US Consulate in Hyderabad moves to own facility built at cost of $340 million

Fifteen years after commencing the operations from historic Paigah Palace in Begumpet, the Consulate has moved to its own building in the Financial District, Nanakramguda, an information technology cluster in western part of the city.

"Today marks a milestone in the US-India Strategic Partnership," US Consul General, Hyderabad, Jennifer Larson, said.

"At a cost of $340 million, our new consulate facility in Hyderabad is an investment in the US relationship with India. We look forward to increasing our staff - including visa officers - in order to continue expanding US-India ties in the months and years to come,"" she said.

Established in 2008 at the historic Paigah Palace, the US Consulate General in Hyderabad is the first US diplomatic office to open in India since India's independence. Groundbreaking at the new location in Nanakramguda took place in 2017.

Located on a 12-acre site, the new consulate embodies the US State Department's mission to provide safe, secure, functional, and resilient facilities for U.S. diplomacy. The $340 million construction project included $70 million in local investment and employed a combined workforce of over 1,000 American, Indian, and third-country nationals.

The US Consulate General represents the US in the Indian states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. The US-India relationship in the region spans a wide range of key issues, including higher education and cultural programs, military cooperation, health and environmental issues, and commercial ties, the US Consulate said in a statement.

The US Consulate General Hyderabad issued more than 18,000 student visas during 2022, while US companies have invested billions of dollars in the region's tech, defense, aerospace, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, the Consulate works with local partners to preserve historic monuments, while Consulate staff work with local journalists to combat disinformation and expand coverage of climate change. US and Indian militaries also teamed up for joint exercises based out of Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, it said.

Visa applicants who have scheduled interviews should now go to the US Consulate's new facility in Nanakramguda for their interviews.

All other visa services - including biometrics appointments, "dropbox" appointments (interview waiver), and passport pickup - will continue to take place at the Visa Application Center (VAC), located at the Lower Concourse, HITEC City Metro Station, Madhapur, Hyderabad.

--IANS ms/vd

( 411 Words)

2023-03-20-20:18:03 (IANS)