US citizen held in Maharajganj for overstaying his Indian visa

Lucknow: Maharajganj police on Saturday arrested a 33-year-old US citizen for allegedly overstaying his Indian visa, officials said.

Intelligence agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the local intelligence unit (LIU), will question the foreign national for verification and background checks.

The arrest was made by a team from Farenda police station during a checking and surveillance drive in Phulwariya area.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team intercepted the foreigner who hails from Missouri, United States.

Police said he was carrying a valid American passport, but scrutiny of his travel documents indicated that the validity of his Indian visa had expired.

During interrogation, he allegedly told police that he arrived in Hyderabad in Aug 2025 and had been staying there since then.

Investigators said the American national claimed he was attempting to travel to Nepal and had mistakenly disembarked near Chhatri Bridge in Maharajganj, believing he had reached the Nepal border.

A search of his belongings led to the recovery of his passport, an identification card, and an electronic travel authorisation linked to an e-tourist visa issued on July 24, 2025.

Police said the visa conditions stipulated that a foreign tourist could not stay in India for more than 180 days during a calendar year and that continuous stay on each entry should not exceed 180 days.

He was booked under Section 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. Police said arrest procedures followed Supreme Court and Human Rights Commission guidelines, and documents were explained to him in English using digital translation tools.