A 94-year-old woman, K Mahalakshmamma, who lived in the United States for over two decades, has renounced her American citizenship to return to her native village in Andhra Pradesh and die as an Indian citizen. She underwent an oath-taking ceremony before the Bapatla District Collector, and her application for Indian citizenship restoration has been forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The US Supreme Court has struck down an executive order by President Donald Trump that sought to restrict birthright citizenship. The ruling reaffirms that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to all persons born on American soil, including children of undocumented or temporarily present parents. This decision overturns a key policy initiative from Trump's second term.
The US Department of Homeland Security has proposed a nearly 75 per cent increase in the filing fee for Form N-400, the application for US citizenship through naturalisation, raising it from $760 to $1,330. The proposal also seeks to eliminate reduced-fee options and fee waivers, potentially impacting thousands of immigrants, including Indians.
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.
The H-1B visa once symbolised the American Dream for Indians, but today's students are increasingly asking whether they need America at all. In 1995, the question was: How do I get to America? In 2026, it may be: Do I need to?
India too can rise to the top if the 1.4 billion Indians back home are given better opportunities to use their innate talent and capacity to work hard, with right incentives in a more meritocratic rules-based system, asserts Ajay Chhibber.
U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, despite a controversial FIFA decision to suspend his red card ban, struggled in the World Cup Round of 16 match against Belgium, leading to the U.S. team's elimination. The decision, which saw U.S. President Donald Trump claim credit, sparked accusations of political pressure on FIFA, while Balogun's birthright citizenship also came under scrutiny.
With the duration of stay capped at four years, the biggest impact of the new F-1 visa rules is likely to be on PhD scholars, students enrolled in longer professional programmes, those whose graduation gets delayed and students moving from one academic programme to another, highlight education experts.
FIFA has dismissed Belgium's challenge regarding the eligibility of US striker Folarin Balogun, upholding the controversial decision to suspend his one-match ban ahead of the World Cup Round of 16 clash, despite the US ultimately losing 4-1 to Belgium and being eliminated.
An estimated 46 million foreign-born persons resided in the United States in 2022, approximately 14 per cent of the total US population of 333 million, according to American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau.
Donald Trump has amplified a critique of birthright citizenship by sharing a video of Michael Savage, who claimed the legal system allows immigrants to exploit American laws.
If Trump doesn't like India, that is his choice. But to use such distasteful language on a public platform is deeply offensive and needs to be called out, points out Amberish K Diwanji.
India has criticised US President Donald Trump's social media repost referring to India and other countries as 'hellholes' in the context of immigration, deeming the remarks 'uninformed' and 'inappropriate'.
Immigrants' contribution to the US economy is disproportionate to their share of the population, meaning that losing them would shrink the economy even more than losing a random group of Americans, points out Sree Sreenivasan.
President Donald Trump is a big fan of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, seeking to dismiss allegations of rising anti-India rhetoric in the US.
US Vice President JD Vance has stated that immigrants who become US citizens should prioritise the interests of the United States above their country of origin. He emphasised the importance of allegiance to the US for the effective functioning of the American system.
Even as February 2017 will be remembered for the fight Americans have put up for the rights of immigrants, South Asian Americans recall the February of 1923 when the US Supreme Court barred South Asians from becoming citizens.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised India's concerns with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding changes to US visa and immigration policies, emphasising that legal mobility should not be negatively affected. Rubio acknowledged potential 'bumps' during the transition as the US aims to improve its immigration system.
Democrat leaders have criticised US President Donald Trump for referring to India and other countries as 'hellholes', accusing him of amplifying 'racist trash' on social media.
This could come as a setback to thousands of Indian engineers who have waited for years for their work visas to pave the way for the coveted Green Card.
The US embassy spokesperson issued a statement clarifying President Trump's views on India after a controversial social media repost. The statement emphasised the strong relationship between the two countries and Trump's positive view of India's leadership.
Gupta, 54, pleaded guilty to charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in connection with his efforts to murder Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York.
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.
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.
Swiss Olympic snowboard medallist Ueli Kestenholz dies in avalanche
The Bombay High Court has ruled that Indian citizens do not have a fundamental right to adopt a child of American nationality, even from among relatives, unless the child is in need of care and protection or in conflict with the law.
A federal judge in Seattle has temporarily blocked former President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to terminate birthright citizenship in the United States, calling the policy 'blatantly unconstitutional', CNN reported.
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.
Like the realisation on the failure of development, we have also internalised the failure on democracy, argues Aakar Patel.
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.
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 Trump administration has expanded its travel ban and restrictions to 20 additional nations as well as the Palestinian Authority, citing national security concerns.
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.
This is 4,000 more than 2016's figure of 46,188 Indian naturalisation and 8,000 more than 42,213 Indian citizenship in 2015.
'...including my baby sisters, age three and one.' 'My dad was humiliated, and he started screaming at them.'
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.
Meanwhile, Trump said Cambodia and Thailand have started fighting again and "tomorrow", he will make a phone call to those countries.
The Trump administration said it will conduct a "rigorous" re-examination of all Green Cards issued to immigrants from "every country of concern".
'Non-compatible with Western Civilization' is about as vague and jingoistic as it gets and Trump saying this gives full license to his acolytes to go full throttle on making life as difficult and scary as possible for as many non-white people as possible,' notes Sree Sreenivasan.
