You’ll make this trip two to four times a year. This file covers the parts that repeat: routes, fares, jet lag, documents, and the customs rules in both directions.
One thing before you book anything: Air India’s SFO nonstops to Bengaluru and Mumbai were suspended after the April 2025 Pakistan airspace closure, so any routing advice from before then is out of date. The list below is the current state. Pick your direction in the box and the page sets up the jet-lag plan and the carry-on list for that flight.
SECTION A — WHICH DIRECTIONPICK ONE
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Your pick sets the jet-lag timeline and the carry-on list below. Routes, fares and customs apply in both directions.
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Routes as of 2026
The airspace closure removed the nonstops, and most of the older advice with them. Six routes are worth knowing.
THE ROUTE LEDGERSFO ↔ INDIA
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Fares and booking windows
FARES · ECONOMY ROUND TRIPMID-2026
$1,000–1,400
SFO↔BLR or MAA, Gulf and Singapore carriers, normal months
$650–900
SFO↔DEL, when it dips
$1,800–2,500+
Dec 10 to Jan 5, the NRI rush
Book normal trips 2 to 3 months out. Book December travel by August or September.
Set Google Flights alerts on your two home-city routes and leave them on permanently. The alerts catch the roughly 30% price dips that are never announced anywhere.
Managing the jet lag
India is 12.5 hours ahead of California, the worst possible shift a body clock can take. You can still land in decent shape if you work with light and meals instead of fighting them. Which way you’re flying changes what you should do, so the timeline below follows the direction you picked at the top.
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Schedule no important calls in the first 36 hours after landing, in either direction. Your brain comes back on the afternoon of day two.
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The document and carry-on list for the direction you picked. It changes when you switch direction above.
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CAUTION — RE-ENTERING THE US
An approval notice (a form called an I-797) does not get you on the plane by itself. You board with the unexpired visa stamp in your passport, and it has to match your current status. If your stamp has expired, you need a consulate appointment during this trip. There are no exceptions. That is why the checklist below says to check your stamp six or more months before you book.
Customs, both directions
Each border has its own rules. Both sets changed recently, and older advice can get you fined.
CAUTION — INTO INDIA · BAGGAGE RULES 2026
The duty-free limit is ₹75,000 (~$875) of goods under the Baggage Rules 2026, effective 2 February 2026, plus one new laptop duty-free (a second laptop counts against the ₹75,000). Gold is allowed at 40g for women, 20g for men, by weight, jewellery only. Bars and coins get taxed, and anything over the limits attracts a flat ~10% duty under the 2026 rules.
CAUTION — INTO THE US · FOOD
Bring packaged, sealed food only, and declare everything agricultural. Declaring costs nothing. Not declaring is a fine. Homemade ghee, pickles and sweets usually get through if they are sealed and declared. Meat and fresh produce never make it through.
What to do now
Do these before every trip. Tick them off as you go. Saved in your browser.
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Good to know
01
The airspace closure changed everything
From April 2025, Air India’s SFO nonstops to BLR and BOM were suspended. Even DEL adds a Kolkata refuelling stop outbound. If someone tells you to just take the AI nonstop, they’re on 2024 information.
02
The Kolkata stop happens on the plane
You do not deplane at CCU on the SFO→DEL outbound refuel. It’s about 90 minutes on the ground (some passengers get off, most stay), and the cabin lights come on. Bring noise-cancelling headphones or a sleep mask.
03
Book December far earlier than feels natural
Booking in October for a December 25 return means paying $2,500+ round trip. Locking in December by August feels awkwardly early. The difference is a month of Bangalore rent.