If you hold Sri Lankan nationality and live within reach of Los Angeles, this is the office your paperwork goes through. Consular work is unglamorous and exacting, and knowing what this post does before you turn up saves the wasted morning that catches most people out.
The contact details, the services usually available and the appointment process are set out below, along with the things worth knowing before you make the trip into Los Angeles.
📞 Quick Contact
- Address: 6006 Wilshire BLVD, Los Angeles
- Phone: (323) 634-0479
- Type of office: Consulate General
🛂 The consular work done at this post
In broad terms, expect the following. Anything unusual is worth confirming by telephone first:
- Documents: certification for use across borders. Whether that means an apostille or full legalisation depends on treaties, not on preference.
- Visas: entry permission for those whose nationality requires it. Ask whether your trip needs one at all before assuming it does.
- Powers of attorney: authorising someone to act for you back in Sri Lanka — selling property, dealing with a bank, handling an estate.
- Passports: handled here in most cases, though a lost or stolen book follows a separate route that usually begins with a police report.
- Assistance: the part of consular work nobody plans for. An arrest, a hospital, a death in the family, documents gone.
📅 Before you book
Appointments are the norm rather than the exception. Plan around the availability at the Los Angeles office rather than around your own calendar.
Without a published system, contact the office directly and ask how it handles appointments and whether it sees anyone without one.
Bring originals and copies of everything. Counters keep the copy and return the original, and the reverse is the exception.
🤝 Practical points
Districts get redrawn. If you last used this office years ago, confirm it still covers you.
Names are the other recurring problem. Where the spelling on an American document differs from the Sri Lankan record — accents dropped, surnames ordered differently, a married name — expect to be asked for evidence explaining the difference.
Consular processing is slower than any commercial service and the timetable is not negotiable. Start early.
Common questions before you go
Can I go there if I live in another state?
Usually not: applications from outside the district are refused. Ask which states the Los Angeles office covers before you travel.
Do I need a visa to visit Sri Lanka?
That depends on your nationality and the length of the trip. Where Sri Lanka does require one, it is increasingly applied for online rather than at a counter.
How do I get hold of this office?
By telephone on (323) 634-0479. Note who you speak to and what you are told, because requirements differ between posts of the same country.
Does this office handle passports?
It usually does, by appointment and with personal attendance for biometrics. Ask whether the booklet is collected at the counter or posted out.
What if I lose my passport days before a flight?
That does not go through the ordinary appointment queue. Call and say it is an emergency: for imminent travel most networks issue a travel document valid for a single journey.
Where exactly is this consulate general?
At 6006 Wilshire BLVD, in Los Angeles. Check the floor or suite number before travelling — it is the detail that ruins more visits than anything else.