Preparing for your Trip
Preparation for a journey to India will take some time. Below is a list of things that you will need to do before you depart for India. You will make most arrangements through your Travel Department or Agent. A preparation checklist can be found later in this chapter.
Passport
If you don’t already have a passport, you will need to obtain one. You will need to make sure that you have your passport in hand at least 4 weeks prior to travel, as your passport is required for the Visa approval process. It will typically take 6 weeks to obtain a passport. Start this process as far in advance as possible.
If you already have a valid passport, that passport must be valid for 6 months past your return date on your flight itinerary; otherwise you will need to apply for a new passport. Passports are valid for 10 years. Most US post offices can assist you if you do not currently have a passport.
Visa
Your travel agent will assist you with the visa process, which should be started immediately. Your vendor contact can send you an invitation letter to use when submitting you visa application.
The Indian Embassy is in Washington, DC and has Consulates in 4 other cities in the US and all of them issue visas.
Listed below are the homepages of the Indian Embassy and the four Consulate websites for more information on the Visa process. Please apply for a visa to the Consulate which has jurisdiction over your state
- Embassy of India, Washington, DC(Consular Jurisdiction: Bermuda, Delaware, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia
- Consulate General of India - New York(Consular Jurisdiction: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virgin Islands)
- Consulate General of India - San Francisco(Consular Jurisdiction: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming)
- Consulate General of India - Chicago(Consular Jurisdiction: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin)
- Consulate General of India - Houston(Consular Jurisdiction: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas)
Inoculations
Any recommended inoculations should begin around 6-8 weeks prior to travel. Please schedule an appointment as soon as possible with your personal physician. Your doctor will know which inoculations are required and will often have the vaccines available in their office for immediate use.
If you plan on visiting the jungle or other malaria prone areas during your time in India, or if you plan on visiting any other countries during your trip, please inform your doctor as you may require additional inoculations.
The doctor will give you an inoculation health card, which you should take with you when you travel in order to prove that you have had the proper inoculations. For the most current information on inoculations see the Center for Disease Control web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/indianrg.htm
