BLS Indian Passport Application Center USA

Very Bad experience, Highly unprofessional people. lost my return envelope and when I called to check they said I never send them any. Liars. From call center employee to manager level all people are expert in lying.
I have filed grievance and it’s more than 10 days no reply and no updates. Manager not even bothered about replying to my emails. If I call they put me on hold and hand up after sometime. I am calling them 4 – 5 time just to get an update on my case. No reply …
Indian government should change their vendor for passport services BLS is not at all professional.
BLS if you are reading this then you know who I am please resolve my case ASAP.

Thank you Mr Neeraj Guglani for the wonderful service provided at BLS Indian passport office.
The way you guys guide people and get them their passports is amazing. You team helped me in putting together all documents required by embassy and I got my passport without any hassle with-​in 10 days of submission.
Thank you so much again Mr Neeraj Guglani –BLS passport service at New York.

Very happy with the service, they are fast and efficient
Follow the instructions that they have provided and it’s all hassle free.

Amazing experience with Darren, I went to renew my wife’s passport and he was so supportive and polite while speaking. I forgot 1 paper to notarize the new supervisor verified it with original and signed it by himself and told me no need to go for any notary. Amazing experience in New York.

Ok so I just submitted all my documents for renewing my passport… it was a smooth process for me… i followed everything written on the website. arranged all my documents… got my docs notarised by a ups store which is close by to bls on 23^rd st and 6^th av… had appt taken so I was in and out in 10 mins. I have given one star less because these guys don’t give change… it was 91.20…so please carry 91.20…i mean it… they won’t spare the 20 cents for which I had to go down and arrange… otherwise the staff was really nice and warm… just ensure you do your paperwork perfectly and yes don’t go to your bank for notarization. .they won’t do it… I wasted my time in all that

I did not give it 5 stars because there is no clear indication where the actual place is. Its in a small nook and not very accessible. Also, I cannot speak for all those who have complicated issues with their passport. Me and my wife had a very simple passport renewal. Just wanted a new regular passport with our names on each others passport. There is a very clear checklist. Please go through it 10 times. Check if you need any affidavits or any notarization. Usually, visa, address proof etc. need to be notarized. Please check each and every instruction on the website about hand filling of the application form and the requirement of photographs. There IS a Sorting Order. It has very clear sequence of how they need the documents arranged. BLS order form needs to be printed. I dropped the package for me and my wife (with her authorization letter, template is on BLS website). I was in and out in 10 mins. Please carry exact change if you are taking cash. They have written it everywhere on their website that they need exact change and I still saw people NOT getting the right amount of cash. Why blame BLS if you do not follow everything as instructed? Darren who took my application was very polite and i had no issues with my submission. Follow instructions to the tee and you should be good

Very disappointed with the lack of commitment from the folks including top management in case of resolving emergency /​Urgent matters. Otherwise they are fine…
The funniest thing is this NY Based company has delayed my application more than the INDIA EMBASSY NYC and INDIAN EMBASSY DC who have acted promptly and swiftly procesed my application before time and unfortunately BLS has only delayed at a time of need.
BLS NY has failed in communicating in a timely manner to the emails sent including department KALPESH and a few others.

My son’s passport was expiring in Dec 2017 and with online reviews I decided to apply early so that I have enough time if there are issues. So, I applied in the last week of Feb 2016 and completed all the required documents and used ‘postal’ as application process.
Many people complain that BLS is inefficient, hard to track and instructions aren’t clear. However my experience with them was very pleasant. Website gives clear instructions (which many people fail to follow). Tracking is updated as soon as there is change in status. And processing is done in time — No delays experienced.
If you can follow the written instructions well, you will have good experience. From many of listed reviews, people do not follow instructions and reach out to them directly and call it ‘pathetic place’. The website is so detailed that it also explains the sequence of documents to be sent.
I received passport in 10 days time, no issues and very happy with the service. I would recommend to follow the instructions, document correctly (check for notarized document requirements).
Check following before you send —
1. All documents are attached
2. sequence of documents
3. Cashier’s check or Money order of correct amount (you will have to send one check of total amount — be careful)
4. Sign wherever required
5. correct required format photographs
6.Return envelope with label printed and pasted on it
7. Notarized copies (wherever required)
8. Some patience
Best wishes!

I was out of pages and went to apply for a new one. As long as you have all the paperwork in order and have an appointment, you shouldn’t have a problem. I was in and out in 10 minutes.
I expected the standard Indian treatment but they treated me professionally.

Extremely disappointed with their customer service. I had to call them everyday for 3 weeks straight just to get an update on my pasaport processing (they said they don’t have my photograph). Which I already uploaded to the BLS site, and they took money for it.
The wait time is 30 – 45 mins when you call. The Rep will pick up and tell me there is some problem with website or status will reflect tomorrow or send email to ccramesh (they will never respond to your emails).
When I lost all hope, I went to the BLS office in New York and enquired about my passport. Luckily my passport was with them and the lady confirmed she has my photograph as well. Thanks to her, she sent my passport to embassy immediately. And within a week I received my passport.
I learnt it hard way, instead of sending them passport via UPS and processing online, I should have visited BLS office in first place.

The passport renewal process is a test of how well you can follow instructions. If you don’t understand what to fill out, look at the sample forms. If you still have questions, either call their helpline (the wait is kinda long, but we are a ton of people !), or wait to fill it out until you are at the office where they are able to help you out. Once you have the documents in order (they even have a sorting order listed on their website), all you have to do is drop off the documents (I did this in-​person, and it took me about 30 minutes, including the wait), and wait for their email to show up. They also email you a tracking number if you are antsy like that. They estimated the processing time at 2 – 4 weeks, but the passport usually arrives much faster unless you (god help you, if after all those instructions) bungled something up. My timeline from drop-​off to pick-​up was 8 days.
A couple of useful hints:
1. If you are paying cash, bring exact change. They’ve listed this on their website too.
2. You’ll pay a ton of money at the kiosk downstairs for notary, photocopy etc. Don’t blame the guy, he’s running a business. Instead, come prepared.
Regarding the location, it seems a bit shady, but it works and that’s what’s matters. Shiny new passport + no hassle = five star.

Pathetic place! Pathetic People!
Right from the beginning :
1) I checked their website which is not that efficient to provide the information I needed.
2) when I personally went to their office, There was a guy who asked for 100 dollars (other than the application fee which is $ 100) Just for filling my application form and attesting my documents, which I got done very easily at the UPS store for 2 dollars per document.
3) Their customer service phone number was never answered.
4) Finally They accepted my application after 2 visits.
I got my renewed passport in 1 month by normal processing.

I recently renewed my Indian passport at this location the process was quick and easy if you have all the required documents as mentioned in BLS website.
One thing I hated is filling the BLS order form which was bit tricky if you are adding the shipment details. I shipped my documents and old passport to NY location and the regular process took 12 days to send old passport and receive the new passport.
Below is my passport tracking info
Application accepted by BLS:10−12−2015, 15:45
Application Processed on Date: 10-​12-​2015
Application Processed and submitted to Consulate: 11-​12-​2015, 15:43
Passport received at BLS Center: 21-​12-​2015, 09:19
Passport Dispatched to Applicant :21−12−2015, 12:46

This review is for my recent passport renewal. The process took about 10 days from the date of submission to getting the passport back via UPS. If you follow the instructions posted on their website to the dot, it should be a straightforward process. While I was there, I did see some people come with incomplete forms; do not complain that it took all day if you did not complete your own documents before turning up! I also saw people who got documents which were clearly mentioned as not acceptable on their website as address proof. Come on! Don’t argue with them about why it is not acceptable — instead invest that time and energy in bringing the correct document! Overall, if you do your due diligence, it should be quick and painless.

I cannot believe that this is the official organisation chosen by the embassy.
1) Their website is pathetic!
2) If you have questions and you will since the website provides no answers, you easily have to hold for a customer care representative for more than an hour after which your call is dropped.
3) If you try emailing them, you will likely get a response from them in another 3 days or so. It is very amusing to me how unprofessionally and incorrectly the emails are worded.

I had no problems with the documentation or the process. Submitted the docs personally on 17^th June and the renewed passport back on 26^th June on my home

They don’t have a detailed list of what they require as mandatory documents for passport renewal, they came back twice to me to get the missing documents and I had to pay a resubmission fee both times. I think they should have told me all the missing documents all at once, but I guess that’s how they make money.
They also take forever to update the status of the passport, when I called their helpline the customer service rep told me whatever I could see online and there was an error in the information so I questioned him and he simply hung up on me. I find this unorganized, unprofessional and rude on their part. I don’t understand how one can take so long to renew a passport. Simply terrible!

My below experience was in about early 2014. It was very hard to deal with BLS. Starting with instructions on their web. These instructions are long and duplicative. Very hard to follow and logically figure out what ur are supposed to do.
Not a good experience getting visa. It was delayed by a week. Hard to get touch with NY BLS. Listed phone goes Verizon mobile which was never answered. Customer service in India has parroted same response every time «wait for additional 48 hours».
Even when I escalated, after visa was processed and I got email status update saying it was shipped, it was not really handed off to fedex for another 48 hors.
My humble opinion, allow at least twice the official time for processing.

If there was a feature for negative stars, I’d be delighted to click on that.
This is the most abominable service I have ever encountered. And it shocks me that such a terrible service is linked with an embassy and documents as important as passports.
The site itself is so misleading with the terrible English and lack of a proper explanation. I have had to resend my documents 3 times because the language on the form description isnt clear enough to differentiate between the various forms of fresh/​renew of passport.
When i finally lost my patience and called their service for an Airway Bill number, the gentleman not only spelled the address incorrectly and charged me for it but gave me instructions to follow for a reimbursement – yup, 4 weeks late, no reimbursement of charge that was entirely their mistake but no one seems to want to reply.
After this first fiasco, I receive emails regarding resubmission of forms that are already with them as per their instruction, but the english is so absolutely abhorrent, I am afriad to call them for fear of them not understanding me and yet, I think this entire process is tedious because they dont seem to understand what they are doing.
They also request a cashiers check for resubmission everytime they request something from you – needless to say this feels like a money making scheme because not only am I out an extra $ 60 because they seem to hire people with no knowledge of English but also, you’re the one paying for their errors.
I wish I’d just bough a ticket to india and done this there. at this point. both the embassy and our government and their lack of organization is reflected by this ridiculous service

Its a great service, I was worried with all the reviews below. But I got exceptional service. If you send all the required documents as per stated on there site. I got my passport renewed without any issue from NYC in 15 days.
Mailed Documents — 15^th March
Delivered at BLS — 17^th March
Sent to India Embassy — 20^th March
Approved — 30^th March
Passport delivered back — 1^st April
Never had any issue, Follow the documents as stated on the BLS site and complete all forms. Got passport renewed in 15 days with normal service (Not Tatkal)…