Page 30 - The Indian EYE 071924

NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JULY 19, 2024 | The Indian Eye 30

VFS Global launches Seattle and Bellevue Centers

for India visa, OCI and passport services

In First Year, Center Submitted More Than 58,000 Work Authorization,

Temporary Protected Status, and Asylum Applications

CGI India Seattle Prakash Gupta, Mayor of Seattle Bruce Harell and Dignitaries at the inauguration of India Consular Centre in Seattle from left to right: CGI India
State Rep Vandan Slatter at the inauguration of Seattle Prakash Gupta, Mayor of Seattle Bruce Harell, State Rep Vandan Slatter, Shubhashish
the India Consular Centre in Seattle Ganguly, Western Regional Head- VFS Global, and Sam Cho, Post Commissioner, Port of Seattle

operations in the Greater Seattle Area.” that these visa application centres will enhance cus-
OUR BUREAU
These spacious facilities equipped with mod- tomer experience by making the visa application
Seattle, WA ern amenities and services will have well-trained process even more smooth, thereby helping us serve
customer service representatives to assist visa appli- the travellers and Indian diaspora better.”
s part of its expanding service network for cants at every step. To enhance customer experience VFS Global is the first outsourced visa services
the Government of India, VFS Global has
Alaunched the Seattle Centre to manage visa, further, India visa and consular applicants get ded- partner of the Ministry of External Affairs (India)
Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), passport ap- icated call-centre support from 8:30AM to 5:30PM and has been serving the Government of India since
from Monday to Friday, along with an email and
2008. In the United States of America, VFS Global
plication, renunciation of Indian citizenship and Web Chatbot support for quick query resolution. provides passport, visa and consular services on be-
Global Entry Programme (GEP). Additionally, Amit Kumar Sharma, Head – Americas, VFS half of the Embassy and Consulates of India locat-
VFS will operate the Bellevue centre, to extend Global, said, “VFS Global shares a long-standing ed across the country since 2020. At present, VFS
assistance for members of the Indian community. relationship with the Government of India since Global manages 52 Passport, Visa and Consular
The Seattle centre will be equipped with world-
class facilities aimed at providing an easily accessi- 2008 and we are excited to expand our partnership Services Application Centres for the Government
further. The new centre in Seattle and Bellevue,
of India in 13 countries: Australia, Belgium, France,
ble and a superior application experience for cus- United States of America will play a crucial role in Iraq, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Afri-
tomers and will make the application process more effectively catering to the growing demand for visa ca, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the
convenient for travellers. These services are expect- and consular services to India. We are confident United States of America, and the United Kingdom.
ed to benefit the nearly half million-strong Indian
diaspora community in the consular jurisdiction of
the Indian Consulate in Seattle, which covers the
Nine Pacific North Western States of Alaska, Idaho,
Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South
Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.
Mr. Prakash Gupta, Consul General of India in
Seattle, said, “The opening of the Indian Consulate
in Seattle is a reflection of Government of India’s
strong commitment to deepen our relations with
Pacific North Western states of USA and through
the opening of these new visa application centres
(VAC) in Seattle and Bellevue, we hope to ensure
for all consular applicants a more convenient expe-
rience to adequately prepare their travel to India.
Providing smooth and efficient consular services is
one of our top priorities and we would welcome any
feedback and suggestions on further improvement CGI India Seattle Prakash Gupta addressing the diaspora community at the inauguration of India Consular Centre in Seattle
from all applicants as we commence our consular

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