PASSPORTS

Damaged Passports

Any passport should be replaced, regardless of remaining validity, if it has been altered, damaged, or mutilated to the extent that the ability to read it is impaired or if it could give the impression that the passport has been tampered with. If a damaged passport is submitted by-mail/courier services, we will hold it at our office and contact the bearer to appear in person for its replacement.

Application Requirements

You must apply for a passport in person but do not require an appointment. Please bring the following with you to the Consulate General:

• Evidence of U.S. citizenship:
• U.S. Birth Certificate; or
• U.S. Consular Report of Birth Abroad; or 
• U.S. Certification of Birth; or 
• U.S. Certificate of Citizenship; or 
• U.S. Naturalization Certificate; or
• Expired U.S. passport 

• Evidence of identity
• Passport of any country;
• Driver's license with photograph;
• National identity card with photograph;
• U.S. or state government ID card;
• U.S. military ID card; or
• Any foreign passport that you may currently hold, have held, or been included in;

• Name change documentation: If you have changed your name by marriage since the last passport was issued, please provide your original marriage certificate. Additional documentation is required if you have changed your name by any other means;
• Passport application Form DS-11. The instructions on this form are written for individuals applying for a passport within the United States. As applications are processed differently outside the United States, please ignore the submission instructions on pages one and two of this form. Form DS-11 must be printed on separate sheets of paper; do NOT print this form on front and back of the same sheet. (Tips on completing the DS-11);
• Two identical passport photographs. The Consulate General will reject any photographs that do not meet the photo requirements. Vending machine photographs and photographs printed on a home computer are unacceptable;
• Fees. The application fee for an applicant under the age of 16 is U.S. $85.00; aged 16 and over it is $100.00: 

• Cash – either U.S. dollars or Indian rupees; or
• International money order to the exact U.S. dollar amount made payable to the “U.S. Consulate General, Hyderabad;” or 
• Demand draft drawn in U.S. dollars on a bank in the United States made payable to the “U.S. Consulate General, Hyderabad;” or 
• Demand draft drawn in Indian rupees on a nationalized or foreign bank payable to the “U.S. Consulate General, Hyderabad.”
  Note: The Consulate General is not authorized to accept personal checks. Money orders or demand drafts must have been issued within the last five months.  We neither accept cash by mail/courier, nor overpayment.

• Prepaid courier envelope or self-addressed, stamped 9½ X 4 inch envelope so that we may return your current and new passports to you by courier or registered mail.  Courier envelops can be purchased from any India VFS office for INR 169.  All self-addressed, stamped 9½ X 4 inch envelopes must bear INR 54 postage already affixed.
• Your local contact information. If you indicate U.S. telephone numbers on the Form DS-11 for number 16, please also include your local telephone numbers in India so that we may contact you if there is any problem with your application.
• Additional documents may be required depending upon the circumstances of your case.
• If applying for a child under the age of 16, you will also be required to follow additional instructions.

If any of the above requirements are pending on the day of the passport application, you will be allowed a period of 90 days to submit the missing evidence. If the missing evidence is not submitted within 90 days the application will be considered abandoned. The passport fee(s) is not refundable.

Processing Time

An application for a full-validity (ten years for adults) passport will be sent to the United States for printing with a secure, photo-digitized image of the bearer. You should allow 15 working days for your application to be processed.

If you have an emergency need to travel within 15 days and you can provide evidence of this travel, you may be eligible for a limited-validity emergency passport.