Almost everything in your first week asks for a US phone number. Your bank, Uber, and Zelle (the app Americans use to send each other money) all verify you by text. Meanwhile, every Indian bank keeps texting its login codes to your Indian number. This file sets up both: a US eSIM you order before you fly, and a cheap roaming plan that keeps the Indian number receiving those texts.
Two ways to get the number
Order an eSIM from India and switch it on when you land. That is the way we recommend. An eSIM is a SIM you download instead of inserting, and the QR code arrives by email. The other way is walking into a carrier store after you land. It works, but it takes an hour of your first day or two, and store plans run $50–80 a month against $15 for a prepaid eSIM.
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The four carriers
These are ranked in roughly the order we would try them, and the middle column answers the question that decides your first week: can you set it up before you fly? The coverage notes come from people’s experience, ours included, so treat them as a starting point rather than a verdict.
CARRIERCAN YOU BUY IT FROM INDIA?WHAT THAT MEANS
MintThe cheap prepaid one◄ MOST FOUNDERS PICK THISYes. Order it from your desk.Buy online with an international card and the eSIM arrives by email, live in five minutes. Buying 3–12 months upfront gets the biggest discount, which is how it comes to $15 a month on the 12-month pack. It runs on T-Mobile’s network, which is good in SF and patchier inside buildings in Fremont and Palo Alto.
TelloThe month-to-month oneYes. Order it from your desk.This is the true month-to-month option, at $10–25 a month. You set data and minutes separately, so you pay for what you use, and the eSIM arrives by email like Mint’s. It is also T-Mobile’s network underneath, and some companies don’t recognise the brand when they ask for a US number to verify you.
T-MobileThe big-network store planNo. You sign up after you land.This is the big-carrier plan: 5G, a hotspot allowance, and roaming cover for trips back to India, at $50–80 a month. You sign up in a store, or online with a US address, and a hotel address usually works.
Google FiThe frequent-flyer oneNo. It needs a US billing address.It is one plan that works the same in India and 200 other countries, built for people who fly monthly, at $20 a month plus the data you use. It is more than you need if you’ll be in the Bay eleven months a year.
WHAT A MONTH COSTSSEP 2026
$15
Mint, on the 12-month pack
$10–25
Tello, month to month
$50–80
a big-carrier store plan
$20+
Google Fi, plus data used
~₹500
Airtel/Jio roaming, SMS tier
20×
roaming data vs a local eSIM
Physical SIM cards are usually free when you sign up at a store. What you pay for is the monthly plan, and the hour in the store.
Keep the Indian number alive
Every Indian bank, mutual fund and Aadhaar-linked service sends its one-time login codes (OTPs) to your Indian number. So does the family WhatsApp group. Lose the number and you are locked out of your own money, and fixing that from nine time zones away is slow and heavy on paperwork. So don’t replace the number. Put it on the cheapest roaming plan that receives SMS. On Airtel or Jio that is about ₹500 a month, and SMS is all an OTP needs. Let the US eSIM carry everything else.
DON’T BUY ROAMING DATA
Turn on Airtel or Jio international roaming in the app before you fly, and stay on the cheapest tier. Don’t upgrade to a roaming data plan. It costs about 20 times what a local eSIM does, for the same data.
why ₹500 a month is worth it
The Indian SIM now has one job, which is receiving the codes that unlock everything you left behind. ₹500 a month is a small price for that.
Your WhatsApp identity stays on the Indian number even after you switch to a US SIM. There is nothing to migrate. The app just verifies you by SMS the first time you log in, which is the real reason the roaming plan matters.
02
Some carriers ask for your I-94 at signup
The I-94 is the government’s electronic record of your arrival in the US. Print the latest one from i94.cbp.dhs.gov before you fly. It costs nothing and saves an argument at the counter.
03
Mint and Tello are both T-Mobile underneath
You get cheaper billing on the same towers. If T-Mobile coverage is weak where you end up living, the discount brands will be weak there too.
04
A hotel counts as a US address
Carriers want a US address at signup. The hotel you’re staying at is enough. Bring the booking confirmation.