How early can I apply?

The 1-year and 5-year multi-entry tiers accept applications up to 120 days before your intended arrival. The 30-day double-entry and 6-month single-entry tiers accept applications up to 30 days before. The minimum lead time is 4 days for any e-Visa. Earliest is best in peak season (October-March for the cultural-route winter season; June-September for monsoon-season Kerala / Goa) — the volume can push processing past the typical three-to-five-business-day window.

Do I have to mail in my passport?

No for the e-Visa. The entire process is online — you upload a scan of the bio page, pay the fee, get the PDF approval. The passport stays with you and the visa is verified electronically at the immigration counter on arrival. The only route that requires mailing your physical passport is the consular sticker visa, which applies to off-list passports (rare for US citizens) or to certain long-term and employment categories (also outside the typical tourist track).

What if my trip is in 3 days?

The e-Visa requires a minimum 4-day lead time, so 3 days is too tight. The US does not get visa-on-arrival eligibility from India, so the airport-on-arrival fallback is not available either. The only ways to make a trip in 3 days: file an expedited e-Visa through a visa service that has a direct portal relationship (sometimes resolves in 24-48 hours but is not guaranteed), or push the trip by a few days. The consular sticker visa is too slow for last-minute travel.

Should I file myself or use a visa service?

DIY through the government portal is cheapest and works fine if you have a year of passport runway, a recent photo that hits the spec, no Pakistani-origin paperwork, and no hard timing pressure. A visa service is calmer if you have a family application bundle, a tight timeline before departure, an off-list-passport spouse, or any first-time-applicant anxiety. The cost difference is typically tens of dollars per applicant for the service path; the value is in catching the photo-spec / name-mismatch errors that cause most rejections before submission.

I have a US Green Card but a foreign passport. Which rule applies?

The passport you travel on, not the Green Card. If your foreign passport is on the Indian e-Visa list (most major source markets are), file the e-Visa on that passport from your US address. If it is not on the list, file through the Indian consulate with jurisdiction over your US state of residence. The Green Card matters for your re-entry to the US, not for Indian immigration.

Should I sign up for STEP before flying?

Recommended. STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) is the State Department's free enrollment service for US citizens traveling abroad. Once registered, the US Embassy in New Delhi and the consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad can reach you with security alerts, natural-disaster advisories and family-emergency notifications. Particularly worth doing if you are heading into the Northeast, the Andamans or any restricted-permit zone.

Am I Indian-American with OCI eligibility?

Probably yes if any parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was an Indian citizen at or after 26 January 1950. The OCI card is a lifetime visa for the Indian diaspora that removes the per-trip e-Visa exercise entirely. See the OCI guide for Americans for the full eligibility check, application process, fees and the Indian consulate that handles your state. Hard exclusion: any Pakistani or Bangladeshi citizenship in the direct ancestral line is an automatic disqualifier.

I'm staying for 200 days on a 1-year e-Visa. Do I need to register with FRRO?

Yes. Any continuous stay beyond 180 days triggers FRRO registration within 14 days of crossing day 180. The process is online through the e-FRRO portal — passport, visa, photographs and a current Indian address proof, paid by card, usually without an office visit. If you leave India for any destination and re-enter before day 180, the continuous-stay clock resets and FRRO does not trigger. OCI cardholders and children below twelve are exempt regardless of stay length.

Can I visit Arunachal, Nagaland, Sikkim, the Andamans or Ladakh on the e-Visa?

Yes, with the relevant permit on top of the e-Visa. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and parts of Sikkim and Ladakh use the Protected Area Permit (PAP) for foreigners — typically organized through a licensed tour operator with a defined itinerary. Parts of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands use the Restricted Area Permit (RAP); thirty inhabited Andaman islands have been exempt since 2018. From 2026 Sikkim's RAP for foreign nationals is issued online through the e-FRRO portal, not at the border. Confirm current permit status within two months of travel — these are sensitive zones and the rules adjust.

Can I extend the Tourist e-Visa from inside India?

No. The Tourist e-Visa is non-extendable and non-convertible. For a longer stay, choose the 1-year or 5-year multi-entry tier before you apply; or leave India and re-enter on a fresh e-Visa once the first has expired. Genuine emergency extensions (medical or force-majeure) are handled through the FRRO with documentation.

What if my e-Visa is rejected?

Common rejection grounds are an unclear passport-bio-page scan, a photo that fails the size or background specification, a US passport with less than six months validity, or a name mismatch between the application and the passport. Re-apply after the underlying issue is fixed; the rejection does not blacklist the passport. Two consecutive rejections on a sensitive-nationality profile may trigger a request for additional documentation through the Indian Embassy or the consulate that covers your state.

Can I cross overland into Bhutan or Nepal and come back on the same e-Visa?

Yes, on a multi-entry tier. Bhutan and Nepal both have functional land borders open to foreign tourists at major checkposts (Phuentsholing-Jaigaon for Bhutan; Sunauli, Kakarbhitta and others for Nepal). Bhutan requires its own permit issued on arrival or in advance through a licensed Bhutanese tour operator; Nepal issues a visa on arrival to US citizens. Each re-entry to India ticks the multi-entry counter down. The 30-day double-entry tier allows two entries and the 6-month single-entry tier allows one — once those are used, neither supports another return crossing the way the 1-year or 5-year multi-entry tiers do.

Do I need a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate?

Only if you arrive in India within six days of departure from a Yellow Fever-endemic country — 29 listed African countries and 13 listed Central and South American countries. Transit travelers who leave the airport transit area in one of those countries en route to India also need the certificate. The certificate becomes valid ten days after the vaccine and is recognized internationally for life. Without one at arrival, you face quarantine for up to six days at a designated facility. Infants under nine months cannot receive the vaccine and are handled separately.

Get your India visa 2026 for Americans: tiers, missions & more

In a nutshell

Almost every US passport holder needs an Indian visa in 2026. For tourism the e-Visa is filed online, approved by email in three to five business days, and presented at the airport on arrival. Three popular Tourist tiers cover most trips: 30-day double-entry, 1-year multi-entry, 5-year multi-entry. Indian-American readers with one Indian-citizen parent or grandparent may qualify for OCI instead — a lifetime visa for the diaspora that removes the tier-choice exercise entirely (see the OCI guide for Americans). This guide is the service desk for the whole flow: tier choice, the application process, your nearest Indian consulate, direct flights from the US, and the questions Americans actually ask.

Do Americans need a visa for India?

Yes — almost certainly. US passport holders do not get visa-free entry. Most travelers apply for the e-Visa online and pick one of three popular Tourist tiers — 30-day double-entry, 1-year multi-entry or 5-year multi-entry. You upload a passport scan and a passport-style photo, and the approval letter arrives by email within three to five business days. Indian-American readers with Indian heritage should also check the OCI guide for Americans — OCI is a lifetime visa that removes the tier-choice exercise entirely.

Traveling on a UK, Australian, Canadian, Irish or New Zealand passport instead? Our per-market editions cover the Indian mission that handles your area, the direct-flight gateways from your home airports and the home-country travel advisory: UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland or New Zealand.

Below: which visa route applies to whom, the three popular Tourist tiers compared, the application walked through step by step, what to have ready before you start, two ways to file (DIY portal or visa service), the Indian consulate that handles your state, direct flights from the US, the four trip shapes Americans actually plan, the restricted-area permits, the 180-day FRRO trap on long stays, what to do in an emergency in India, and the questions Americans ask.

Which route into India applies to you?

US passport without Indian roots — e-Visa (the default): File the e-Tourist Visa online from your US address, pay in US dollars on a US credit card, and present the printed PDF at the immigration counter on arrival. Three popular Tourist tiers (30-day double-entry, 1-year multi-entry, 5-year multi-entry) plus a quieter 6-month single-entry variant. Tier choice depends on the shape of the trip, not the passport.
Indian-American with Indian heritage — OCI is probably the move: If a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was an Indian citizen, you may qualify for OCI — a lifetime visa that removes the tier-choice exercise and the per-trip application entirely. See the OCI guide for Americans for the full eligibility, application and re-linking story. If you do not have an OCI card yet and a trip is imminent, file an e-Visa as the interim path while the OCI is processed.
Green Card holder on a foreign passport — that passport's rule: A US Lawful Permanent Resident card does not change the Indian visa rule for the foreign passport you travel on. If your foreign passport is on the e-Visa list (most major source markets are), file the e-Visa on that passport. If it is not on the list, file through the Indian consulate with jurisdiction over your US state of residence. The Green Card matters for your re-entry to the US, not for Indian immigration.
Restricted-area permits — on top of the visa, not instead of it: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram in the Northeast; parts of Sikkim and Ladakh near the China-Tibet border; and parts of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands sit under the Protected Area Permit (PAP) or Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime. The permit is required in addition to the e-Visa, never instead of it.

Which Tourist e-Visa tier suits you?

30-day double-entry — for the short tourism trip: Valid for 30 days from first arrival, two entries allowed in that window. The default choice for first-time American visitors planning a single two-to-four-week loop: the Golden Triangle, a Kerala backwater fortnight, a Goa beach week, a Mumbai-and-coast detour. Simplest application, simplest fee, by far the most-used tier.
1-year multi-entry — for the flexible visitor: Multiple entries inside a 365-day window from the grant date, with stay capped at 180 days per calendar year. The right tier for split trips — a winter month now and the Himalayas later — and for repeat tourism inside a single year. Same application form as the 30-day tier; same processing time.
5-year multi-entry — for the long-horizon traveler: Multiple entries inside a 5-year window from grant, capped at the same 180 days per calendar year. Suits slow-travel writers and photographers cycling between Goa winters and Himalayan summers, US consultants on recurring assignments in Bangalore or Hyderabad, and yoga teachers who return for training cycles. Removes the application step from every subsequent trip across those five years.

Beyond the three popular tiers

Three other categories run alongside the popular Tourist tiers. The 6-month single-entry e-Tourist Visa (e-T2V) suits travelers planning one long uninterrupted stay between three and six months — a single trip rather than several visits. The Business e-Visa covers trade-fair attendance, conference participation, sales calls and short consulting work; it requires an Indian-side invitation letter and does not double as a Tourist visa for paid work. The Medical e-Visa and its associated Medical Attendant e-Visa cover treatment trips to Indian hospitals; admission letter required, with a slot for the accompanying family member.

How to apply: the e-Visa step by step

1
Pick your tier: Choose between 30-day double-entry, 1-year multi-entry, 5-year multi-entry, 6-month single-entry, Business or Medical based on the shape of your trip. The application form is the same; only the fee and the validity differ. If you are unsure, the 30-day Tourist tier covers most first-time American trips.
2
Open the application portal: The Indian e-Visa portal accepts applications between 30 and 120 days before your intended arrival, depending on the tier (30 days for the short tier; 120 for the 1-year and 5-year). Earliest is best — peak-season volume can extend processing past the typical three-to-five-day window. If your trip is less than four days away, the e-Visa is not a viable path; the consular route through your nearest Indian mission is the only fallback (and is too slow for most last-minute trips).
3
Upload your documents: You need a clear scan of your US passport bio page and a passport-style photo as a JPG file between 10 KB and 1 MB, equal height and width, full face front view, eyes open, no glasses, plain light or white background. The portal rejects oversize files and shadowed backgrounds without telling you which one tripped — check the dimensions and lighting before you upload.
4
Fill the form and pay: Enter your personal information exactly as it appears on your US passport. The address-in-India field accepts the name and phone number of your first hotel for tourism applications. Pay the fee in US dollars by credit or debit card; an acknowledgement number is generated immediately and emailed to you.
5
Wait for the approval email: Most clean applications resolve in three to five business days. Sensitive-nationality profiles, naturalized-from-an-off-list-country applicants and any application with a documentation flag can take seven to fourteen days. Status is checkable at any time on the portal with your acknowledgement number and passport number.
6
Print the PDF and fly: Print the approval letter PDF and carry it separately from your phone — the e-Visa counter at the airport accepts either, but a battery-flat phone at the wrong moment is a small but real risk. At immigration in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru or any of the 33 e-Visa airports, head to the counter labelled e-Visa, present the PDF and the passport, submit fingerprints, and you are through in five to fifteen minutes.

Pre-application checklist

A short checklist prevents avoidable rejections and surprises. Passport validity: minimum six months from the date of application, with at least two blank pages for immigration stamps. Renew at home if you are inside that window — the consular passport-renewal route from inside India is slow.

The passport-style photo rules are above; the most common cause of rejection is a shadow on a wall-mounted background or a file that exceeds 1 MB. Pharmacy passport-photo services in the US (CVS, Walgreens, Staples) all hit the spec if you tell them it is for an Indian e-Visa.

The address-in-India field appears on every application. For tourism, the name and phone number of your first hotel and its city are enough — you do not need to list every onward leg. For a yoga school, ashram or language course, use the institution's official registered address.

Sensitive nationalities and origins. Two cohorts face extra paperwork and a longer processing window: US citizens naturalized from Pakistan, and US citizens whose parents or grandparents held Pakistani citizenship. The file usually moves through the Indian Embassy in Washington rather than the e-Visa portal. The bilateral framework refreshes every year; confirm the current documentation list with the mission that handles your state of residence before you apply.

Children and minors each need their own e-Visa application tied to their own US passport — the parent's e-Visa does not cover the child. Include the international long-form birth certificate naming both parents in the upload bundle, plus a parental-consent document if the child travels with one parent or a guardian.

Yellow Fever certificate. Travelers arriving within six days of departure from a Yellow Fever-endemic country must present a valid International Certificate of Vaccination at Indian immigration. India treats 29 listed African countries and 13 listed Central or South American countries as endemic. The certificate becomes valid ten days after the vaccine and is recognized internationally for life. Without one, you face quarantine of up to six days at a designated facility — a real risk on itineraries that begin or transit through the listed countries.

Two ways to file: DIY portal vs visa service

DIY through the government portal is the cheapest path and works perfectly well for first-time applicants with simple profiles, a passport that has a year or more of validity, a recent photo that hits the spec, and no Pakistani-origin or off-list-passport complications. Pay the government fee in USD on a credit card. Total cost is the base fee for your tier. The trade-off is that the portal is unforgiving — rejections do not include a reason most of the time, the help line is slow, and a single rejected application means re-filing from scratch with a new fee.

A visa service partner sits between you and the portal: pre-submission document review (catches the photo-spec and name-mismatch errors that cause most rejections), a single point of contact for status updates, family-application coordination so each minor's documents are tied correctly, a last-minute backup if the portal hiccups in the final 72 hours before departure, rejection-and-reapply handling if the first file is bounced, and a customer-service touch when the government channel goes quiet. The trade-off is a moderate handling fee on top of the government fee — typically tens of dollars per applicant — for the peace of mind. For families with several applications, for first-time applicants without a year of passport runway, and for any trip with hard timing constraints, the service path tends to be the calmer option. The CTA card on the right of this page is one such service.

Find the Indian consulate that handles your state

Embassy of India, Washington DC: The Indian Embassy in Washington covers Bermuda, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The federal-region anchor mission.
Consulate General of India, New York: CGI New York covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont — the Northeast corridor.
Consulate General of India, Chicago: CGI Chicago covers Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin — the upper Midwest.
Consulate General of India, Houston: CGI Houston covers Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas — the south-central US including the Houston-Dallas-Austin corridor.
Consulate General of India, San Francisco: CGI San Francisco covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming — the Pacific and Mountain West.
Consulate General of India, Atlanta: CGI Atlanta covers the Southeast — typically Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Confirm the current state allocation; the 1 August 2025 jurisdictional revision adjusted some southeastern boundaries.
Consulate General of India, Boston: CGI Boston is one of three newer consulates opened in the 2025 reshape. Handles parts of New England previously routed through CGI New York. Confirm whether your state falls under Boston or New York before filing.
Consulate General of India, Los Angeles: CGI Los Angeles is another 2025-opening consulate. Handles southern California applications previously routed through CGI San Francisco. Reduces wait times for the Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County applicant base.
Consulate General of India, Seattle: CGI Seattle is the third new 2025 consulate. Handles the Pacific Northwest (parts of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana) previously under CGI San Francisco. Confirm the current allocation with both consulates if you live in a state that may have shifted.

Direct flights from the US in 2026

Air India runs direct widebody service from four US gateways in 2026: New York JFK and Newark to Delhi and Mumbai, Chicago O'Hare to Delhi, and San Francisco to Delhi. The Washington Dulles–Delhi direct route was suspended on 1 October 2025 and has not yet returned. United Airlines operates Newark to Delhi as its sole active US-India direct service; the Chicago and San Francisco extensions remain subject to government approval.

From the West Coast. SFO to Delhi direct on Air India (~16 hours westbound) or one-stop via Tokyo (ANA, JAL), Seoul (Korean Air), Hong Kong (Cathay) or Doha (Qatar Airways). Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles route via SFO or via one of the Asian or Gulf hubs above.

From the Midwest. ORD to Delhi direct on Air India. Out of Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland and the Twin Cities, the typical routing is via Frankfurt (Lufthansa), London (British Airways), Doha (Qatar Airways) or Abu Dhabi (Etihad).

From the Northeast. JFK and Newark to Delhi and Mumbai direct on Air India and Newark to Delhi on United. Boston, DC and Philadelphia route via Newark, JFK, London, Frankfurt, Paris (Air France), Amsterdam (KLM) or Istanbul (Turkish Airlines).

From the Southeast and Texas. Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Miami and the rest of the southern US: one-stop via Doha (Qatar from ATL/IAH/DFW/MIA), Dubai (Emirates from a similar set), Abu Dhabi (Etihad), Istanbul (Turkish) or Frankfurt (Lufthansa). No current direct service. Total travel time from Atlanta to Delhi via Doha is about 19-20 hours; via Frankfurt about 21-22.

Varanasi at Diwali — the ghats along the Ganges fill with oil lamps and ceremonial fires during the festival of lights, one of the most layered spiritual experiences a first-time American visitor can plan a trip around.

Liubov / Adobe Stock

The six trip shapes American travelers actually plan

Golden Triangle — Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan: The standard first-India loop and the one most American operators sell as a package: Delhi for the Mughal capital and the Lutyens' precinct, Agra for the Taj Mahal as a day or overnight, Jaipur as the gateway into Rajasthan's forts and palaces. Add Udaipur, Jodhpur and Pushkar for a second week. The 30-day Tourist e-Visa is sufficient — no special permits.
South India — Kerala backwaters and Tamil temples: Fly into Kochi for Kerala's backwaters, hill stations and Ayurveda traditions — quieter and more comfortable for first-time Indian travel than the Golden Triangle — then continue east into Tamil Nadu for the great Chola temples, Chennai's classical-music season and Pondicherry's Franco-Tamil coast. Twelve to sixteen days is comfortable; the 30-day Tourist e-Visa covers it.
Goa heritage and beach — the Konkan loop: Goa in a week pairs the UNESCO churches at Old Goa and the Fontainhas heritage quarter in Panaji with North or South Goa beaches, the Anjuna market and a Dudhsagar Falls day. Extend along the Konkan Railway down into northern Karnataka for Gokarna and Hampi if you have two weeks. The simplest first-India route for Americans who want India without the full sensory load on day one.
Mumbai gateway and Maharashtra hinterland: Land in Mumbai for the Victorian-Gothic and Art-Deco UNESCO ensemble, the food scene and the Elephanta Caves, then add Maharashtra's Ajanta and Ellora caves out of Aurangabad, Pune as a Maratha-history-plus-vineyard alternative, and the Konkan coast. The 30-day Tourist e-Visa works; pair with Kolkata on the opposite coast for three weeks.
Bangalore, Hyderabad or Chennai for business: The largest single American-business-travel reason for India: the Bangalore (BLR), Hyderabad (HYD) and Chennai (MAA) technology corridors plus Mumbai's financial center and Gurgaon's consulting hub. For meeting-and-fly trips the 30-day Tourist tier works if there is no paid Indian-employer engagement; for invitation-letter business activity, switch to the Business e-Visa. Frequent quarterly travelers should price the 5-year multi-entry as a one-and-done.
Wellness, yoga teacher training or Ayurveda retreat: Rishikesh for 200- and 500-hour yoga teacher trainings, Mysore for ashtanga, Kerala for Ayurveda intensives, Bodh Gaya and Igatpuri for Vipassana retreats. The 1-year multi-entry tier is the right fit for stays between 30 and 180 days; longer than 180 continuous days triggers FRRO registration (see below). Pack the ashram or training school's registered address for the application's address-in-India field.

Restricted areas — PAP, RAP and where they apply

Most first-time American visitors never encounter a restricted-area permit. The Golden Triangle, the Kerala-Tamil Nadu classical loop, Goa, Mumbai and Maharashtra, Varanasi and the Gangetic plain, Karnataka, and most of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana all sit inside the general e-Visa zone with no extra paperwork. The permit regimes apply at the country's sensitive borders.

Protected Area Permits (PAP) cover foreign-national entry to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, parts of Sikkim and parts of Ladakh near the China-Tibet border. The Arunachal PAP runs through licensed tour operators with a fixed itinerary; it is not a walk-in application. Nagaland's PAP is easier outside the December Hornbill Festival peak. Restricted Area Permits (RAP) cover parts of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and a smaller subset of Sikkim and northeastern frontier zones; since 2018, thirty inhabited Andaman islands no longer require an RAP for foreign visitors. From 2026, Sikkim's RAP for foreign nationals is issued through the e-FRRO portal online — no physical permits at the border any more. The Inner Line Permit (ILP) is the parallel regime for Indian citizens in the same regions; foreign nationals follow PAP or RAP instead.

FRRO — the 180-day continuous-stay rule

Americans who stay in India for more than 180 continuous days in a single visit must register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) within 14 days of crossing day 180. The rule applies to long-stay tourists on the 1-year or 5-year multi-entry tier just as it does to student and employment visa holders. Most short-trip travelers never trigger it: the 30-day tier rules it out by definition, and most multi-entry tourist trips stay well under six months in any single visit. The threshold is continuous stay, not aggregate days in the year — leaving and returning resets the clock.

What catches people is exactly that continuous-stay reading. If you arrive on a multi-entry e-Visa, stay 100 days, leave for two weeks to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan or the Maldives and return for another 90 days, the counter resets and FRRO does not trigger. If you stay inside India and only travel between states the day count keeps running. Yoga-teacher trainees in Rishikesh, long-stay digital nomads in Goa or Mysuru, and Vipassana retreatants from the US hit the rule regularly without expecting to. The process is now fully online through the e-FRRO portal — paperless, cashless and usually without an office visit; the office only calls you in if something on the application needs working out. OCI cardholders and children below twelve are exempt. Treat day 175 as the latest comfortable moment to open the application.

At the e-Visa counter

Thirty-three Indian airports operate e-Visa counters, including Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), Bengaluru (BLR), Chennai (MAA), Hyderabad (HYD), Kochi (COK), Kolkata (CCU) and the major regional hubs, alongside nineteen seaports and four land border crossings (Raxaul, Rupaidiha, Darranga and Jogbani). After disembarking, head to the immigration counter labelled e-Visa, present the printed PDF approval letter or its digital version on your phone alongside the US passport, and submit fingerprints and a digital photograph. Stamping takes five to fifteen minutes depending on the line. Carry the PDF printed and separately from your hand luggage — a phone battery flat at the wrong moment is a small but real risk.

Health and insurance

Travel insurance is not legally required for entry, but private hospitals at the major destinations charge international rates and a serious illness or accident can mean repatriation costs that local hospital cash payments do not cover. Confirm that your US health insurance covers overseas care (most do not, beyond emergency triage) or take out a dedicated travel-medical policy. The Yellow Fever certificate is the only mandatory health document at the border, and only on the conditions described above. Routine recommended vaccinations — Hepatitis A and B, typhoid, tetanus boosters, regional Japanese encephalitis for rural northeastern trips — are travel-medicine standard rather than Indian-government rules; speak to a travel-medicine practitioner six to eight weeks ahead.

If things go wrong in India: US missions

Five US diplomatic missions handle American emergencies in India. Lost or stolen US passport. File a police report at the local station first, then book an emergency-passport appointment at the US Embassy in New Delhi (for the north), the US Consulate General in Mumbai (for western India and Goa), the US Consulate General in Chennai (for the south), the US Consulate in Kolkata (for the east and northeast), or the US Consulate General in Hyderabad (for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh). Emergency one-trip passports are typically issued in one to two business days; full replacement passports take longer.

Hospitalization or medical emergency. Contact the nearest US mission's American Citizen Services (ACS) section. They can call your family, coordinate with your US insurer, transmit medical records and (in extreme cases) facilitate medical evacuation. Arrest or legal trouble. Insist on contacting the US consulate; the mission can provide a list of local English-speaking attorneys, monitor your treatment in custody, and notify your family. They cannot post bail or provide legal representation. Death of a US citizen abroad. The mission helps with paperwork, repatriation logistics and notarial services. Enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) before you fly puts you on the mission's contact list automatically — recommended.

Frequently asked questions for American travelers

India's Ministry of Home Affairs sets the e-Visa fee in US dollars per nationality, refreshed annually, and the portal shows you the exact figure once your US passport is entered. As a current-of-writing reference, the popular Tourist tiers run around USD 25 for the 30-day double-entry tier, USD 40 for the 1-year multi-entry and USD 80 for the 5-year multi-entry; Business and Medical tiers carry separate fee schedules. A visa-service partner adds a moderate handling fee on top of the government fee in exchange for document review, status monitoring and family-application coordination. The portal price is authoritative — confirm it when you start the application.

Not under the regular e-Visa tiers. The longest Tourist e-Visa is 5-year multi-entry, with the same 180-day-per-calendar-year stay cap as the 1-year tier. The only routes that effectively give a longer entitlement are the OCI card (lifetime, for Indian-heritage applicants — see the OCI guide for Americans) or specific long-term consular visas (employment, student, research) that are not e-Visa categories. The 10-year tourist visa some Americans remember from older guides was a US-Indian reciprocity arrangement that has been replaced by the current e-Visa framework.

Use the Application Status link on the Indian e-Visa portal. Enter your application ID (sent in the acknowledgement email after fee payment) and your passport number; the current processing stage and any flagged document requests are shown. Status normally moves from Application Submitted → Under Process → Granted within three to five business days. If your application has not moved for more than a week, contact the helpdesk or check with the Indian consulate that handles your state — silence sometimes hides a missing-document flag that did not get emailed out.

India Visa 2026 for Americans: Which Route Applies to You