POWER OF ATTORNEY / AFFIDAVITS RELATING TO PROPERTY OR FINANCIAL MATTERS
- Apostille Convention: the Hague Convention, to which India and USA are signatories, abolishes the requirement of legalization for Foreign Public Documents. With the certification by the Hague Convention 'Apostille', the document is entitled to recognition in India and vice versa and no certification by the Embassy/Consulates of India is required. The convention applies to public documents which have been executed in the territory of one Contracting State and which have to be produced in the territory of another Contracting State.
- However, in many places in India, they would easily recognize the attestation by the Indian Embassy/Consulate and hence may ask for attested copy despite the document already being apostilled. Hence, to avoid any inconvenience, if you wish to have the apostilled document also attested by the Consulate, you may apply to the Consulate.
- The Consulate will attest the documents only after they have been first notarized and then apostilled by the state authorities concerned in the US. Apostilling is done at the offices of the Secretary of State where the applicant resides. For details, please check the state government’s websites. For example, residents of California may check the website www.sos.ca.gov.
- The Consulate reserves the right to reject attestation of documents the contents of which are objectionable or contrary to the Rules.
- Please note that Commercial Documents are NOT attested by the Consulate. The same should be apostilled from US Government Authorities for presenting in India.
- Consulate does not prescribe any specific format for Power of Attorney (PoA) and could be as per applicant’s requirements either on plain paper or Indian Stamp Paper (Consulate does not provide Stamp Papers).
- Processing time:
o For in-person appointment - It's a same day service. Delivery of Documents: 04.00 pm to 04.45 pm (same day)
o For postal mail - documents are processed within a week of being received at the consulate.
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Important Update: With the opening of CGI Seattle, CGI San Francisco now serves the states of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii, and Guam. Residents of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming should submit their applications to CGI Seattle.
How to apply:
Applying in Person
All miscellaneous-attestation services are now accessible on a walk-in basis, without the need for an appointment, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM on regular working days.
Applying by Mail:
Send the application to the following address:
Miscellaneous Cell
Consulate General of India,
540 Arguello Boulevard;
San Francisco CA 94118
Fee: A non-refundable fee of $ 20 (twenty) per Power of Attorney (POA)/property related document and an additional fee of $2 (two) per application towards Indian Community Welfare Fee (ICWF).
Fees should be paid through Money order or Cashiers’ cheque drawn in favor of the ‘Consulate General of India, San Francisco’. NO BLANK CHECK/MONEY ORDER WILL BE ACCEPTED BY THE CONSULATE. Cash, Personal Cheques, Credit Cards, Debit Cards or other banking instruments are not accepted.
Supporting documents and processing instructions:
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Applying in-person: Carry originals of all the supporting documents to be presented to the Consular Officer (photocopies of which are to be attached with the application). In the case of joint POA, all the executants have to be present in person.
Applying by Mail: Submit notarized copies of all the supporting documents. No originals to be submitted by post.
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- Miscellaneous Services Form – Submit a duly filled and signed Miscellaneous Application form along with the following supporting documents. For Joint POA - each applicant is required to fill up separate Miscellaneous Application form and submit his/her supporting documents.
- Copy of Passport (first and last page) [submit a notarized copy if sent by mail]
- Proof of your US Visa Status [any one of the following; submit a notarized copy if sent by mail; Not applicable for US citizen]
Photocopy of the page containing visa on passport (H1B, H4 etc.) and the copy of I-94
Clear Photocopy of Green Card
Employment Authorization Document (Work Permit)
I-797, I-140 or I-20 (If approval copy of these notices is pending, attach a handwritten note detailing the efforts being taken to regularize status)
4. Proof of current US residence address [any one of the following; submit a notarized copy if sent by mail]:
U.S Driving license.
PG&E, Water or landline telephone bill displaying applicant’s address
House Lease Agreement
State Identification Card
Note: Bank/credit card/mobile phone statements are not accepted as residence proof
- Power of Attorney needs to be signed and witnessed by two individuals (other than immediate family members) with their names and addresses clearly mentioned. It has to be duly notarized and further apostilled before submitting to the Consulate for attestation. Apostilling is done at the offices of the Secretary of State where the applicant is resident. For details, please check the state government’s websites. For example, residents of California may check the website sos.ca.gov. Indian Passport holders and OCI card holders are exempted from the requirement of apostille. However, the POA document must be duly notarized. Enclose a notarized copy of OCI/PIO card while applying.
- Witnesses’ signatures have to be duly notarized. Also submit duly notarized copy of a valid ID proof of each Witness. Mention Witness 1 and Witness 2 on top of each ID proof.
- POA needs to be submitted in two sets – original for attestation and one photocopy for office record.
- If applying by mail - Please enclose a trackable pre-paid self-addressed return mailing envelope (USPS 'Express Mail' or UPS etc.,) for dispatching the processed documents.
- Processing time:
o For in-person appointment - It's a same day service. Delivery of Documents: 04.00 pm to 04.45 pm (same day)
o For postal mail - documents are processed within a week of being received at the consulate.
- In case the Consulate receives applications with incomplete documentation/fee, the same would be sent back unprocessed in the return envelope sent by the applicant.
FAQs - Miscellaneous Services
