Recent complaints about inefficiency at India's consulate general in Houston may be too harsh, but they underscore an urgent need for the government to deliver on its promise to put a consulate in Atlanta, business leaders told GlobalAtlanta.

Parthiv N. Parekh, editor-in-chief of local Indian community magazine Khabar, published a scathing editorial in its February issue lambasting the consulate for its supposed unresponsiveness.

Mr. Parekh asserted that many Indian citizens have said that the consulate's overburdened staff - despite working overtime - has been unbearably slow in processing routine requests.

As a result, many Indians have been unable to travel or attend important events like weddings and funerals, he wrote.

A GlobalAtlanta reporter seeking a visa for a writing trip at the end of the month ran into a three-week backlog at the consulate, forcing the trip to be postponed.

C.N. "Madhu" Madhusudan, CEO of Vector Span Inc., which facilitates cross-border mergers and acquisitions, said he was "quite surprised" to hear about backlogs and widespread complaints against the consulate. He has had few problems working with the consulate in the past.

As an Overseas Citizen of India, or OCI, Mr. Madhusudan has a special passport that allows him to travel without a visa. Some of his American clients have had trouble getting visas, but the consulate usually responds relatively quickly to urgent needs of businesspeople, he said.

Recent delays could be related to an influx of visa applications during the Christmas holidays or an increase in demand for certificates of renunciation, he said. When Indians become U.S. citizens they must give up Indian citizenship and relinquish their passports to the Indian government.

Mr. Madhusudan praised the consulate for outsourcing visa processing operations to Travisa, a private company which has streamlined the process with an online application system. Still, he said, there's a definite need for another consulate in Atlanta.

"The population has grown, travel has increased, the amount of business that is going on between India and here has also increased quite dramatically," he said.

The Indian government first pledged in September 2008 to open a consulate in Atlanta. Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar reiterated this desire during an India business summit in Atlanta last February.

Chris Young, Georgia's chief of protocol, said it can take years for announced consulates to finally open. The Indian government's position "has not changed," he told GlobalAtlanta.

"We continue our dialogue with the relevant Indian officials, both in Washington D.C. and in New Delhi, as well as with persons in the State Department to ensure that this announcement becomes a reality," Mr. Young said. Calls to the Indian Embassy's press center weren't returned.

Likewise, multiple calls to the Indian consulate in Houston seeking comment rang unanswered. After 10 minutes on hold, an automated system said 17 other callers were already in line to speak to the operator.

While Mr. Parekh's editorial mentioned outsourcing visa operations as a notable innovation, the consulate's cluttered and outdated website and consistently jammed phone system were cited as major problems.

Ritesh "Rick" Desai, a partner at consulting firm Saffron Group LLC and a former president of the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, said he had no problems receiving his OCI card, but the process took six weeks.

Many complaints stem from the fact that citizens don't understand that they have to submit certain applications far in advance, Mr. Desai said.

"A lot of folks will complain, but I can tell you that they wait till the last minute and they want miracles to happen," he said.

Still, the consulate sometimes faces staffing issues that hamper processing, he said, citing first-hand conversations with consular workers. Sometimes staffers leave and the consulate can't replace them right away.

That's another reason the government should put an additional consulate in Atlanta to serve the estimated 80,000 Indians in the metro area, Mr. Desai said.

"There is an absolute need, no question," he said. "Houston is just too far to be managing so many states." The consulate has jurisdiction over nine states.

John Yates, a partner with Morris Manning & Martin LLP, returned Feb. 11 from a 10-day trip to India, where he spoke at two technology conferences and attended business meetings.

Mr. Yates applied well in advance and got his visa with no problem, but those who want to travel on short notice are having trouble, he said.

"I heard several people complaining about the process and indicating how arduous it was, so I think it is clearly an issue and it's creating a more serious problem for folks who want to take actions quickly," he said.

With its strong Indian community and large chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs, or TiE, Atlanta would be a natural location for a new consulate, Mr. Yates said.

Ms. Shankar, the ambassador, will return to Atlanta Feb. 24-25 for the second annual Emerging India Summit at Emory University.

To learn more about the event, visit http://www.international.emory.edu/eis/.

Related: 

'Houston: We Have a Problem': Khabar's Lead Editorial 

2009 story: Maybe Next Year for Indian, Irish Consulates

2008 announcement: India to Open Atlanta Consulate Next Year

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