A Long-Awaited Dream of Indian Diaspora Fulfilled in Dallas as Consular Services Become Accessible
Dallas, Texas: A long-cherished aspiration of the Indian diaspora residing in Dallas and surrounding areas has finally been realized. Indian nationals will no longer need to travel for hours to Houston for consular services. Starting August 1, a new "Indian Consular Application Centre" (ICAC) has been officially made operational in Dallas.
Dr. Prasad Thotakura, President of the Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC), stated that the community had been requesting the Indian government for many years to establish such a service centre in Dallas, considering the rapidly growing Indian population in the region. He recalled that services such as passport renewal, visa processing, Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards, and registration of birth and marriage certificates used to require over ten hours of travel to and from Houston. He expressed his satisfaction that this burden of time and effort has now been alleviated with the establishment of the new centre.
The centre is located at 8360 LBJ Freeway, Suite #A230, Dallas, TX. Organizers stated that the facility will operate six days a week, including Saturdays, for the convenience of the public. Dr. Prasad Thotakura conveyed special gratitude, on behalf of the Indian diaspora, to Vinay Kwatra, Indian Ambassador to the United States; D.C. Manjunath, Consul General; and officials from VFS Global for facilitating this initiative.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Dr. Prasad Thotakura, IAFC President; Burt Tucker, Frisco City Council Member; Patrick Van Hauff, leader of the Texas Republican Party; and VFS Global officials Subhasish Ganguly and Tanvi Desai.
Dr. Prasad Thotakura, President of the Indian American Friendship Council (IAFC), stated that the community had been requesting the Indian government for many years to establish such a service centre in Dallas, considering the rapidly growing Indian population in the region. He recalled that services such as passport renewal, visa processing, Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards, and registration of birth and marriage certificates used to require over ten hours of travel to and from Houston. He expressed his satisfaction that this burden of time and effort has now been alleviated with the establishment of the new centre.
The centre is located at 8360 LBJ Freeway, Suite #A230, Dallas, TX. Organizers stated that the facility will operate six days a week, including Saturdays, for the convenience of the public. Dr. Prasad Thotakura conveyed special gratitude, on behalf of the Indian diaspora, to Vinay Kwatra, Indian Ambassador to the United States; D.C. Manjunath, Consul General; and officials from VFS Global for facilitating this initiative.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Dr. Prasad Thotakura, IAFC President; Burt Tucker, Frisco City Council Member; Patrick Van Hauff, leader of the Texas Republican Party; and VFS Global officials Subhasish Ganguly and Tanvi Desai.