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Flight Booking Guidelines
USIEF coordinates international travel for all Fulbright-Nehru and Fulbright-Kalam grantees traveling to India to begin their grant. Once you have obtained an appropriate Indian visa/project clearance and received medical clearance from IIE, you must contact USIEF staff who will assist with booking your flight.
USIEF will book your travel from the nearest major international airport to your U.S. residence or workplace to your host institution in India, using the most direct route and the most economical fare available. All travel must comply with the Fly America Act, which requires travel on U.S. carriers or Air India. If your grant duration is less than six months, USIEF will book a round-trip ticket for you.
Important Notes:
- Tickets are issued only after you have obtained an appropriate visa/project clearance and received medical clearance from IIE.
- USIEF typically issues non-refundable tickets based on your approved travel dates.
- Any additional costs arising from changes or cancellations requested by the grantee will be the grantee’s responsibility.
- Stopovers or additional travel outside the direct route must be self-funded.
Recommended Arrival Timing
To ensure smooth coordination, grantees are advised not to arrive in India on Friday or Saturday nights, or a day preceding USIEF holiday. If exceptional circumstances require you to arrive on a weekend or holiday, USIEF staff will provide support via phone and will be able to meet you in person on the next working day.
Extended Stays
Grantees planning to stay in India beyond the official grant period must ensure they have valid residential permit for the extended duration. Return airfare to the U.S. will be reimbursed based on the lower of:
- The cost of the ticket on your grant end date, or
- The cost of the ticket on your actual departure date.
Self-Booking Option
Grantees may opt to book their own airfare, provided the itinerary is Fly America compliant. The itinerary must be approved by USIEF prior to booking. Reimbursement will be processed after your travel is complete and upon submission of your travel documents (ticket invoice, boarding passes) to USIEF. Please note that reimbursement will be limited to your travel entitlement, as determined by the fare quoted by USIEF’s travel desk.
Scholars may send belongings by courier, sea freight, airfreight, or by mail. The excess baggage allowance paid under the grant may be used for shipping purposes. This allowance is paid after the completion of the grant and submission of final reports to USIEF.
Fulbright-Nehru scholars and students can use the diplomatic pouch to send reading materials to India. Please note that the diplomatic pouch cannot be used to send items from India to the U.S.
Fulbright Scholars are authorized to make a one-time shipment of educational materials to the American Embassy or Consulate in the country of assignment. This shipment must not meet or exceed 6 cubic feet in volume. Six cubic feet is equal to 10,368 cubic inches and 1 cubic foot is equal to 1728 cubic inches. To determine the volume of a box in cubic feet, multiply the width times the length times the depth (all in inches), and divide the sum by 1728. For example, a box that measures 24” X 24” X 18” has a volume of 6 cubic feet. If shipment becomes bulk, the entire shipment will be returned to sender. Tracking or registry numbers should be included on all parcels.
These materials cannot be sent back to the United States by diplomatic pouch.
Contents: Packages must contain only books, magazines, notes or other similar educational materials required for the grantees’ teaching or research program overseas. Packages may not contain personal effects of any kind. The Department of State may open packages suspected of containing prohibited items. If prohibited items are discovered, the box will be returned to the sender. Grantees should not enclose items that are irreplaceable. There is no way to trace items lost in the pouch system. Department of State does not assume responsibility for lost or damaged packages. Grantees should not ship anything that will be damaged by x-rays.
Number of Packages: No more than four boxes per grantee may be sent through the pouch system.
Wrapping: Materials must be packed securely in strong cardboard boxes sealed with heavy-duty packing tape (strapping tape is best), and clearly labelled. Boxes should be packed carefully since torn or broken packages will not be repacked by the mailroom.
Addressing the Package:
Return address
On the upper left-hand corner: Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip
NOTE: Please choose a return address where the recipient will know how to contact you and what to do if packages are returned.
Mailing Address: Please choose the Embassy or Consulate in the consular district where you will be affiliated.
For grantees in the Delhi Consular District: Cultural Affairs Officer Department of State 9000 New Delhi Place Washington, DC 20521-9000 ATT: CAO please pass to United States-India Educational Foundation New Delhi ATT: Ms. Priyanjana Ghosh | For grantees in the Kolkata Consular District: Cultural Affairs Officer Department of State 6250 Kolkata Place Washington, DC 20521-6250 ATT: CAO please pass to United States-India Educational Foundation Kolkata ATT: Ms. Jhulan Ghose |
For grantees in the Chennai Consular District: Cultural Affairs Officer Department of State 6260 Chennai Place Washington, DC 20521-6260 ATT: CAO please pass to United States-India Educational Foundation Chennai ATT: Ms. Maya Sundararajan | For grantees in the Mumbai Consular District: SCA-IN-002 Public Affairs Section AMCONSUL Mumbai Pass to: USIEF EducationUSA 6240 Mumbai Place Washington, DC 20521-6240 ATT: Mr. Ryan. Pereira |
In the lower left-hand corner of the box write:
UNCLASSIFIED VIA AIR POUCH
Your Name
FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
Grantees sending only one package should write “1 of 1” in the lower right-hand corner. Grantees sending more than one package should number each package in a series and circle the markings, e.g., “1 of 3”, “2 of 3” and “3 of 3”.
Shipping: Grantees are responsible for paying domestic postage from their home to Washington, D.C. Grantees are responsible to collect packets from USIEF offices. USIEF can ship them to their place of residence in India by courier provided the Grantee agrees to pay for the courier charges.
Time Required For Shipment: Grantees should anticipate that once packages are received at the Department of State, shipping time will take from four to eight weeks, sometimes longer, to arrive in the country of assignment. The frequency of pouch shipment is outside the control of the Department of State or the receiving U.S. Embassy or Consulate.