The Consulate General of India in San Francisco has issued an urgent advisory after detecting a spike in fraudulent portals that mimic the Government of India’s official e-Visa platform. The warning, posted on 17 June 2026, lists more than a dozen look-alike domains—such as e-touristvisaindia.com and indianvisa.org.in—that charge inflated fees or harvest passport data. Consular officials stress that the only legitimate site for e-Tourist, e-Business, e-Medical and other electronic travel authorisations remains indianvisaonline.gov.in.
![Indian Consulate in San Francisco warns travellers of surge in fake e-visa websites]()
For travellers who would like professional help navigating the process, VisaHQ’s dedicated India visa page (https://www.visahq.com/india/) provides step-by-step application support, real-time status updates, and direct submission to the official government system, giving applicants confidence that their documents and payments are never routed through a fraudulent intermediary.
Applicants who use third-party sites risk paying up to US$180 (versus the official US$25-40 fee) and, more seriously, arriving with invalid documents that trigger airline boarding denials. The advisory comes at the start of the US summer travel peak, when Indian-origin families and Silicon Valley executives frequently combine home visits with remote-work stints. Airlines have been asked to circulate the notice at check-in counters, and mobility teams are updating pre-trip emails to flag the scam URLs. Companies arranging group travel should remind employees that the Government of India neither authorises agents to issue e-visas nor requires payment in cryptocurrencies—two red flags the consulate says are common to the bogus sites. Victims have been directed to file complaints with the US Federal Trade Commission and India’s cyber-crime portal.
For travellers who would like professional help navigating the process, VisaHQ’s dedicated India visa page (https://www.visahq.com/india/) provides step-by-step application support, real-time status updates, and direct submission to the official government system, giving applicants confidence that their documents and payments are never routed through a fraudulent intermediary.
Applicants who use third-party sites risk paying up to US$180 (versus the official US$25-40 fee) and, more seriously, arriving with invalid documents that trigger airline boarding denials. The advisory comes at the start of the US summer travel peak, when Indian-origin families and Silicon Valley executives frequently combine home visits with remote-work stints. Airlines have been asked to circulate the notice at check-in counters, and mobility teams are updating pre-trip emails to flag the scam URLs. Companies arranging group travel should remind employees that the Government of India neither authorises agents to issue e-visas nor requires payment in cryptocurrencies—two red flags the consulate says are common to the bogus sites. Victims have been directed to file complaints with the US Federal Trade Commission and India’s cyber-crime portal.
