Please send TDS your current valid and signed passport. It must not expire within 6 months and must have at least Two blank visa pages. If you cannot meet these requirements, 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 1 recent professional passport-type photograph.
Digital and non-passport photographs are not acceptable.
No eye glasses are to be worn for passport photo.
Passport Photo Guide - Click Here

Please send a copy of your round trip airline tickets, or itinerary or e-ticket, or letter of confirmation from a travel agent. The itinerary must show the applicant's name, date of arrival and departure from the country, and flight information. The Embassy does not recommend purchasing your ticket prior to a visa being issued.

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) or a copy of a valid/current lease containing both the landlord and tenant signatures must be submitted as proof of residence in the Consulate's area of jurisdiction Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, Address on the document cannot include a P.O Box number and Must Match present address on the visa application form. The following items are NOT accepted: 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, Chicago IL
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.

Official Invitation: 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. The invitation should also confirm the validity of visa applied for (1 Year, 5 Year or 10 Year).

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 Embassy.

Special Instructions: Persons of Indian Origin applying for a visa for the FIRST time on any US passport must submit their Indian passport and a completed Renunciation Form. Persons of Indian Origin who have held an Indian visa in a previous US passport must submit the expired/cancelled US passport.

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.

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.

IMPORTANT RULES TO FOLLOW:

COMMON ERROR (S) TO AVOID

SURNAME - IS YOUR LAST NAME.

GIVEN NAMES (s) - GIVEN NAMES (s) IS YOUR FIRST AND MIDDLE NAMES. YOU MUST LIST THEM ON YOUR VISA APPLICATION EXACTLY AS THEY ARE LISTED IN YOUR PASSPORT.

***Caution Errors on the visa application form CANNOT be fixed, an error of any type WILL result in the application being rejected by the Indian Consulate. If rejected you will be required to complete a new application and resend it to Travel Document Systems. Indian visa applications must be perfect, errors, omissions and mistakes cannot be edited or fixed by Travel Document Systems, please be careful when completing your application to avoid delays.

From the "Indian Mission" drop down list Select USA-Chicago.

Application forms must be printed on two separate pieces of paper. Application forms printed back to back on a single page are NOT accepted.

Applicants are required to sign the visa application in two places. On page 1, the applicant must sign COMPLETELY inside the box located under the photo area, if any part of the signature is outside of the box the application WILL be rejected. On page 2, the applicant must sign on the dotted line at the bottom of the page.

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 must match the stated validity in these two letters. If these three items DO NOT match your application will be rejected by the Indian Embassy.

You must complete the Online Order Form.

The order form gives TDS your name, address, shipping information and payment method. Multiple applicants can be entered using one order form. You only need to complete one TDS order form per request. Please print two copies of the confirmation page. Include one copy with the documents you ship to TDS and keep one copy for your records.

While completing the online order form in this step, you will be asked how you want to pay TDS fees. You may pay our fees online with a credit card or enclose a personal or business check or money order.

Please forward the completed requirements detailed above to:

TRAVEL DOCUMENT SYSTEMS, INC.,
925 Fifteenth Street N.W. Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20005

Urgent applications should be shipped to TDS using only the FedEx Company.
Please use FedEx Priority Overnight. Do NOT ship "First Overnight." This will delay the delivery of your package.

Visas are usually valid for 1 year or 5/10 years based on consular fee paid. Travelers must leave India on or before the expiration of their visa. Travelers who remain in India beyond the validity of their visa could face detention and significant penalties. If your intended length of stay in India exceeds the validity of your existing visa, you must apply for a new visa.

If applications for the five year or ten year visa are not granted, a one year multiple entries visa will be substituted. The difference in Consular fees is not refunded by the Embassy of India and therefore cannot be refunded by TDS.

Embassy requirements and fees are subject to change without prior notice.

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)

By connecting on the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, State Department will be able to assist you better in the case of an emergency, such as if you lose your passport or it is stolen while you are abroad.