Through the past two years, the Indian government has been vehemently insisting that all Indian Nationals who are eligible for an Aadhaar card should link it to their PAN cards. And now the Supreme Court spouting its constitutional validity, has issued a hard deadline of March 31, 2019 which is fast approaching. While this does not apply to Non-resident Indians (NRIs), that is, Indians who have been out of the country for over 182 days or more in the 12 months preceding this date of application, it does however, apply to Indian visitors to the US who are temporarily visiting family here or are on a B1 business visa. For Indians citizens who will need to file their taxes this year, the linking of Aadhaar to their PAN is mandatory.

What happens if a B1/B2 US visa holder in the US does not link his Aadhaar with PAN card?

The consequences of not linking Aadhaar to PAN card come with many inconvenient penalties for the Indian visitor who may be temporarily visiting family in the US and doesn’t meet the linking deadline:

• Not linking the Aadhaar to the PAN card could make your PAN card invalid;
• A PAN is mandatory to be able to make cash deposits over Rs.50,000 with banks in India;
• Although NRIs cannot have an Aadhaar card, they do require to hold a valid PAN account to be able to operate a Non-Resident External (NRE) bank account;
• If you are US visitor on a B2 visa but need to conduct any form of financial operations like investing in the Indian stock market over the said amount limit, you will need to ensure your Aadhaar is linked to your PAN before the end of the month.
• Tax season is upon us and Indian nationals who are in the US at the time and not linking these two cards, will be unable to file taxes returns.
• If business personnel are traveling outside on a US B1 visa and need TDS deduction, they will be unable to exercise this without completing this vital linking.
• For Indian nationals who are planning a trip to the US and need to apply for a passport, this linkage is mandatory since the Aadhaar acts as a proof of address required while applying for the passport.

How can B2 US visitor visa holders in the US link their Aadhaar to PAN card?

So as to not miss the linking deadline of March 31, 2019, Indians visiting the US with a B2 visitors visa or B1 temporary business visa have the following options to link their Aadhaar with PAN:

• Send a SMS to NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited or UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited (UTIITL).
• The available Indian SMS numbers are 567678 or 56161
  The format to send this SMS request is: UIDPAN (SPACE) 12 digit Aadhaar (SPACE) 10-digit PAN
• Sign into the income tax e-filing website with your user ID, password and date of birth. Click on the “Link Aadhaar” tab to fulfil the process.
• Alternatively, use the hyperlink provided on the home page of http://incometaxindia.gov.in/Pages/default.aspx. To provide details of PAN, AAdhaar number and Identification details to complete the process.
• If you are yet to travel to the US, you may also visit the physical location of a PAN service provider, NSDL or UTIITSL to fill out a physical form and submit copies of PAN and Aadhaar card for linking. This is done for a fee. There may be a mandatory biometric authentication involved as well.

Stay tuned to this page to see if there are new updates to the Aadhaar-PAN linking requirements.