'Site-dedication ceremony' for US Embassy in Bengaluru to be held on January 17

Bengaluru: A 'site-dedication ceremony' for the US Consulate in Bengaluru will be held on January 17, official sources said on Monday.

"I can confirm on the site dedication ceremony but cannot comment anything on the location of the upcoming consulate as of now," an official told PTI on grounds of anonymity.

The official also noted that temporary operations may begin at the city's JW Marriott hotel, from where the office of United States Commercial Service (USCS) currently operates.

The official did not wish to confirm reports that the consulate may come up either in the Central Business District or Whitefield in east Bengaluru, where there is a concentration of industries, tech companies and business parks.

Karnataka Minister for Commerce and Industries M B Patil, earlier during his meetings with US Consul General in Chennai and other officials had urged establishing a US Consulate office in Whitefield.

The US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, last month said the US is working on its commitment to open a Consulate in Bengaluru in January.

Pointing out that the US was the only major country that does not have a consulate in Bengaluru, Garcetti had said, "So we're working very hard on that. I hope to announce some good news in that shortly. We already have the Foreign Commercial Service in Bengaluru. We are committed to seeing our commitment to opening up Bengaluru consulate, hopefully in January."

Currently, the US has consulates in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad, in addition to the Embassy in New Delhi.

The US has announced that it will open a new consulate in Ahmedabad too.

The establishment of a US Consulate in Bengaluru was a long-standing demand, and it is expected to streamline the visa application process for residents of Karnataka, eliminating the need for them to travel to cities in other states where consultants are located.