Indian Visa for The US Citizens

Updated on Oct 15, 2023 | Indian e-Visa

The passport holders of the United States need to hold a valid Indian Visa before they enter the country. As of now, the US passport holders are enabled to apply for an Indian E-Visa and reside in the country with that Visa for short periods. 

Released in the year 2014, the Indian E-Visa was provided to the passport holders of up to sixty countries only. But as the number of tourists visiting India increased and India became a more and more popular travel destination, the Indian Government decided to add more and more nations in the list of countries whose passport holders can apply for an Indian E-Visa and reside in India with this valid Visa as well. 

The passport holders of the United States are eligible for gaining an Indian Visa online. They will be allowed to reside in the country for a maximum stay of one hundred and eighty days only. If they wish to stay for a longer period than this, or if they wish to enter India for purposes different than what is provided by the Indian E-Visa, then they can apply for a conventional paper Visa. 

The US citizens are given the options to apply for an Indian E-Visa if they wish to enter and stay in the country for the following purposes: 

  • Travel and tourism. This includes leisure activities, yoga retreats, visiting the houses of friends and family and much more. 
  • Business. In this category, the US applicant of the Indian E-Visa will be enabled to enter and stay in the country for conducting business related activities such as sales and trade, attending business meetings and many more activities.
  • Medical needs. This includes getting Medical assistance for an illness or a disease. Or also gain hospitalisation for a short period depending on the intensity of the disease. 

Government of India allows visit to India by applying for Indian Visa online on this website for several purposes. For example if your intention for travelling to India relates to a commercial or business purpose, then you are eligible to apply for Indian Business Visa Online (Indian Visa Online or eVisa India for Business). If you are planning to go to India as a medical visitor for medical reason, consulting doctor or for surgery or for your health, Government of India has made Indian Medical Visa Online available for your needs (Indian Visa Online or eVisa India for Medical purposes). Indian Tourist Visa Online (Indian Visa Online or eVisa India for Tourist) can be utilised for meeting friends, meeting relatives in India, attending courses like Yoga, or for sight-seeing and tourism.

How To Visit India from The United States

Tourism in India is one of the key factors contributing towards an enhanced economy of the country. Based on the Global travel and tourism records, the tourism in India led to the job openings of over forty one million job roles. This made up for eighty percent of the total employment. The travel and tourism sector will continue to grow exponentially in the coming years. 

Medical tourism in India or the number of foreign individuals entering India to gain medical support or treatment has also increased in the past years and will keep growing with greater speeds. 

The release of the Indian E-Visa had made it extremely easy and simple for most travellers to travel to India with a valid travel document including the passport holders of the United States. The US citizens who wish to gain an Indian visa for entering India need to make themselves aware about the needs and requirements associated with the Indian E-Visa.

The requirements which needs to be met by every US applicant is as follows: 

  • The US passport of the applicant needs to have enough validity from the date on which the Indian E-Visa was issued to them. The ideal validity period is six months. 
  • A credit card or a debit card. 
  • A well-functioning email address.

The passport holders of the United States will be given entry in India if their motive of visit is either travel, business or medical. 

The Indian E-Visa types will grant the US traveller to travel to India multiple times till the validity of the Visa gets over. And they will be able to stay for sixty days to one hundred and eighty days in India at max depending on the type of Visa that they have applied for. Also, the US traveller will be allowed to apply only twice for an Indian E-Visa per year. 

The US passport holder should make a note that the Indian electronic Visa will not be extended from the validity mentioned in their Visa documents. If they want a Visa that can be extended, then they should apply for a paper Visa. 

The United States passport holders need to send the completed Indian E-Visa application for processing in advance. This means that at least a week before their trip, they should be applying for a Visa so that they can travel to India from the US on their desired time. The Indian E-Visa applications are usually possessed and approved by the Government of India and the other concerning Indian authorities. 

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Filling out Indian Visa for United States Citizens has never been this simpler, easier, and straight forward. US citizens are eligible for an electronic Indian Visa (eVisa India) since the year 2014. More details of this Indian Visa online are available here. It used to be a paper based process. Now USA Citizens can apply for Indian Visa from home, using mobile phone, tablet, laptop or PC without ever visiting Indian Embassy or Indian High Commission. This revolutionary and streamlined process is available on this website. Learn more at How To Get an Indian Visa From USA easily?

The Documentation and Other Requirements For The Application Of The Indian E-Visa For The Passport Holders Of The United States

The United States applicant who wants to visit India this year needs to possess a valid passport as without a passport, the Indian E-Visa cannot be gained. Plus, they also need to have a well-functioning and frequently used email ID and credit/debit card. To be able to send the application form for approval to the Indian Government, the US citizen needs to provide the following information and details: 

  1. Full name. As it appears on the applicants' United States passport. 
  2. Date and nation of birth. As it appears on the applicant' United States passport. 
  3. Address and contact information. This will require the applicant to fill their permanent residential address and their phone number and email address as well for contacting them. 
  4. Passport details. As it appears on the applicants' United States passport.
  5. Nationality. As it appears on the applicants' United States passport.

The passport holders of the United States will also be asked to provide answers for the following question fields: 

  1. Marital status. 
  2. Profession or occupation. 
  3. Details of the stay in India or their travel plans. This includes the ports through which they will enter and exit the country. And it will also require the traveller to mention the places that they will visit in India.
  4. Countries that the traveller may have visited in the past ten years. 
  5. Religion. 
  6. Educational backgrounds or qualifications of the US passport holder. 

The Indian E-Visa applicants are also required to provide answers for a series of security related questions in the application form. 

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You need to be aware that getting an Indian Visa online (eVisa India) requires a set of supporting documents. These documents are different depending on the Type of Indian Visa you are applying. Learn more at Documents required for Indian Online Visa (India eVisa).

What Are The Passport And Photograph Guidelines Followed By The US Citizens For The Indian E-Visa

The passport holders of the US need to make sure that they are providing a copy of documentation that meets the standards and guidelines of the Indian E-Visa. If not, then the applicant should stay prepared to gain a rejected Visa. 

The passport holders of the US are required to attach a scanned copy of their US passport to the application form for the Indian E-Visa. This copy should be of that page of the passport which contains the personal details of the applicant. This means that the biographical page of the passport should be scanned and attached. 

Along with these guidelines, the applicant needs to remember that the copy they are attaching to the Indian E-Visa application needs to be a colour copy. 

Along with that scanned copy of the passport, the applicant will be required to attach a passport sized photograph of himself. This photograph also needs to meet certain standards and guidelines such as: 

  • In the passport size photograph, the entire face of the applicant should be clearly seen. 
  • In the passport size photograph, the backdrop needs to be plain white. No other colour background will be considered acceptable for the photo. The applicant should also make sure that there are no complex patterns in the background of the photograph. 
  • The photograph needs to be taken in proper focus. 
  • In the passport size photograph of the applicant, the face of the applicant needs to be in the centre. The applicants' eyes should be open in the photograph and their mouth should be closed. 
  • In the passport size photograph of the applicant, the full face of the applicant from their head to chin should be clearly visible. 

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You need to have a positive outcome for your India visit. This guide will assist you in getting a successful outcome for your application for Indian Visa Online (eVisa India) so that your journey can be stress free. If you follow this guide then the chances of rejection will be minimised for your Indian Visa Online Application that you will apply online here. Learn more at Why Electronic Indian Visa Online (eVisa India) gets rejected | Useful Tips.

The United States Embassy Registration For Travelling To India

The passport holders of the United States who wish to visit India are recommended to first register with the US Embassy and then start the application procedures for the Indian Visa. The service which provides this kind of registration services is referred to as the Smart Traveller Enrollment Program. This service is also called by the name STEP.

The travellers from different countries who have registered with this service gain a number of different travel security advantages. The United States Embassy to India requires the US visitors to perform the following activities: 

  1. The visitor is required to provide updates and advice regarding safety details in India. 
  2. The visitor is required to provide information about those Global events that may cause an impact on the travel between the United States and India. 
  3. The visitor will be given adequate pieces of advice and assistance in any cases of emergencies or urgencies. 
  4. The travellers' family and loved ones will be helped in contacting the traveller in any case of an emergency or urgency they may be facing in the United States. 

The American diplomatic missions in India is an organisation that will offer support to the United States passport holders for visiting India. The United States Embassy is situated in the Indian state New Delhi. 

The United States consulate generals can be found in multiple states and cities of India which are as follows: 

  • Chennai 
  • Hyderabad 
  • Kolkata 
  • Mumbai 

The passport holders of the United States of America are enabled to register with the United States Embassy and apply for an Indian E-Visa at same time through different services and websites online. On the website, the US passport holder should choose the 'Embassy Registration' option. This will allow them to get registered or enrolled with the Smart Traveller Enrollment Program or the STEP. 

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eVisa India or Indian Visa Online does not require visit to embassy. You can apply online and go to the airport or cruise terminal. Visa for up to 5 years can be applied here on this website. If you would like to apply for special type of visa like making films in India or for diplomatic mission to India, then you can visit Indian embassy at the address / contact details mentioned below. Learn more at List of Indian Embassies in the World.

Indian Visa for The US Citizens Summary

The passport holders of the United States of America are considered as eligible candidates for applying and gaining an Indian Electronic Visa. The process for doing so is an extremely easy one with just three to four steps involved. The entire procedure of the Indian E-Visa application will take thirty to forty minutes of the applicants' time. 

Each applicant has to ensure that they are fulfilling each step in the Indian E-Visa application process according to the rules and regulations issued by the Indian Government for the same. A failure in doing so can lead to undesirable consequences such as a delay in the arrival of an approved Visa or a Visa rejection in the worst case scenario. 

The United States passport holders are also eligible for registering with the US Embassy which will enable them to gain multiple benefits and advantages for their travel journey to India from the United States. And back from India to the United States as well. Thus getting registered with the US Embassy should be considered as a registration to do for the US passport holders. 

Frequently Asked Questions About The Indian E-Visa For The US Citizens

Do the citizens of the US need a Visa to travel to India? 

Yes. The citizens of the US need to apply for an Indian Visa before they enter India. They need to hold a valid US passport and a valid Indian Visa to be considered eligible to enter the country and reside in the country for a specific time. 

The US citizens are enabled to apply for different Visa types under the Indian E-Visa category which is dependent on the purpose of their visit to India. 

How much time does it take to gain an Indian E-Visa after submitting its application? 

After an application is sent for the Indian E-Visa, the Visa is processed by the Indian Government. Usually, the Indian Government will take two to four business days for processing a Visa and providing it with a 'Granted' status to the applicant. 

The applicant can expect a delay of seven days due to weekends falling between the two to four business days. Or public holidays falling between that business processing period of the Indian E-Visa. 

It is a highly recommended action for each Indian Visa applicant to do, which is applying for a Visa at least seven to eight days in advance so that no matter how much delay may occur, they can get an Indian Visa on time. 

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Government of India has launched electronic travel authorisation or ETA for India which allows citizens of 180 countries to travel to India without requiring a physical stamping on the passport. This new type of authorisation is eVisa India (or electronic India Visa). Learn more at India eVisa Frequently Asked Questions.

Citizens of many countries including United States, Canada, France, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Singapore, United Kingdom, are eligible for Indian Visa Online (eVisa India) including visiting beaches of India on tourist visa. Resident of over 180 countries quality for Indian Visa Online (eVisa India) as per Indian Visa Eligibility and apply the Indian Visa Online offered by the Government of India.

Should you have any doubts or require assistance for your trip to India or Visa for India (eVisa India), you can apply for the Indian Visa Online right here and if you need any need any help or require any clarifications you should contact Indian Visa Help Desk for support and guidance.