No more birthright citizenship for children born to parents on temporary visas; How this will impact Indians in US
According to the executive order, titled ¡°Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,¡± signed by Trump, at least one of the child's parents must be a citizen or permanent resident with a green card for the child to be eligible for birthright citizenship.
In a move that could affect millions of people in the US, the Donald Trump administration has revoked birthright citizenship for children born on American soil to illegal immigrants and those on temporary visas. On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order revoking birthright citizenship, which had been guaranteed by the US Constitution for more than 150 years to anyone born in the country, irrespective of their parents' immigration status.
CREDIT: iStock
Who can claim US Citizenship
According to the executive order, titled ¡°Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,¡± signed by Trump, at least one of the child's parents must be a citizen or permanent resident with a green card for the child to be eligible for birthright citizenship.
Who can't get US Citizenship now
This means that children of illegal aliens born in the United States, or those who are in the US legally on student visas, work visas, or tourist visas, can no longer claim citizenship or an American passport.
The executive order, signed on 20 January, will come into effect after 30 days, on 20 February.
Impact on H-1B, other visa holders
One of the largest categories to be impacted by the new rule is those in the US on H-1B and L1 work visas. Others who will be affected include those on dependent visas (H4), study visas (F1), academic visitor visas (J1), and short-term business or tourist (B1 or B2) visas.
CREDIT: Unsplash
How this will affect Indians in US
As far as India is concerned, the section most affected will be tech workers in the US on H-1B visas.
As of 2022, Indian nationals accounted for approximately 320,000 approved H-1B visa applications, representing about 72% of the total 441,000 approvals by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK
The issue of birthright citizenship had also come up during the tech layoffs in recent years when hundreds of thousands of employees including many Indians who were in the US on H-1B visas were let go by their employers. This had resulted in many families facing the threat of breaking apart as their parents who were on H-1B visas were forced to leave, while their US-born children could continue to stay in the country as they were American citizens.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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