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I am a Pakistani citizen on a student visa in the USA. I am on a grace period to leave the country. Just a week before my 60-day grace period ends, I lost my passport. I want to return to my country to avoid an illegal stay in the USA. What are my options?

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You will need a travel document to board your flight back to Pakistan. Call the nearest Pakistani embassy or consulate in the USA immediately. They can help you get a new passport or emergency travel document.

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    That's the key word here: emergency travel document. An embassy can usually issue those quite fast in emergency situations like this.
    – Mast
    Jul 18, 2018 at 11:44
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In addition to ajd's answer: also immediately contact US law enforcement and immigration authorities.

As a foreign national you are required to have a passport on you, so you're in violation of the law by not having one right now. Not sure how they'll act on that, most likely you'll have to present documentation from your embassy or consulate within a certain time frame showing that you're in the process of obtaining a replacement document to prevent arrest.

We had something similar in Spain, though being from another Schengen country there was no overstay risk. Contact the police, contact your consulate or embassy, and hope for the best.

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    "As a foreign national you are required to have a passport on you" -- [citation needed]
    – hmakholm left over Monica
    Jul 18, 2018 at 10:46
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    @HenningMakholm From Do I Need to Carry Documents While I’m in the USA?: "The short answer is: yes. Any alien within the borders of the United States must carry their documents with them at all times."
    – TripeHound
    Jul 18, 2018 at 11:50
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    @jwenting: I have lived as a foreign national in the US for 15 or so and I have never ever carried Green Card or Passport unless I needed them for travel. Having a passport or green card lost, stolen or damaged is very expensive and cumbersome to fix.
    – Hilmar
    Jul 18, 2018 at 14:00
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    You write "you are required to have a passport on you" and when called out, in a comment "not carrying it around at all times". I can't read this in any way that are not mutually exclusive.
    – pipe
    Jul 18, 2018 at 15:32
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    "on you" means carrying it, not merely having access to it.
    – Acccumulation
    Jul 18, 2018 at 20:52

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