Consul General of India in New York, Binaya Pradhan, has warned about unscrupulous travel agents who exploit by charging excessive fees for services, and submitting fraudulent documents to the Indian Consulate.
Speaking at a press conference on August 7, 2024, Pradhan urged to use only the sole authorized service provider, VFS, or contact the Consulate directly for consular services. He also revealed issues with fake E-visa websites and agents submitting fake documents without the knowledge of applicants.
Pradhan also announced the launch of the Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Travelers Program (FTI-TTP), like the US Global Entry Program, by the Indian government recently. Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders can now register on the FTI-TTP portal and provide their biometrics. This step will help bypass immigration queues next time when they visit India.
He also emphasized the benefits of obtaining an OCI card, which serves as a permanent visa and grants additional rights in India.
“Our effort through the consular camps in different states and through interactions with community leaders, has been to encourage them to go for OCI cards,” Pradhan added.
Pradhan noted that only 600,000 out of 1.5 million Indian-origin American passport holders in the New York Consulate’s jurisdiction have OCI cards. He also highlighted the Consulate’s various support services for Indian passport holders in distress in addition to other services including consular camps, emergency services, legal assistance, and open houses.
Deputy Consul General Dr. Varun Jeph, and other consular officials including Pragya Singh, Bijender Kumar, and Shruti Pandey were also present at the press conference to answer questions.
