The Consulate General of the United States of America, Hyderabad is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

diplomatic mission located in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. The consulate provides visa and consular services to the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n citizens in

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. It is housed in the historic

Paigah Palace Paigah Palace is a palace in Hyderabad, India. It was built by Sir Vicar-ul-Umra, a Paigah nobleman. This was built after he gave the famous Falaknuma Palace to the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad state, Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI. The Palace ho ...

. It was the United States government's first new consulate general anywhere in the world since 1985, and also the first new United States consulate general in India since its independence in 1947. The current Consul General is Jennifer Larson, incumbent since September 2022. She was preceded by

Joel Reifman Joel Richard Reifman (born 1959) is the Consulate General of the United States, Hyderabad, U.S. Consul General in Hyderabad since August 20, 2019. Reifman has also been Charge d’ Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Asmara, Eritrea (July, 2010 until ...

who took over office on 20 August 2019. A new consulate general office is expected to be operational by early 2023 to cater to the regional needs for the next 20 years.

History

Until the consulate opened in Hyderabad, the

Consulate General of the United States, Chennai The Consulate General of the United States of America Chennai represents the interests of the United States government in Chennai (formerly known as Madras), India and surrounding regions. The consulate reports to the ambassador at the U.S. Em ...

received about 40% of its visa applications from

. In early 2006, the then Chief Minister of the State

Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy (8 July 1949 – 2 September 2009), popularly known as YSR, was the 14th chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, serving from 2004 to 2009. Reddy was elected to the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12t ...

announced that the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

has agreed to open a consulate in the capital city of Hyderabad. He also announced steps to provide temporary and permanent accommodation to the consular staff. This announcement came soon after the visit of

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to the state capital. Hyderabad was chosen because of "its strategic location in terms of a large visa demand, a broad-based economy spanning information technology, bio-technology and other life sciences besides a diverse population, including Muslims." Soon after this, the then

United States Ambassador to India The United States Ambassador to India is the chief diplomatic representative of United States in India. The U.S. Ambassador's office is situated at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. Chiefs of Mission to India U.S. Ambassadors to the Dominion of ...

David Campbell Mulford David Campbell Mulford (born 27 June 1937) was the United States Ambassador to India from January 23, 2004 to February 2009, and served as Vice-Chairman International of Credit Suisse from 2009 to 2016. He is currently a distinguished visiting fel ...

announced that the consulate will begin its operations in 2007 and inauguration planned for 2008. The purpose of opening the consulate in Hyderabad was to reduce the burden of the consulate in Chennai that issues the highest number of visas in India. In 2007, United States signed an agreement with the local government to lease the

for five years. Mulford announced that the palace will be renovated to serve as a temporary accommodation for the consulate. The state government designated in the city's Financial District where a permanent consulate would be built, and is expected to be ready for use in Mid-2022. In 2008, the facility opened with the capacity to process 100 visa applications in a day. The consulate first started interviewing visa applicants from 10 March 2009 and in a year's time it interviewed 100,000 applicants. In the years following its opening, the number of students traveling to the United States from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh increased significantly. In 2022, US consulate in Hyderabad will be having its own new building built in

Nanakramguda Nanakramguda Financial District is an information technology, real estate and architectural suburb in Serlingampally mandal, in Hyderabad, India. The financial district covers an area of about . History Nanakramguda and Gachibowli were the are ...

, Financial District. Spread across a sprawling 12.3-acre site, this is the largest US consular processing campus in-

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, both in terms of the number of visa windows and in area. In January 2023, the Visa Application Center (VAC) used for biometrics appointments, IW submissions & passport collection moved to Lower Concourse,

HITEC City metro station HITEC City Metro Station is located on the Blue Line of the Hyderabad Metro. Hitec City has three-level stations, having an estimated height of up to 60 feet or 18 metres. Hitec City metro station is near National Institute of Fashion Technol ...

, while actual visa interviews will continue at the US Consulate in Hyderabad.

Activities

The consulate has conducted activities that foster and promote

education in the United States Education in the United States is provided in public and private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. State governments set overall educational standards, often mandate standardized tests for K–12 public school systems and sup ...

, Indo-US business ties and social causes such as renovation of a two-centuries-old tomb of

Mah Laqa Bai Mah Laqa Bai (7 April 1768 – August 1824), born Chanda Bai, and sometimes referred to as Mah Laqa Chanda, was an Indian 18th century Urdu poet, courtesan and philanthropist based in Hyderabad. In 1824, she became the first female poet to hav ...

, a Nizam-era

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...

References

External links

Official US CG Hyderabad webpage
* * {{coord missing, Telangana Diplomatic missions in India

India–United States relations

History

Activities

See also

References

External links