[6] In September 2002,[9][10] Indian-American businessman Sanjay Puri and Vikram Chauhan[11] formally established the United States India Political Action Committee (USINPAC),[10] a non-profit political action committee[12] based in Washington, D.C.[1] Surabhi Garg headed fundraising and operations,[11] while Puri became chairman in October 2002.

[13] From the start USINPAC described its goal as "working closely with other Indian-American organizations to promote fair and balanced policies, and create a platform to enable the entry of Indian Americans in the political process.

"[6] According to the Asia Times, USINPAC "put itself on the political map" in May 2003 "when it successfully lobbied for an amendment to the House's US$3 billion aid package for Pakistan."

The amendment, which was proposed by Gary Ackerman of the India Caucus in the US Congress, called for "an end to US assistance until Pakistan stopped cross-border attacks in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir and gave up weapons of mass destruction.

Eni Faleomavaega of the India Caucus in the US Congress instead pushed an alternate but similar amendment through, which among other points "ceased the transfer of weapons of mass destruction, including any associated technologies, to any third country or terrorist organization.

[6] Starting in 2005, for example,[1] USINPAC was closely involved in the passage of the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement,[7][16] playing a key role in getting it through Congress[7] three years later.

"[17] USINPAC supported the passage of the related Hyde Act in 2006,[6] and the Section 123 Agreement passed in 2008,[1] allowing US-India cooperation in the civilian nuclear-energy trade.

"[14] By June 2006 USINPAC had contributed a total of over $200,000 to Congressional candidates, and had raised campaign money at nine fund-raisers and receptions since January of that year.

[20] In March 2013, Puri testified before the House Committee on Foreign Relations and advocated prioritizing Indian issues such as education, a STEM Teacher exchange, and the "export of gas to ease India’s energy difficulty.

"[27] As of November 2015, United States Senate candidates supported by USINPAC included politicians such as Aruna Miller, Ravi Sangisetty, Manan Trivedi, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Aneesh Chopra, Vivek Kundra, Jay Goyal, and Kesha Ram among others.

"[10] Among other organizations, USINPAC has worked closely with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on issues, often jointly lobbying Congress in support of minority interests.