Consulate General of the United States, Chennai

Consulate General of the United States of America Chennai சென்னை அமெரிக்கத் துணைத்தூதரகம்
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Phillip A. Min since 18 September 2014
United States Department of State
Style	Consul General
Nominator	Barack Obama
Term length	3 years
Inaugural holder	William Abbott as U.S. Consular Agent
Formation	24 November 1794
Website	http://chennai.usconsulate.gov/

The Consulate General of the United States of America Chennai represents the interests of the United States government in Chennai (formerly known as Madras), India and surrounding regions. The consulate reports to the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. The current Consul General is Phillip A. Min, incumbent since 18 September 2014. He was preceded by Jennifer A. McIntyre.

Ranked one of America's biggest adjudication posts in the world, the Chennai Consulate also ranks first globally in processing employment-based visas, ranks among the top globally in issuing 'L' and 'H' category visas, and ranks eighth globally in terms of all category of visas being issued. As of 2009, about 20,000 visitors enter the consulate every month to obtain a range of services, including the American Library and cultural and educational programs conducted by the Consulate General.

The Consulate General building is located at 220 Anna Salai, and abuts the Oxford University Press building. The building stands at the intersection of Anna Salai and Cathedral Road on the Gemini Circle facing the Anna Flyover on a land leased for long-term from St. George's Cathedral and has entrance on both roads. Both the Consulate General and the American Library Center are located in the same building.

Trading links between the United States and the East India Company's territories began when the American ship Chesapeake sailed up the Hooghly to anchor in Calcutta in 1786, just ten years after the United States Declaration of Independence. On 19 November 1792, the then American President George Washington appointed Benjamin Joy, a businessman from Newburyport, Massachusetts, as the first American Consul to India. With the advice of the then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, later the third President of the United States and consent of the Senate, President Washington commissioned Joy to that office on 21 November 1792. When Joy reached Calcutta in April 1794, the colonial government repudiated his commission. However, he was permitted to 'reside here as a Commercial Agent subject to the Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction of this Country...', and he stayed in Calcutta and served as the commercial agent of the American government.