Originally published at: Attestation of Power of Attorney at Indian Consulate - USA - USA
Attestation of Power of Attorney at the Indian Embassy in the USA can be done by post or in-person.
SFO embassy (San Francisco) requires Apostille by US state before attestation while New York, Washington DC, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago may or may not require Apostille.
- Attestation of power of attorney is NOT the same as registration of power of attorney.
- Attestation is a pre-requisite to registration if you are outside India ā NRI (non-resident Indian).
Create Indian Power of Attorney Online
Documents Required
- Miscellaneous services form. Each Indian embassy their own Misc Services form format ā New York, Washington DC, Houston, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago.
- Original Passport + Copies of all non-blank pages including first and last page.
- Copy of Address proof in USA ā 1 address proof is required ā US bank statement, driving license, utility bill, Home lease agreement, etc.
- Valid Visa copy ā Valid H1B, H4, L1, etc. Remember that B1/B2 is not considered valid for creating POA.
- Original Visa petition ā approval notice i797 or USCIS issues receipt number for extension filing.
- Original i94 + Copies ā In the case of electronic i94, just take the print-out with you.
- Two (2) passport-size photographs to be affixed against your name on POA.
NOTE: It is advised to carry the original version of the documents with you for verification, in case the consulate asks for it.
The process of registering the POA does NOT require āattestationā if you are still in India and planning to leave soon. i.e. you are about to leave and want to give power of attorney to someone in your family or a friend.
#1 Notarize Power of Attorney
2 witness signatures are required for attestation of Power of attorney.
A witness can be anyone holding a valid US ID proof with an address and photo.
Witnesses should preferably be other than immediate family members.
- Witnesses CAN go to Indian Consulate with you? There is NO need to get the notarization.
- Witnesses CANNOT go to Indian Consulate with you? Take signatures of 2 witnesses on this POA in the presence of Notary.
A Free notary is available in most townsā libraries, banks like Bank of America (Free if you have an account with them), and your own office would have one.
Paid notaries are available at USPS offices/shops too.
Online notaries are also available in the USA now:
You should NOT sign the POA yet. It is to be done in front of the Indian consulate.
If the notary insists on your sign, then you can sign. You will be required to sign once again in Indian Embassy.
#2 Apostille PoA
You may or may not need Apostile based on your current Passport and the Indian Embassy you are applying at.
If you need Apostille, check the US secretary of state office website for the process. Supporting documents do not need Apostille.
#3 Attestation at Indian Embassy
An in-person visit to Embassy
You should either have 2 witnesses travel with you to the embassy or have the notarized POA.
Each embassy office has a time window normally between 9 AM to 11 AM to accept in-person attestation requests.
If both you and your spouse have been named as executant in POA, then both of you need to be present in Embassy physically with your original passports.
Documents required here:
- Your original POA,
- a photocopy of this POA and
- Original passport
You would be asked to sign in front of the officer on the POA to verify your signature.
Deposit the fees and you will most probably be asked to come back after 12 PM (afternoon) to collect the attested PoA.
Show the receipt and collect the attested POA and your passport. You are all set.
Create Indian Power of Attorney Online
By Postal Mail
You need to get all the signatures (2 witnesses + your own) notarized.
Get the fees cashier check or money order.
The return shipping check has to be made separately. The amount differs by each embassy. No need to send the return shipping envelope. They take care of it with the return shipping fees that you send.
Send the documentary proof (only photocopies) with an exception of the original passport to the Indian consulate.
Documents required to be sent by mail:
- Your original POA,
- A photocopy of this POA and
- Original passport
The consulate will attest and return the documents back to you within a week.
Registration in India
Registration of āattested POAā can only be done in India.
Send PoA to India and then follow the steps to register this POA.
FAQ
The attestation fees are charged per page or per document varies by each Indian Embassy.
Call and check before making any money orders.
New York Indian Embassy charged us fees per document instead of per page (2 executants with 1 page of POA): fees $23.
People have reported that the Indian Embassy at Washington charges the fees per signature and per page attestation.
We do not think any blank space on top of the POA page is required.
The builder will require a special power of attorney for the property purchase in India.
You can confirm with the developer beforehand. To be on the safer side, create a special power of attorney.
The NRI Home loans from government banks like SBI, PNB, or private banks like ICICI, HDFC require only general power of attorney.
But, there is no harm in using the special power of attorney for both purposes.
You can use the same special power of attorney for both bank loans and the registration of real estate in India.
Embossing is part of the Notarization process in the USA creating raised relief images and designs in the paper to make the original copy tamper-proof.
Embossing is not required for power of attorney.
It depends on the third party like a bank or builder who needs this POA to make a decision on what level of attestation is needed.
Indian banks like SBI, ICICI, HDFC accept notarized POA in the USA to get a home loan without Indian Embassy attestation.
So, the best option is to ask the end-user of the POA about the requirements.