The U.S. embassy in New Delhi has announced that it would no longer allow representative or third-party passport collection, effective from August 1, 2025. This change has been implemented in order to ensure the safety and security of applicants’ passports and documents.
The new guidelines state that visa applicants should collect their passports and related documents in person. For applicants below the age of 18, a parent or a legal guardian will be required to collect the passport, and they need to carry an original consent letter signed by both parents. The embassy also said that scanned or emailed copies of the consent letter would not be accepted.
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In order to make the process easier, the embassy is offering a paid home or office delivery service for a nominal fee of ₹1,200 or approximately $14.50 per applicant. Applicants can opt for this delivery service by updating their document delivery preferences online.
Applicants can change the delivery option by logging in on their profile on https://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/en/, clicking on “Document Delivery Information” on the visa application home page, selecting the applicant’s name, choosing the preferred delivery method, and submitting the charges. In case of technical issues, applicants are expected to use the “Feedback/Requests” option in their profile and attach a screenshot of the error along with their preferred delivery location.
The embassy has also advised applicants to avoid calling its call center for updates. Instead, they have been asked to refer to the official website or check the “Messages” section on their Visa Application Home page for additional information.
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Previously U.S. visa applicants in India could authorize another person like a family member, friend, or travel agent to collect their passport and visa documents from a designated collection center. The representative only needed an authorization letter signed by the applicant, a photocopy of the applicant’s government-issued photo ID, and their own valid ID. Minors did not require an original signed copy of a consent letter from their parents; an emailed or scanned copy was enough.
The U.S. Department of State recently released the Visa Bulletin for August, outlining key changes in employment-based and family-sponsored green card categories. This update showed significant forward momentum in the EB-5 unreserved investor category for India and China. The employment-based second preference (EB-2) category has experienced retrogression for all countries except India and China, while the EB-3 category in India saw modest advancement. Family-sponsored categories remained mostly unchanged.