New Delhi:
US President Donald Trump’s executive order had sought to ban birthright citizenship for the children of temporary visa holders. Pending for now after a legal challenge, the policy has left thousands of Indians and hopes to soon be parents.
The impact is enormous for Indian experts using H-1B visas. Many people assumed that US-born children would automatically acquire citizenship, but the order threatens to overturn these expectations.
“This has a direct impact on us,” said Akshay Pise, an Indian engineer in San Jose, California. “If the order is enabled, we don’t know what will come next. That’s unknown territory,” he told the BBC.
As their deadline approached, the couple considered temporary early guiding labor, but opposed it. “We want to take that course into a natural process,” Satopet said. “My priorities are safe delivery and wife health. Citizenship will be second,” Pais said.
Panic led to reports that parents went to early C-sections to ensure their children’s US citizenship. However, Satheesh Kathula, president of the American Physicians of Indian Origins (AAPI), advised. “In countries with strict health care laws, we strongly recommend C-sections of preterm births just for citizenship,” he said.
San Jose resident Priyansi Jaju said in April that he said “Do I need to contact the Indian Consulate about my passport? Is there no clear information about the visa being applied?”
“There is no provision in US law that grants non-immigrant status to anyone born here,” said Cyrus Mehta, a New York-based immigration lawyer. Without birthright citizenship, children of H-1B holders may face legal uncertainty.
Satpute said uncertainty is stressful. “Pregnancy is stressful enough, but here in 10 years, I thought it would be easier — this happens on top of everything.” Her husband said they are legal and taxpayer immigrants. Yes, and said the baby deserves US citizenship.
“That was law, wasn’t it?” he said.
Indians, the second largest immigrant group in the United States, is one of the people affected by the order. Over five million people hold non-immigrant visas, and under the new rules, US-born children will no longer receive citizenship.
“Indians face the longest green card backlog of all nationalities,” said Sune Puri, an immigration policy analyst. The current law limits green cards to 7% per country, and Indians receive 72% H-1B visas each year, making the backlog growing to 1.1 million.
David Bier, immigration director at Cato Institute, warned that “new Indian applicants are facing a lifetime of waiting and there is a high chance that 4 larks will die before they can get their green card.”
The order also affected undocumented immigrants and ended the birthright citizenship of US-born children who were able to sponsor their parents previously for Green Cards at the age of 21.
The undocumented estimates of Indians differ – Pew Research estimates 7.25 lakhs and the Institute for Immigration Policy estimates 3.75 lakhs.
For H-1B or O-visa Indians, the biggest concern is the future of the child. Visa holders are often required to leave the US for visa stamping, which faces delays. Many worry that their children will face the same struggle.
