As the Trump administration pushes denaturalisation targets, US citizenship trends show a decline in Indian naturalisations and longer scrutiny of immigrants.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed state agencies and public universities to suspend new H-1B visa petitions through May 2027, a move likely to affect Indian professionals. The order comes amid ongoing debate over skilled immigration and potential impacts on academic research and innovation.
The Trump administration is looking at plans to strip some naturalised Americans of their citizenship, the latest in a series of efforts undertaken by President Donald Trump to crack down on immigration.
India has raised concerns with the United States regarding the cancellation of scheduled H1B visa interviews for Indian applicants due to enhanced vetting measures. Both countries are engaged in discussions to address the disruptions caused by the delays.
The US has expanded its review of social media and online presence to cover all H-1B speciality occupation workers and their H-4 dependents, the US embassy in India said on December 10.
The Trump administration has expanded its travel ban and restrictions to 20 additional nations as well as the Palestinian Authority, citing national security concerns.
The US has replaced random H-1B selection with a wage-weighted lottery and a new $100,000 fee for applications, raising uncertainty for students and junior hires.
The US has postponed thousands of H-1B visa interviews in India, citing enhanced vetting measures including scrutiny of social media profiles. The delays are impacting applicants who were scheduled for interviews from December 15 onwards, with new dates being pushed back by several months.
Meanwhile, Trump said Cambodia and Thailand have started fighting again and "tomorrow", he will make a phone call to those countries.
Trump described the Gold Card as a "Green Card, but much better, much more powerful, a much stronger path and a path is a big deal. Have to be great people, but much stronger path", which also helps companies.
The US government will fight lawsuits aimed at blocking the USD 100,000 fee imposed on new H-1B visa petitions, asserting that the system was spammed with fraud and must be overhauled to prioritise American workers.
The Trump administration said it will conduct a "rigorous" re-examination of all Green Cards issued to immigrants from "every country of concern".
An American lawmaker will be introducing a bill to "completely eliminate" the H-1B visa programme and take away the pathway to citizenship that it offers, "forcing" individuals to "return home" when their visa expires.
As per the new rule, foreigners who file to renew their EAD on or after October 30, 2025, will no longer receive an automatic extension, the DHS said in a news release.
Companies such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech usually have big centres in cities to be in proximity with their clients.
Indian-American executive Srini Gopalan has been appointed chief executive officer of telecom operator T-Mobile, amid ongoing debates over H-1B visa policies. Gopalan's appointment, effective from November 1, 2025, comes as US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a staggering $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, triggering widespread panic, concern and fear among Indian professionals on work visa.
The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's decision to impose a USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, arguing it harms American innovation and competitiveness.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in a 'H-1B FAQ' document, released on Sunday, said that the September 19 proclamation took an "important, initial, and incremental step" to reform the H-1B visa programme to curb abuses and protect American workers.
According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Amazon had 10,044 workers using H-1B visas as of June, 2025. Coming in at the second spot was TCS with 5,505 H-1B visas approved.
A deep dive into Trump's new policy and what it means for Indian professionals and companies.
The Donald Trump administration has clarified that the new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas does not apply to current visa holders and is a one-time payment only for new petitions.
The Trump administration has announced a massive increase in H-1B visa fees, imposing a $100,000 annual charge that will fundamentally alter how American companies hire skilled foreign workers, particularly impacting Indian IT professionals who comprise the largest group of beneficiaries.
'It is good to have the H1-B visa option but if tomorrow things happen to change, it is not the end of the world situation.'
Trump to sign order creating Olympics task force ahead of 2028 games
Mr Trump's actions, because of their extreme nature and the dangerous rhetoric that accompanies them, receive the most attention, points out Mihir S Sharma.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, a former anti-apartheid activist and freedom fighter, responded to Trump's claims at their meeting in the Oval Office diplomatically, countering Trump's assertions.
Green card holders have the right to live permanently in the country, but only if they do not commit deportable offences.
Immigration officials on Monday detained Mohsen Mahdawi, an organiser of pro-Palestinian protests last year at Columbia University, after he arrived at the Vermont immigration office, hoping to begin the final step to becoming a US citizen, CNN reported.
President Trump with his MAWA has unwittingly provided us this opportunity. Will PM Modi grasp this and leave a legacy of an ushered in scientific and technological revolution in India, asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
US President Donald Trump has said that the newly proposed 'gold card' initiative will allow American companies to hire Indian graduates from top US universities like Harvard and Stanford. Trump on Wednesday unveiled the 'gold card' initiative for wealthy foreigners, giving them the right to live and work in the country and offering a path to citizenship in exchange for a $5 million fee.
Indian-origin tech companies cornered a fifth of all H-1B visas issued by the US with Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services leading the pack, an analysis of data from the US immigration department showed. According to data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, in April-September 2024 period, out of the total 1.3 lakh H-1B visas issued to different employers, about 24,766 visas were issued to Indian-origin companies.
As the US gets tougher with visas, the prayers of US-bound devotees in India are getting more fervent, and their purse strings looser. Called Visa Hanuman temples (there are half a dozen all over India), some of them ask for a 'fee'.
Long denied the right to vote, members of the Valmiki community exercised their franchise for the first time in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections on Tuesday and termed it as a "historic moment".
The 21-year-old, born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother but raised in the United States, saud it will be special for her to represent host Japan at the Tokyo Games.
The number of Indians adopting US citizenship has decreased though they are the second biggest ethnic group to acquire the green cards. According to the Annual Flow Report issued by Department of Homeland Security, the total number of people becoming naturalised US citizens was 6,60,477 in 2007.
If you are applying for United States citizenship or planning to apply for any other immigration benefits, be ready to pay more from October 26.\n\n
In Delhi, Kumar's family lives in the Majnu Ka Tila area and they are engaged in small-time business. He said a total of five people got Indian citizenship in his locality on Wednesday. Over a hundred had applied for it, he said.
The US has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach a cap for the much-sought-after H-1B foreign work visas for the fiscal year 2024, a federal agency has announced. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The US Citizenship Act 2023 introduced by Congresswoman Linda S nchez creates an earned roadmap to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants, providing Dreamers, TPS holders, and some farmworkers with an immediate path to citizenship.
'A large number of people from Sindh province will now opt to migrate to India as they would be granted citizenship through an easy process.'
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