Last month I got an opportunity to visit the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. I was accompanying my son who had to get some document apostilled (Read here more about apostil.) It is a tall building in a not-so-posh area of San Francisco. The Tricolour flying high on its rooftop made a pretty sight. The only parking available to the visitors is alongside the road. Fortunately, we found an empty slot.
We were ushered in by the security guard, took a token from a dispensing machine and waited in the customer area. We could see a split AC on the other side of the counters, i.e., in the office area but none in the customer lounge. That was not a problem given the normally chilly weather in San Francisco.
The lady at the counter for accepting documents was having a break. She soon returned and and a little later our token number was called out. The lady didn't sound too friendly and said that we needed to get a photocopy of the document to be apostilled. My son's objection that this requirement was not listed on the Consulate's website was curtly brushed aside. His enquiry whether the photocopy could be done in the office on payment of charges met with a vigorous no. We were told that there was a shop nearby and given general directions. It seems that this confusion was a routine one and later we discovered a notice in the customer lounge stating the requirement of photocopies.
It was close to the closing time (the window opens only from 9 am to 12 noon.) I accompanied my son as he nearly ran to the Office Supply shop down and across the road. Some other harassed looking visitors, some of whom we had seen in the consulate earlier, were also there hurriedly making photocopies on self-service machines. My son made copies and we ran back to the consulate where we were asked to get a fresh token. We were able to deposit the documents in time and moved to the payment window.
The payment window was manned by a very courteous woman. A notice was prominently displayed saying that Cash / Debit & Credit Cards / Personal cheques were NOT allowed and that all payments had to be made only through a Bankers' Cheques. She first pointed out that the Bankers' Cheque (more about it later) was for two USD more than what was required. The prospect of having to get it cancelled and another BC issued made us very uncomfortable, but the lady said that if it was okay with us the extra $2 could go to Indian Community Welfare Fund. We readily agreed with a sigh of relief.
While the requirement of having an apostilled document countersigned by the consulate itself is superfluous as pointed out in my earlier post for which a link appears in the first para, there are a few questions as follows:
We were ushered in by the security guard, took a token from a dispensing machine and waited in the customer area. We could see a split AC on the other side of the counters, i.e., in the office area but none in the customer lounge. That was not a problem given the normally chilly weather in San Francisco.
The lady at the counter for accepting documents was having a break. She soon returned and and a little later our token number was called out. The lady didn't sound too friendly and said that we needed to get a photocopy of the document to be apostilled. My son's objection that this requirement was not listed on the Consulate's website was curtly brushed aside. His enquiry whether the photocopy could be done in the office on payment of charges met with a vigorous no. We were told that there was a shop nearby and given general directions. It seems that this confusion was a routine one and later we discovered a notice in the customer lounge stating the requirement of photocopies.
It was close to the closing time (the window opens only from 9 am to 12 noon.) I accompanied my son as he nearly ran to the Office Supply shop down and across the road. Some other harassed looking visitors, some of whom we had seen in the consulate earlier, were also there hurriedly making photocopies on self-service machines. My son made copies and we ran back to the consulate where we were asked to get a fresh token. We were able to deposit the documents in time and moved to the payment window.
The payment window was manned by a very courteous woman. A notice was prominently displayed saying that Cash / Debit & Credit Cards / Personal cheques were NOT allowed and that all payments had to be made only through a Bankers' Cheques. She first pointed out that the Bankers' Cheque (more about it later) was for two USD more than what was required. The prospect of having to get it cancelled and another BC issued made us very uncomfortable, but the lady said that if it was okay with us the extra $2 could go to Indian Community Welfare Fund. We readily agreed with a sigh of relief.
While the requirement of having an apostilled document countersigned by the consulate itself is superfluous as pointed out in my earlier post for which a link appears in the first para, there are a few questions as follows:
- Why are debit and credit cards not accepted?
- In a country where even a barber who doesn't know you is willing to accept a personal cheque, why is the consulate averse to doing so? Their insistence on a Bankers' Cheque for petty amounts is a harassment to customers who are forced to visit their Bank.
- Why does the consulate want a photocopy of the document for its records? They can very well scan the original and store the digital copy or ask the customer to upload scanned image online.
- If they must have a photocopy why can't they do it on their office machine and add the charges to the fee payable?
The questions point towards towards import of bureaucratic practices from India even though these do not fit into the milieu abroad. The consulate needs to look into these practices.
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