Locate the closest Indian visa application center. The Indian embassy in the United States has outsourced its visa services to Travisa Outsourcing (see Resource 1). It has offices in Houston, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Washington. D.C.
You must submit your application to the office that handles your state of residence. The Travisa website lists the offices, addresses, and the states for which each office is responsible.
Make photocopies of your birth certificate and a document proving your address. This can be a photocopy of a major utility bill, a lease or a state-issued photo ID.
Get a passport picture taken. You will need to submit two copies with your application. The picture needs to be black and white, with you posed against a light background. You are not allowed to wear glasses in the photo, and it must be printed on photo paper.
Apply for any visas necessary for your final destination. You will need to have these attached within your passport before being granted an Indian transit visa.
Fill in the online visa application form on the Travisa website. Once you start the form, you have seven days to submit it. In the course of filling it out, you will be asked whether you are picking up your visa in person or want it mailed. If you are picking it up in person, you will have a chance to schedule an appointment to drop off your forms.
You will also be able to choose whether to get a single-entry or double-entry transit visa. Both are only valid for 15 days, but if you have a short trip that passes through India both going and coming back, one transit visa can cover you.
Print off the application and attach your photos and photocopied documents. You will need to submit these, along with your passport and your air ticket showing a round-trip airfare through India to a non-Indian destination.
Include a money order addressed to Travisa Outsourcing to pay the visa fee and administrative fee. As of November, 2010, a transit visa cost $40, plus a $13 administrative fee charged by Travisa. Credit card payment is possible, but may cause delays; this isn't advisable in the case of transit visas, since these expire quickly.
Mail your application and all supporting documents to the Travisa office for your region or go there in person to get your visa the same day. Timing is very important with Indian transit visa, as these are only valid for 15 days from the date of issue. If the embassy grants your visa on Dec. 1, it must be used by Dec. 15. If you mail in your application, the visa should be issued in seven to nine working days, so you shouldn't mail it in any earlier than three-and-a-half weeks before you need to use it.
