through this, and I have spent hours going in circles!
Sep 14, 2018, 9:07 pm
#297
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,412
I've got a month-old US passport, and since I'm still in the US, I'd like to take advantage of applying for multi-year tourist visas (e.g. Russia, China, and India; maybe Brazil?)
China gives a 10-year almost automatically, Russia I could probably finagle 3-years again, but India sounds a bit trickier. I've read stories about some getting 6 months only, and some getting 10 years. The 6-month one would be pointless, thus what would your recommendations be for successfully obtaining a 10-year visa?
Appreciate your help.
BmB
China gives a 10-year almost automatically, Russia I could probably finagle 3-years again, but India sounds a bit trickier. I've read stories about some getting 6 months only, and some getting 10 years. The 6-month one would be pointless, thus what would your recommendations be for successfully obtaining a 10-year visa?
Appreciate your help.
BmB
Sep 14, 2018, 9:27 pm
#298
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: SFO
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat
Posts: 756
I've got a month-old US passport, and since I'm still in the US, I'd like to take advantage of applying for multi-year tourist visas (e.g. Russia, China, and India; maybe Brazil?)
China gives a 10-year almost automatically, Russia I could probably finagle 3-years again, but India sounds a bit trickier. I've read stories about some getting 6 months only, and some getting 10 years. The 6-month one would be pointless, thus what would your recommendations be for successfully obtaining a 10-year visa?
Appreciate your help.
BmB
China gives a 10-year almost automatically, Russia I could probably finagle 3-years again, but India sounds a bit trickier. I've read stories about some getting 6 months only, and some getting 10 years. The 6-month one would be pointless, thus what would your recommendations be for successfully obtaining a 10-year visa?
Appreciate your help.
BmB
There's no harm in trying for a 10yr since I think it costs the same as a 6 month one, and then if you get the 6 month, go visit India and apply for the 10yr again after the current one expires. Honestly, I don't see the point in collecting visas just for the sake of it until you have a trip planned.
Sep 16, 2018, 10:56 am
#299
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,412
Usually the 10yr tends to issued mainly to people who have ties to family in India or have made visits there in the past. In other words, you might have a tough time getting a 10yr visa without any upcoming travel planned and no prior visit.
There's no harm in trying for a 10yr since I think it costs the same as a 6 month one, and then if you get the 6 month, go visit India and apply for the 10yr again after the current one expires. Honestly, I don't see the point in collecting visas just for the sake of it until you have a trip planned.
There's no harm in trying for a 10yr since I think it costs the same as a 6 month one, and then if you get the 6 month, go visit India and apply for the 10yr again after the current one expires. Honestly, I don't see the point in collecting visas just for the sake of it until you have a trip planned.
There would be zero value in a 6-month visa for me because I would depend more on the visa for overnight layovers than any upcoming visit.
Sep 17, 2018, 12:16 am
#300
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: SFO
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat
Posts: 756
https://www.immihelp.com/nri/indiavi...n-arrival.html