More than two dozen lawmakers and prominent Indian Americans gathered at the US Capitol for the annual Diwali celebration, highlighting the contributions of the Indian American community and the strong US-India relationship. The event, organized by the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, also featured addresses from several Congressmen and Senators who expressed support for Indian Americans and emphasized the importance of the US-India partnership.
Facing a possible rout in Congressional polls, US President Barack Obama implored fellow Democrats to get out and vote in a "difficult" election, even as the buoyed Republicans promised a "really big night" on November 2.
Donald Trump is expected to sign a series of executive orders upon taking office, including those related to immigration, border security, energy and governance. These orders are intended to implement Trump's policy priorities, including restricting immigration, increasing energy production, and streamlining government operations. The executive orders will include declaring emergency on the southern border, preparing military deployment on the borders, classifying cartels as "foreign terrorist organisations", reinstating the "Remain in Mexico" policy, ending the "Catch and Release" policy, and declaring emergency related to energy. Trump is also expected to roll back some of the executive orders and actions of outgoing President Joe Biden, such as the Paris Climate agreement, lifting restrictions on fossil fuel production, and expanding domestic oil drilling.
Waltz after being elected as the Co-Chair of India Caucus in January last year had said that India is the world's largest democracy and an important strategic partner for the United States.
Indians are the main beneficiaries of the H-1B visas, which bring in the best of the talent and brains from across the world. Highly skilled professionals from India walk away with the overwhelming number of H-1B visas - which is Congressional mandated 65,0000 every year and another 20,000 for those who received higher education from the US.
Hiral Tipirneni, Anita Malik and Sanjay Patel -- all from the opposition Democratic party -- have won their respective primaries.
Ahead of Trump's inauguration here on January 20, the debate on foreign guest workers visas for highly skilled professionals, the H-1B, has intensified which has literally created divisions in both the Democratic and the Republican parties.
Trump also said that he has also used the H-1B visa programme.
A Green Card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is a document issued to immigrants as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently in the US.
The Congress on Wednesday expressed sadness over 'pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated' while being deported from the United States and recalled that America had to express regret over the treatment meted out to India diplomat Devyani Khobragade in 2013 after the then United Progressive Alliance government retaliated sharply.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President-elect Donald Trump have 'reaffirmed their commitment' to working together to further strengthen bilateral ties across a range of sectors, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday cancelled his meeting with a senior United States Congressional delegation ostensibly as a mark of protest against the treatment meted out to India's deputy consul general in New York.
"I am deeply proud and excited to call Kamala Harris our next Vice President, the first woman, first South Asian American and first Black woman to ever be elected to the position," Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said.
US drone attacks in Pakistani territory are undermining the war on terror, President Asif Ali Zardari told an American Congressional delegation on Thursday, asking Washington to provide the drone technology to his country's armed forces.
'As negotiations continue, the path forward demands not only diplomatic skill, but also vigilance against legal asymmetries embedded in America's trade playbook.'
Biden is best qualified to address the root cause of the polarisation in American politics before it turns into terminal malignancy, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
By picking Rubio and Waltz as his top diplomat and NSA guarantees a continuation of bi-partisan support and further strengthening of India-US relationship under the second Trump administration.
Hours before the crucial United States mid-term polls, Congressman Ami Bera's re-election campaign got a shot in the arm with First Lady Michelle Obama appealing to voters in California seat, where the Indian-American is locked in a tight contest, to vote for him.
'Today we prove that our democracy still works and that the power always belongs to the people through the power of our vote'
As part of its effort to change the face of the party, diversify its base and gain the support of this cash rich community, the Republican Party is working to field 10 Indian-Americans in the 2014 Congressional elections.
Security experts have warned that using Signal for discussions of this nature violates every established protocol for handling classified information.
On Tuesday, August 20, 2024 -- 16 days after he turned 63 -- Barack Obama appeared on stage during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Khanna, an attorney who is perhaps one of the most articulate spokesmen of Indian Americans in the Democratic Party, argued political mobilisation is the final step for the community.
Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna, 47, is headed towards running for presidency of the United States, his Indian American colleagues in the US House of Representatives believe.
A marginalised Sikh group, which in the past had known supporters of Khalistan, has once again gained access to the powerful corridors of the Capitol Hill, raising concerns for India -- this time piggybacking on the issue of hate crime that the community is facing in the US.
Dr Ami Bera, California physician, who according to conventional wisdom is the only Indian American congressional candidate this time around among all of the community's aspirants who has a good chance of winning, received a major boost when former President Bill Clinton publicly endorsed him in a public rally at the University of California.
Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, has received the backing from more than the 1,976 pledged delegates needed to win the Democratic Party's nomination on the first ballot, CNN reported on the first full day of her campaign.
Those close to Khanna, 46, say he is keeping his options open ahead of a potential presidential run in 2028 or beyond. But others in his orbit are talking about an even more compressed timeline: running in 2024 if President Joe Biden, 80, decided not to, according to Politico, a political newspaper company based in Arlington County in the US.
Democratic Congressman Ami Bera and his Republican colleague George Holding would be the new co-chairs of the powerful Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.
Carter was in politics, but not a politician, certainly not a transactional politician, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
More than two dozen Indian-Americans are in electoral fray for the crucial US elections, but all eyes would be on three young leaders -- South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Congressmen Ami Bera and Ro Khanna, who have made a mark in the country's politics.
Loomer, 31, often seen as a right-wing conspiracy theorist, made the remark while commenting on a photo posted by Harris on National Grandparents Day in which the vice president talked about her grandparents from India.
United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the nomination of popular Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth, 44, as his defence secretary.
'We are at the moment working with India to encourage India to hold accountable, those responsible for this terrible crime'
The Indo-US relations on Monday came up for review as an American Congressional delegation led by Senator Judd Gregg met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Rahul 'Richard' Verma has been appointed to the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. Verma, a partner with the international law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP, based in Washington, DC, was until recently the high-ranking Indian-American Congressional aide on Capitol Hill.
An independent United States Congressional research report has alleged that the scope and scale of human rights abuses in India has increased under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The US is looking very carefully at what Modi did when he was in Moscow, a senior State Department official has told lawmakers concerned over the growing India-Russia ties.
'This year felt different -- and was different.' 'For the first time, the Indian American voter seemed to matter.'
The elaborate and lavish White House state dinner hosted for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by United States President Barack Obama in November, and the caliber of guests invited, was in part to acknowledge the extraordinary impact of Indian Americans in the US in every field of endeavour, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has said.
