This is for the new office 642 Harrison street. I am still doing OCI MISC services which I got frustrated when I started Feburary 2021. Now it is mandatory to get the OCI Misc serivecs. After four years still nothing changed. Here is my updated review from March 2026 I applied for OCI miscellaneous services through the Government of India website. The online application process itself was actually quite easy compared to a few years ago. However, the problems started after submitting the application. The instructions said to create an account with VFS and follow their guidelines. Unfortunately, the instructions were not clear either on the Indian government website or on the VFS website. I mailed my physical application along with a check to VFS, and it has now been 14 business days with no response. When I try to track the application online, the VFS website does not work properly. When I attempt to contact them through the online support system, I cannot even submit a query because the page stalls. I also tried calling their customer service number. They mention that the first 10 minutes are free, but after that it costs $2.48 per minute, which is ridiculous. Even after calling, the service was very poor. The representatives were not able to answer my questions and simply kept telling me to track the status online. However, the main issue is that their website itself is not working, so I have no other way to get information about my application. Overall, the service experience has been extremely frustrating. I am not sure why the Government of India has hired this company to handle such important application processing. read more

VFS Global has, without question, some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced. We spent nearly three months trying to renew our son's OCI card and, after spending hundreds of dollars, countless hours, and dealing with endless frustration, we still came away empty-handed. They are nearly impossible to reach, and unbelievably, they charge more than $2 per minute for customer support calls from people who are already desperate for help. Governments around the world should seriously reconsider working with companies like this if they truly want to serve their non-resident citizens effectively and respectfully. There is clearly a massive unmet need here, and honestly, a huge opportunity for a competent, customer-focused competitor to step in and do this better. read more

The site has been down for past 2 days. I have not been able to login. I have complained about this site before as well. Looks like, Indian Gov. needs to review the performance of this site, the complaints, etc. and award the contract to some body else. Today, I am getting following error eventhough I do NOT have any active sessions. read more

VFS Services USA - Error details - Passport & Visa Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

Not at all professional. My daughter's passport application was rejected, and I had to call them multiple times for the passport to be returned. Each time, the call was put on hold, and I incurred call charges. There is no transparency. It has been 10 days, and the return label for my daughter's passport has still not been generated. Also, the VFS has changed the policy to require uploading the signature and photograph, effective December 1, 2025. I submitted the application on November 26th, and my daughter's application was rejected because of a policy that is not even effective for November applications read more

I had a very positive experience with VFS Global at the Atlanta office. The staff were professional, polite, and very helpful throughout the entire process. From the moment I arrived, they clearly guided me through each step and made sure everything was handled efficiently. The processing was very quick, and the team worked in a well-organized manner. I especially appreciated how attentive the staff were in answering questions and assisting applicants to ensure all documents were properly submitted. Overall, the service was smooth, efficient, and stress-free. I would definitely recommend VFS Global to anyone looking for a reliable and well-managed visa application service. read more

Terrible service. Need to find another way to get passport renewed. If there is, I would never again use their services. I do not recommend them at all. Their processes are a mess. They keep your money and reject you even after submitting additional documents. The staff doesn't even speak English in full correct sentences. I'll be reporting them to USCIS for a RAID. I'm a GC holder. N my passport renewal is now on hold. read more

Terrible service. No customer support. Very rude staff and always in a tact to get new appointments for minor or even not a mistake to make money. read more

I went to VFS in SFO for my daughter's OCI card. I thought I had everything lined up. Somewhere in the process, it got stuck. At the front office, I met Ms. HITIKSHA JOSHI. She did not rush. She did not give me the standard "please recheck the checklist" line. She pulled up the application, went through it carefully, and studied it. She explained what was missing and what exactly needed to be corrected. Ms. Hitiksha was professional, clear and very helpful. She told me how to fix it without losing more time. What to upload. What to amend. What would trigger another delay if I ignored it. That kind of clarity when you are already a little tense is a big deal. Honestly, without her stepping in, my paperwork would have quietly hit a dead end. All I really did was speak respectfully and ask for help sincerely. That was it. We forget something important when we walk into places like VFS. They are not there to judge us. They are an agency appointed by the Government to process documentation. If the paperwork is not one hundred percent complete, they cannot push it through. Whether we like it or not. The system is rigid. The people inside it do not have to be. Hitiksha Joshi chose to be helpful inside a rigid system. That matters. So if you are going there, go prepared. Go patient. And go respectful. There are good professionals behind those counters. Sometimes all it takes is asking the right way. Thank you Ms, Hitiksha Joshi in my case. read more

No update from VFS even after applying to renew my passport in Tatkal after 2 months. The online tracking system now shows "No data found for this Combination of inputs". I am now worried that they have lost my passport and all supporting documents. Earlier it used to show "Missing Documents" status. I had sent my documents 4 times but it looks like they would misplace my document every time. read more

Review of office in general plus UK Visa part: You come out of the elevator to a security check point where the mini conveyer is not running. No staff present. Another customer had to tell us to just walk through the security checkpoint and on to a third-party security person seated inside. This person said they are a bit behind on taking appointments. He proceeded to hand-write numbers onto post-its and hand them to us and told us to wait for our number to be called. We waited for several hours. By the afternoon, other customers who had been waiting since the office opened demanded answers. It turns out staff were hiding from us that the reason no one with an appointment for UK visas was being seen was because the only person who had key card access to the UK side of office was nowhere to be found. The manager (Rowell or Ruwell is his name apparently). I drove hundreds of miles and paid Saturday premium service money for staff to make me wait and pay a $20 storage fee knowing I would not be seen for my appointment. Now I've had to book another appointment for expedited service, and I would love advice from anyone else on how to get a refund. But based on other reviews, I am not holding my breath. Why does the UK gov partner with solely VFS? read more

I've spent the better part of two days at the computer trying to get a short stay Visa for Great Britain and a Schengen Visa for EU from France. As another reviewer stated, the website is a mess of contradictions and dead ends. I called their only office # available and only ended up with an email contact # which was AI generated BS that led me back to where I began and no better off. After finishing the France Visa application it became impossible to avoid their additional charges...criminal really! End of business on the 2nd day I finally got an appt for the SF center for VFS and bought the photo service, private room service, courier service...I mean, really, I had an easier time getting a Visa for China that with these people for the EU. The Visa was for my wife, not a US citizen but with a green card...I fortunately don't need either the GB or EU Visas. I expect after reading these reviews that my wife's appt won't go too smoothly, but she is so charming that the only issue I see is that they won't let me in the private room without paying another $50 since she only is fluent in Chinese and I'm also her husband & immigration attorney. I'll report back next week after our two Visa appointments. Good that the GB is actually at a USCIS office only a couple miles away. read more

This is the most pathetic but unavoidable 'service' provider that I've had to deal with. Ever! VFS are the only way one can work with Indian consulates in the US for passport, Visa, or related services. And boy, do they exploit this monopoly! Their website is a textbook example of how poor a website design job can be. A labyrinthine user journey. Absolute lack of focus on user purposes. Constant stern warnings at every interaction with their web forms. Indecipherable error messages. Unending loops of asking the same user inputs to look up existing applications in different views. But wait, these are just generically poor aspects of the user experience. Specifically, their website didn't store our correctly filled application, while we were gathering the needed documents. It forced me to re-enter all the details as a new application, leading me to the final payment page. The payment page actually pinged my credit card site, which got a 2FA confirmation from me, and then poof...a blank page appeared. No payment confirmation, no error message, no alert for any missing inputs...just a blank white page. I confirmed from my credit card company that I have been charged. So I called their number to seek technical help. Right away the bot warned me that first 5 min of talking to the agent are free, then it's $2.48 per minute. And I must provide my credit card details for this, before I even get to talk to any agent. And then the agents are asking for my name, phone number, email address...at a very relaxed pace, with a cacophony in their background as if they are on a trading floor. And then they ask me to repeat the information because they couldn't hear me well. Wow! I guess the government of India has decided to attract our dollars a whole lot more than us. But to avoid saying so directly they are hiding behind such middlemen, granting them control over these transactions with these ridiculous 'service' payments. 'Extortion payments' is the more apt description. But with their monopoly, what could we do but grind our teeth and go through with it! read more

Please make sure of have an appointment -the staff really scrutinized the details and feel it was more to force you to use their services - specially for pictures which was fine but they said it was not correct so paid the $13 to have it done there - I would suggest just do it there so you don't have to pay twice. You cannot take your laptop - they charge $20 for storage which is really a large amount. in short service is Good but they want to charges for these additional services - the service charges are high too read more

VFS Services USA - Passport & Visa Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

* This review is for VFS/ Indian Consulate in Seattle - Please correct your process and technical issues, and refund customers double charged. * Anyone in need of consular services through VFS/ Indian Consulate in Seattle be wary that there appear to be serious issues with their processes, some that may lead to double charges. Plus, though on their website they ask customers to reach out, their contact form simply did not submit in any major browser (I tried Chrome, Edge, Opera). And if you want to call their customer service to complaint or ask for refund, they literally charge you! WOW!! Issue with their billing: When I selected the option to mail my Passport renunciation application, VFS Globals web application for the Indian Consulate retrieved my records as per my ARN and calculated the total payment due. In that payment, it by default included $7.99 + fee and tax for the Photo service. There was no instruction on that page how to upload my photograph for the service. I received a separate email for the photo service, and that process asks to pay that amount AGAIN! This attempt to double-charge the customers is inappropriate, and their forms to file a complaint or ask for refund simply dont go through, as mentioned above!! UPDATE: After over a dozen attempts I was finally able to file a Refund Request. The complaint form is still not working. Will update if I get a resolution. read more

I was charged $20 for storing my bag at the VFS Centre. There is a 3 rd party baggage storage service , tied up with VFS , which is a big scam! Every person with a bag or a backpack , is redirected to the storage room where a $20 is charged for a 15 min Visa appointment window! This is ridiculous. Please provide locker service for free or at least refund the security deposit after the visa appointment . Charging $20 on each customer is atrocious. Every day hundreds of people visit VFS Global, carrying their passport, wallet, docs files, etc and its inevitable not to carry a backpack. Instead there could be a simple security baggage check instead of demanding $20 from each person. We have no choice but to pay the bag storage fee of $20 , instead of walking back to our car parking and leave the bag in the car, missing the appointment window. What a wonderfully planned scamming . read more

Worst place to get work done .. because work never taken seriously here,just giving false promises to complete the work .long wait hold for phone, false promises from employee ND supervisor to get escalated.....if there is minus star I would have given that .... application took 2 months with them ND no response on email or getting work done..I had to cancel my trip twice...seems like useless people to deal with...going to file complaint with consumer boards read more

This is the third party firm that the French government assigned to process visas. If one has a concern or question one has to deal with VFS either by email or phone. I chose email a month ago to get clarification. No reply until earlier this week. It was a reply from someone who gave her name and apologized for the delay citing their system transition issues. Fine. I get that is a legitimate excuse for the delay. However, this representative after apologizing told me that they're there to assist me if I have any questions. Then why not answer my question?! My emailed question was attached to her email message below. But did she even acknowledge and address the question? No! So I sent a reply using that same email chain asking about the same question I had and to please give me an answer. No reply to date after two days! I think these people are just playing games. It is totally useless to contact VFS. Updated 4/21/2025: Well, another rep. replied to my second email. Instead of answering my question all this rep. said is that they 'successfully addressed and resolved' my query! NO! They have not. Instead of answering someone's question they just do nothing work by sending emails pretending that they have. This is ridiculous because people have no choice but to go through them. They French consulate ought to be contacted to let them know. read more

Went to their San Jose office for a emergency PCC as a legal guardian. Despite being the legal representative with court order I was told my signature would not work. When I tried to explain and referenced how the local authority (USA) was able to process the same in 2 days, I was told not to argue :) and turned away. This was my second visit in 2 days. I wish the Indian Govt. has more sensible, customer friendly with better attitude vendors to work with. read more

Beware of VFS - VFS is a fraud company who cheats and loots the common public. Already I waster 300 $ and a lot of time thanks to their mediocre service. Funny thing is that they will ask for your credit card details first, if you call them up to follow up on something - there is no other way to contact them - I have never heard of any company doing this in USA. Both myself and my spouse tried for a new OCI card multiple times without any success. They always find some fault and ask us to apply again afte deducting some 70-80$ each time. This has happened to us already 3-4 times. I am not sure why Indian Consulates are still taking their help for visa/passport services. read more

Great service, had just around 2-3 min wait time when I went for my 11.30am appointment. I was done with submission in less than 8 mins of arrival, but had to wait about 15-20 min for the receipt. The person who I interacted with, Meera, was nice and friendly. If you have all your documents right you'll be outta here in no time. Staff is friendly and helpful, but bound by their rules n constraints obviously. Recommendations/Tips: 1. Read every instruction very carefully. They mandate Masks, be there on time, read every document in the mandatory checklist- what purpose they serve, and don't dismiss anything with assumptions. 2. I had paid for their photo services, but later realized that I have to get the change of appearance notarized, so I got the photographs in prior and didn't use their service. Even the photocopy/printing service. So think before choosing the services you avail at VFS and do not overpay. 3. Change of appearance is mandatory for passport re-issue even if your appearance has not changed. You have to notarize stating the same. One lady who missed it had a tough time, as she had to either come back or mail it. You cannot reschedule 48 hours before the appointment or defer your slot after check in. 4. Parking could become a pain, so if you're driving yourself to the office, it's better to book a garage that's next to it or anywhere close, and not struggle around in the city at the last min. 5. The address building number 228 is not a number you'll see on a building door at the street, but there's a small door/passage beside 230 that leads you to a lift and can be let in with a valid appointment. You'll see the address written along a vertical banner above the door. Just don't look for door numbers on a building. read more

Not the fault of the employees here, but I hate VFS with the passion of a million burning suns. The epitome of rent-seeking behavior. On my application, the payment errored out and there is no way to access the application again to re-submit a new payment. There is just an error "your appointment is not confirmed and your payment is in progress." Ah, simple programming error you might think! A bug they didn't consider, I'm sure there's some way around this. NO THERE IS NOT. No way to reset or restart your application. No support to contact. NO HELP AT ALL. THE ONLY SOLUTION WAS TO CANCEL THE ORIGINAL VISA APPLICATION AND START FRESH. Jesus Christ. And did the UK send me a copy of my answers? No, no they did not. So now I have to look everything back up to start from scratch. This is why I go to Singapore instead.... read more

Very incompetent and slow. Dealing with VFS is like aging 10 years in 2 hours. Their new offices are really nice but what the point if their system is super antiquated? And they try to upcharge on everything specially return envelopes. The website says they will accept prepaid envelopes but when you take them in, they are refused. SMH! read more

Absolutely fraudulent practices here .They charged me for services they did not provide. I read other reviews calling them clown and I have to agree with those reviews. They ruined the pictures I sent them twice, I am guessing trying to compel me to use their online photo services. They clanked to have not received documents I sent them twice via fedex. Giving Indians a bad name. read more

I recently visited the office for my Schengen visa for france . my appointment was at 11:15 am I was called around 11:30 am . Officer asked for the documents had arranged in the order given on the website. I missed including one document which and officer asked me to get the copies ASAP. I submitted the copies and was called for biometrics. I was done by 12:30 . I went to the office on Dec 2 and received my visa on Dec 9 . I did see some negative comments which is why I was a little hesitant at first but the staff was really good and my experience here was pleasant read more

I am not sure why people gave three star to VFS. I know earlier their instruction was not very clear and I had to read few times to understand but recently instruction is very clear. I have renewed my passport once, wife's passport twice and daughter's passport three times and the service was always very quick and smooth. Only this time I got some issue and that was completely my fault and I didn't send one document which was mandatory. And once I sent that, they started working on Sunday itself. I was surprised as I didn't expect to get any notification before Monday EOD or Tuesday. Regarding photo services, they are not very strict and accepted my wife's photo with not so white background and although they charged for photo services in original invoice for my passport, they refunded all extra charges as soon as they received my application. I didn't have to contact them. Another reason to give them 5+ rating. read more

This review is for the VFS indian consular service (OCI). I haven't come across a more unprofessional or unhelpful service in the entire country. Once you send your documents in with your application, it's a total black box. They will email you out of the blue saying some parts of the application are missing without clarifying which parts need to be resubmitted. If you reply to their email and ask for clarification, they will not respond. If you call them for help, they will charge you for each minute you spend on the phone with their totally unhelpful staff (you get 5 free minutes per week - wow! - after that they will charge you). This is a scam masquerading as a legitimate business! read more

This company continues to astound with its incompetence. Trying to get OCI card for my son . Filled out form on Govt website and now want to mail it in for processing. Enter VFSGLOBAL - on their website, I attempted to create a new application. Keep getting below error: 'Government reference number is not valid. Please recheck if its correctly entered or belongs to the correct Consular Jurisdiction' The ref. number is correct. From online chat forum discussions it seems to take the company 2+ days to update their databases. Why can't they either update quicker or make it clear to users that 2 days delay is to be expected??? As it is, customers are left to their own devices, and, like me, are probably re-submitting the form multiple times under the mistaken assumption they made a mistake. At the very least, it shows a lack of empathy, and at worst, outright contempt for customers! read more

I applied for the wrong visa to visit the UK. Only needed the $22 UK ETA but applied at UK.gov for $177 visa and scheduled biometric visit at VFS Global now on Harrison pre-paying $404 for their services. Realized my mistake. UK immediately refunded $177. Impossible to navigate VFS Global site. Unable to Submit my visit cancellation for days because I failed to tick a totally random box. Finally cancelled 4 days before appointment. Was refunded $94 (twice for unclear reasons) but not the $310 basic biometric visit fee. Thought I'd report to Better Business Bureau but they already have an "F- non-responsive" rating. Sent a letter already requesting refund of my full $310. Will send another but doubt I will see it from the reputation that they seem to have! Hope others don't get confused about UK visa requirements like I did. read more

I applied for OCI for three family members and submitted the required documents on August 29, 2025. Later, I was informed that some documents were missing, so I sent the additional documents on September 8, 2025. Since then, I have received no updates from their end. I contacted customer service multiple times, and each time I was assured that the issue would be escalated and I would receive an update within a couple of days. Unfortunately, no updates ever came. Out of frustration, I resent the documents on November 8, 2025, but again received no response--only repeated promises of escalation whenever I called. This morning, I was told I would get an update within a few hours, but it has been well beyond that timeframe, and I still have not heard back. It's been nearly three months since my original applications, and all I have are empty promises and significant credit card charges from repeated calls to their customer service. After checking Reddit forums, it appears that many others are experiencing similar issues. read more

5 stars, really? Yes! Totally underrated. Place is super clean. Courteous, efficient. But unfairly vilified. Was I just lucky? Nah, I was PREPARED. Listen to Magda down below. Just like what she said: Read the instructions. Bring positive attitude. You'll be rewarded. Need Schengen Visa. Seamless online scheduling. Came, zero wait. Helpful officer. Girl next to me got problems. They went extra mile. Now onto the tips: Take metro: Montgomery. Parking here's a betch. Photos: 15 bucks Just come early, do it here. Cheaper than Walgreens. read more

VFS Services USA - Biometrics area - Passport & Visa Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

VFS was supposed to refund me within 1-2 weeks. It has been over a month and I have still not received the money! They have needlessly charged me at every step, been so reluctant and slow to process my refund when it was their fault and offered deplorable services. The attitude of the VFS staff is abhorrent. They made me rebook three times and pay them each time. They were extremely racist and insulting to me. I felt so unsafe and disappointed in their services! read more

One of the most pathetic experiences with VFG Global trying to use their 2 way courier service. 1. The website has many errors ( the dropdown to select the vfs center and service have options like ttest or best . It seems the code in testing environment was deployed to production as well. 2. I was able to make successful payment for my account and download the label as well. 3. for my husband's account I keep encountering payment failed with no other information. I have tried multiple times. with different form of payments. Credit, Debit. I used my card which went through successfully for my application 5 minutes ago but failed for the second application. 4. I called their Helpdesk I was given two options 1. Not to use Mac as the application does not work on Mac intermittently 2. Use a different courier service. 5. I asked the help desk agent if VFS had any other way I could make payment because we would like to use the same service for applications being sent from the same household to the same address for the same purpose. She told me I use my label to send my husband's application too. I told her if I don't make payment for my husband's label, his application will to the center but we will not get his passport back as there would not be a return label. 6. I was then told that "Well I gave you the option.You can chose a different courier service" This is first time that a Helpdesk has asked to to use a different service provider than them. I did not even get anything along the line of let me check with my colleague if there is something else that can be done or we can get your payment done over phone. it was straight up go look for a different courier!!! read more

I'd give them a negative star if I could. They screwed up the biometrics, and I had to come back to get my biometrics taken again two weeks after the initial appointment date. read more

These are horrible people. First they rejected my daughter's photo for OCI saying there is a shadow in photo, which is actually the same photo in US passport. then they rejected my photo saying eyes are not clearly visible. They better close their business instead of torturing people. read more

This is a review for the France Visa process at VFS Global during the COVID-19 pandemic (10/05/2021). A few things to note. 1. Be prepared to wait multiple hours when visiting the office. Our appointment was for 1:45pm and we were not served until 4pm. We finally left at 5pm. All in all, we spent 3 hours there. 2. Although not specified in any documentation, you must bring a photo that adheres to France's specifications which are 3.5x4.5 cm (1.37x1.77 inches). If you bring an American 2x2 inch photo they will retake your photo and charge you $13.20. 3. During the pandemic, you cannot pick up your completed passport with visa. It must be mailed. You can have VFS Global send it via FedEx for $38.20. My advice is to go to the US Post office next door and self-address a Priority Mail envelope for $8.88 and give it to VFS Global. Good luck! read more

VFS Services USA - Passport & Visa Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Horrible service. Charging extra unnecessary money! Sent a photo that was taken literally one day before got reapplication was sent and I am not sure on What basis they say that the photo is more than 6 months old. The second time around I uploaded the photo as they recommended and they came back saying that the attire needs to be dark colored. This criteria was not mentioned before. Total rip off!! read more

I applied for my OCI card back in February 2023 thru VFS Services after my previous application (from 2021) was rejected due to having dual citizenship!! Anyways, I received my OCI passport just today via UPS post. Seems like my application this time around took almost 8 months! I live on the west coast so my application thru the San Francisco Indian Consulate office. It looks like these new OCI applications take a long time to process since they have to be sent to New Delhi also for processing. Please note that if your application is more than 50 days old, you can call the Indian Consulate to enquire. The San Fran Indian Consulate's telephone number is 415-668-0662 / 415-668-0683. I was also able to email the Indian consulate to enquire about my OCI application at 'vcoci.sf@mea.gov.in'. read more

VFS Services USA - Passport & Visa Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Booking an appointment online is not possible for renunciation. This is because you can do both renunciation and OCI at one time and VFS will make very little money when you do that both by yourself. And if you do not subscribe to their SMS tracking service for $5/each, their own tracking link will not work. VFS wants to make money first and then provide service Calls to the service center are also charged. You need to provide a credit card before a rep comes online. you are charged an exorbitant amount per minute basis so be careful read more

Had a horrible experience dealing with VFS due to their poor online service which had numerous technical glitches. To get a refund you have to deal with their customer service which costs $ 2.50 per minute after the first 5 minutes of free talk time. Their in-person appointment booking is a joke you can try and try, but you will not be able to book an appointment. read more

***STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY*** I made the grave mistake of using VSF Global to apply for my Portuguese Visa and it was a nightmare. First of all, most of the employees at the NYC location a had my appointment at were unfriendly and rude. Second, I gave them meticulous instructions on what address they were to send my passport to as I had recently moved. They did not follow these instructions, therefore my passport was sent to the wrong address. (Way to read, people!) Then, when they sent a courier to the correct address, the courier also didn't follow instructions by not leaving the package at my door without a signature. Most of us have to work during the day and are unable to sit around waiting for mail. In turn, my passport was sent to a facility in Massachusetts, for some reason. It was supposed to go to New York. Following this incident, was more than a month of me contacting someone - anyone - at VSF to help me get my passport back. No one responded to any of my messages until I got a lawyer friend involved. All of a sudden, I get a phone call from one of the employees claiming they've been trying to reach me for weeks on end with no success. No you didn't! I have no phone or email records of anyone attempting to reach me. I even received an email from a supervisor claiming the same. Interesting how they are trying to convince me of this after I get an attorney involved. Not once during that month-plus did anyone from VFS try to help me. I can't emphasize enough: they are unprofessional, rude, and couldn't care less about their customers. read more