A lost passport is an administrative problem. A lost passport with a valid US visa inside is a security problem, and the US Mission India frames it that way: report it "as soon as possible" to stop someone else travelling on your visa.
In this guide2 sections
What the Mission says#
"If your passport with visa is lost or stolen, or the page of your passport with your U.S. nonimmigrant visa is missing, it is vitally important that you report the lost visa as soon as possible to protect you from identity theft or another person misusing your nonimmigrant visa."
Three cases are covered by the same instruction: the whole passport gone, the passport stolen, and the visa page missing from a passport you still hold. All three are reported, not quietly replaced.
The part that costs money#
A valid US visa cannot be moved to a new passport. Indian applicants sometimes assume that a ten-year B1/B2 survives the loss of the booklet it lives in — it does not. Once the passport is gone, the visa goes with it, and travelling to the US again means a fresh application: a new DS-160, a new $185 MRV fee at ₹98 to the dollar, and a new place in the interview queue. That is the real cost of a delayed report, on top of the identity risk.
Do them in order: police report in India, report the lost visa to the Mission, then apply for a new passport, then start the visa application. Keep copies of the report — a fresh application after a loss draws questions about what happened to the previous document.
The fee arithmetic is in US visa fees from India, the current queue in US visa wait time India, and the form itself in DS-160 mistakes that cost you the interview.
VisaGyan is an independent journal, not affiliated with the US government. Follow the Mission's own reporting steps; this is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- What should I do if my passport with a US visa is lost or stolen?
- Report the loss as soon as possible. The US Mission India states that if the passport with the visa is lost or stolen, or the visa page is missing, "it is vitally important that you report the lost visa as soon as possible to protect you from identity theft or another person misusing your nonimmigrant visa."
- Does a new passport carry my old US visa over?
- No. The visa stays in the old passport. If the old passport is lost, the visa cannot be transferred or reprinted — a valid visa in a lost passport is treated as gone, and travel requires a fresh application.
- Is a torn or missing visa page the same as a lost visa?
- For reporting purposes, yes. The Mission specifically includes the case where "the page of your passport with your U.S. nonimmigrant visa is missing", which means damage or removal is reported the same way as a lost passport.