San Francisco SFO Indian Embassy Power of Attorney Attestation Experience

Power of Attorney
41

@dhirajk2 , Have you received the POA document back?. How long did it take?.

42

@Syuvaraj I received it after 9 business days through mail.

43

Thank You. SFO Indian consulate received my document on Aug 8th, 2019. I am still waiting.

44

I noticed many people on this thread were unnecessarily spending money on notary services. Most banks offer notary service for FREE to their customers. I’ve used Wells Fargo, Chase, and US Bank in the past for notary services. Just contact your bank before heading over and make an appointment to see the notary. Hope this helps!

45

I have to get General POA done. I live in the state of California too. My questions are:

  • Do we really need signature and details of 2 witnesses? I am on H1B visa and don’t really have anyone in US who would help me with it.

  • I was going through the POA format of other Indian Embassy offices and they have different format where they don’t need 2 witnesses. So even though I reside in California, can I send my application to other Indian Embassy?

Thanks in advance!

46

Hi @bmansi

You cannot send POA to any other Indian embassy. Each Indian embassy has their jurisdiction based on your residential address.

If you can’t get 2 witness, then you would need 2 witness in India. Its an Indian government’s requirement and not Indian embassy.

47

As of 12/2019:

General:

  • First off, a BIG thank you to everyone else who posted. I created an account to mainly thank you all and also add our experience

  • We needed to get our General POA attested by the embassy.

  • Many of the posts above already outline the documents needed, so review those and also make sure you check the list of documents that the consulate lists on their website

Note: all fees listed here are as of 12/2019 and so you need to ensure the correct fees when you need to avail these services

Apostille Tips:

  • Many notary places also offer apostille services when you use their notary services
    (for a fee)

  • We stay in the SFO bay area and this place worked out great for us:
    $5 Notary Public Service: 1208 E Arques Ave STE 101, Sunnyvale, CA 94085
    (for Apostille service, they charge ~$30 as their convenience fees)

    So, total charge for Apostille: $26 (Sec of State) + $30 = $56 per document

SFO Consulate Experience:

  • Visited during the week of Christmas, so it was not crowded
  • Parking: street parking (usually available on Geary Blvd near CVS pharmacy)
  • Entered at 9:30am; was at the counter at 10:15 am
  • Was asked to come back by 12:45 (SAME day) to pick up the documents
  • Overall, the officer was very considerate and happy to answer questions.
  • Since we had all our documents in order that really helped
  • Came back to the embassy by 12:30 (same day); we were out in 5 minutes
  • I would like to add that we got photo attestation on our POA and so $10 extra for that.
    FYI, we pasted the photo on the first page of the POA

==
Hope this helps… Good luck.

48

I have 7 pages power of attorney document from India, I need to sign on each page. And 2 witness signature is required on 2 pages. I am confused on which pages I need to get notary, apostile and embassy attestation. Can someone please help? Doing notary on just the witness page is enough?

49

Hi @Venki

Notary on each page is best.

50

Thanks for the detail here, it’s very helpful and kind of easing out my stress.
Though I have a quick question, so on POA, do we need to have the Attorney (for eg. my mom) signature before hand and then get the document apostille and mail it to Consulate? Or Get the document apostille, and mail it to Consulate, once received from them, I can send it to India and the person whomsoever is going to be the Attorney can sign and hand it over to bank?
Also, do I have to make a photocopy of Apostilled document and get it notarized or only the original document is require?

Please help!

51

Hi @Amritans_Singh

Did you go through this step by step guide for power of attorney attestation at Indian embassy?

It has all the answers to your questions.

52

Hi @Anil_Gupta,

Is there any way to track the application process or direct contact info of miscellaneous service. I have sent my POA packet on Aug 5th and delivered on the next day(08/06), and it been a week, and I don’t see any update on the return label.

Thank you.

53

Notary guy asked me, if notary is only for me or for witnesses also? I assume its only for me, Can anyone confirm please.

54

Hi,
I am currently in the process for making a POA for my father to buy some property on my behalf.
Since we are currently in the COVID era the consulate is closed and is only accepting documents by mail.
Does anyone have experience with this?
It would be great if someone can share their experience.

So far, I have filled the miscellaneous form from the consulate site and notarized a general POA on a simple sheet of paper with details about the POA. I also have notarized copies of required documents as stated on the consulate website.
Is the next step to Apostile the POA by the secretary of state? and then send to the consulate of India?
I am confused from here on.

Appreciate any insights.
Thanks

55

Hi Anil,
Thank you for all your responses.
I was reading the details on https://www.cgisf.gov.in/page/power-of-attorney-affidavits-relating-to-property-or-financial-matters/ page. I saw the following information:
There is no need for the POA to be apostilled for Indian Passport holders and OCI/PIO card holders. However, the POA documents must be duly notarized.

Am I missing something?

Thanks,
HimanshuPOA_Ref

56

Hello All,
POA_Ref

Thank you for all your responses.
I was reading the details on Consulate General of India, San Francisco, California : Power of Attorney / Affidavits relating to Property or Financial Matters page. I saw the following information:
There is no need for the POA to be apostilled for Indian Passport holders and OCI/PIO card holders. However, the POA documents must be duly notarized.

Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Himanshu