To call the USA from India, dial 00 (India's international access code), then 1 (the US country code), then the 10-digit US number. On a mobile, you can type +1 and the 10 digits instead; the + replaces the 00 and works on Indian and US SIMs.

A New York number written as (212) 555-0123 is dialed as 00 1 212 555 0123 from an Indian landline or hotel phone, and +1 212 555 0123 from a mobile. In India this is called an ISD call, and on an Indian SIM it is billed at ISD rates unless you add an ISD pack.

Before you dial on an Indian SIM: ISD is a setting and a pack

If you are using an Indian phone, two things decide whether the call goes through and what it costs: whether ISD is switched on, and whether you have an ISD pack.

Switching ISD on. Airtel says basic ISD is enabled by default on all its prepaid and postpaid connections, but postpaid users need to activate an "advanced ISD" service (at a store or by calling 121) to call countries charged at more than ₹15. The US is well below that, so most Airtel users can call it straight away. If a call to the US fails with an error tone, ISD may be barred on the line. Check in your carrier's app or call customer care.

Adding an ISD pack. Indian carriers sell low-cost packs that cut the per-minute price to the US sharply. As of October 2026:

Carrier	What the carrier publishes for calls to the US	Source
Vi (prepaid)	ISD pack for ₹18, valid 28 days; with it, calls to the USA cost ₹1.99 a minute	Vi ISD rates
Airtel (postpaid)	₹8 a minute standard, ₹2 a minute with an ISD pack (rate sheet updated 15 April 2024 and still linked by Airtel)	Airtel rate sheet
Jio	Sells ISD minute packs for the US and Canada in the MyJio app	Check the current price in MyJio before you recharge

Two details in the fine print are specific to India. Vi says the pack rate only applies when you call from your home network, so if you are on national roaming in another telecom circle, calls to the US are billed at the standard ISD rate. Vi's rate sheet also excludes some +1 numbers from the pack, mainly Caribbean countries that share the +1 code, such as Jamaica (876), Barbados (246) and the Cayman Islands (345). Those are charged at standard ISD rates, so check the area code before assuming ₹1.99 a minute.

The time difference: India runs on a half-hour offset

India Standard Time (IST) is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of UTC and does not change its clocks. The US does, so the gap moves by an hour twice a year. In 2026, US daylight saving time ends on Sunday, November 1.

US time zone	Mid-March to early November	Early November to mid-March
Eastern (New York, Atlanta)	9 hours 30 minutes behind India	10 hours 30 minutes behind
Central (Chicago, Dallas)	10 hours 30 minutes behind	11 hours 30 minutes behind
Mountain (Denver)	11 hours 30 minutes behind	12 hours 30 minutes behind
Arizona (most of the state)	12 hours 30 minutes behind	12 hours 30 minutes behind
Pacific (Los Angeles, Seattle, Bay Area)	12 hours 30 minutes behind	13 hours 30 minutes behind
Hawaii	15 hours 30 minutes behind	15 hours 30 minutes behind

In practice, US business hours land in India's evening and night. A New York office opening at 9 am is 6:30 pm in Delhi or Bengaluru in summer and 7:30 pm in winter. A California office opening at 9 am is 9:30 pm or 10:30 pm IST. Calls to family work best in your early morning, which is the previous evening in the US.

Using your US phone in India

If you are visiting from the US with your own phone, you have three main choices.

WiFi calling. On plans with unlimited talk and text, Verizon says calling back to the US over WiFi calling is free, while calls to other countries are charged under your international plan (Verizon WiFi calling FAQs). If you are with T-Mobile or AT&T, check your plan's WiFi calling terms for use abroad. Switch WiFi calling on before you leave the US.
A day pass. Verizon TravelPass costs $12 a day in 210+ countries and includes unlimited calls, texts and data (the first 5 GB at high speed), charged only on days you use the phone abroad, as of October 2026 (Verizon international travel). Check India is on Verizon's TravelPass country list before you rely on it.
Airplane mode plus WiFi. This stops your phone roaming onto an Indian network by accident while still letting WiFi calling and apps work. Our guide to keeping your US phone number when you live abroad covers longer stays.

Getting an Indian SIM as a foreign visitor

An Indian SIM gives you cheap local data and access to ISD packs, but the paperwork is heavier than in most countries. Vi, for example, asks foreign nationals for a passport and visa as proof of identity, and requires a local reference with supporting documents; a self-declaration is not accepted. Expect similar paperwork at other carriers, and note that instant Aadhaar-based activation needs an Aadhaar number, which most visitors do not have.

Plan for this before you land. If you have a relative or hotel willing to act as your local reference, a SIM from a carrier store is easy to set up. If not, a data-only travel eSIM bought before you fly avoids the process, though it gives you no Indian number for normal calls.

WiFi in India: many hotspots want an Indian number

Hotel WiFi in Indian cities is usually fine for voice calls, though speeds vary a lot between properties, so test the connection before a long call. Public WiFi is different. Railway station WiFi and most other public hotspots in India log you in with a one-time password sent by SMS to a mobile number, so a foreign SIM that is switched off or cannot receive texts locks you out.

If you rely on public WiFi, keep a phone that can receive texts in India. Otherwise, use your hotel's network or mobile data for calls home.

What a 10-minute call to the US costs from India

Prices are taken from each company's own pages, in its own currency, as of October 2026.

Option	10 minutes to a US number	Best for
Vi prepaid with the ₹18 ISD pack	₹19.90 plus the ₹18 pack	Regular callers with a Vi SIM
Airtel postpaid with an ISD pack	₹20 (₹80 without a pack)	Airtel postpaid users
US Verizon SIM with TravelPass	$12 for the day	Travelers who also need data that day
US Verizon SIM over WiFi calling	No extra charge to US numbers on unlimited talk plans	Calls home from hotel WiFi
WhatsApp or FaceTime	Free over WiFi	Family who use the same app
BoraPhone in a browser	From $0.40	US landlines, banks, offices, no SIM needed

If you live in India and call the US often, an Indian ISD pack is very hard to beat on price. BoraPhone fits the cases where the other options do not: a data-only eSIM, a laptop with no phone, no working US SIM, or a call to a US office that is not on WhatsApp. It runs in Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox and calls real US landlines and mobiles. Calls to the US start from $0.04 a minute at the time of writing (October 2026), and the dialer shows the exact rate for the number before you call. You top up from $5, billing is per minute rounded up to the next full minute, failed calls are refunded, and your first call is free, so you can test it on your connection before you need it. Rates for other countries are on the full rates list.

Common mistakes on this route

Dialing 011. That is the exit code for calling out of the US. From India it is 00, or + on a mobile.
Adding a 0. Indian landline and long-distance (STD) calls start with 0, so people sometimes add one in front of the US area code. US numbers never take a leading 0.
Dialing 001 and then 1 again. 00 plus 1 is already the full prefix, so 00 1 1 212... has an extra digit and fails.
Calling a 1-800 number. Many US toll-free numbers block calls from outside North America. Our guide to calling US toll-free numbers from abroad shows how to find a direct number, and our guide to calling your bank from abroad covers card and fraud lines.
Forgetting the half hour. A time-zone app set to whole hours will put you 30 minutes out. Check the table above.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to call a US number from India?

It depends on how you call. On Vi prepaid with its ₹18 ISD pack, calls to the USA cost ₹1.99 a minute, and Airtel's published postpaid rate is ₹2 a minute with a pack or ₹8 without. Browser calling services start from a few US cents a minute to the US, and app-to-app calls on WhatsApp are free over WiFi.

What is the exit code for India?

India's international access code is 00. You dial 00, then the country code (1 for the US), then the number. On a mobile you can press and hold 0 to get a + sign, which replaces the 00.

What country code is 91?

+91 is the country code for India. To call an Indian mobile from the US, you dial 011 91 and the 10-digit number, or +91 from a cell phone. Our guide to calling India from the US has the full details.

Can I call the USA from India for free?

Yes, if the person you are calling uses WhatsApp, FaceTime or a similar app, and you are both online. With a US phone, Verizon says WiFi calls back to US numbers carry no extra charge. Calls from an Indian SIM to a US landline or mobile are charged at ISD rates, though an ISD pack brings that down to a couple of rupees a minute.

How to Call the USA from India: ISD Codes, Packs and Costs