I'll also ask anyone and everyone who visit my apartment to remove their footwear at the door.
This can be said about central/east europe as well, and our western european friends seem to behave like that too. And I don't mean just removing dirty heavy winter boots, I mean any boots/shoes/sandals/etc used outside.
I had an Indian colleague years ago, and she did take her shoes off at work. We'd sit down at a computer to pair on something, and she'd slip her shoes off as she sat down. I must have found that unusual, because i remember it clearly.
I have started taking my shoes off at work, but only a year or two ago. I think it's because i got a pair of heavy boots, and my feet can get too warm wearing them. I will walk to the printer in socks, but i have a pair of smart office slippers for going to the kitchen or bathroom.
My mother would say: I clean this house, someone else does it in your office!
In the US, because it makes people uncomfortable, and I have the right to do what makes me comfortable in my house, but not necessarily to do in the office what makes my co-workers uncomfortable. I do often take off my shoes when I'm in my office.