Savita Patel
Writer
San FranciscoBBC report
Akshay and Neha say they are worried about the future of their child
Neha Satpute and Akshay Pisa felt ready to welcome their first child.
Having worked in the United States for more than a decade, the Indian couple who is an engineer on H -1B visas for qualified foreign workers, expected their son – on February 26 – born American citizen.
Employed in a large technology company with a parental support policy of support, they had carefully built their lives in San Jose, California.
But President Donald Trump recently launched a key to their American dream by announcing a rule that would deny American citizenship to children born to temporary foreign workers. Until now, the citizenship of the right of birth had been given regardless of the parents’ immigration status.
A federal judge from Maryland blocked the order, extending a first two -week block imposed by a Seattle court. This means that the decision cannot take effect until the case is resolved before the court, although there is a possibility that a higher court cancels any decision.
The imminent uncertainty, as well as the multiple legal proceedings and challenges, left Akshay, Neha and thousands of others in the limbo.
“It has a directly impact on us,” said Akshay. “If the order takes effect, we do not know what comes then – it is an unexplored territory.” Their biggest question: what nationality will their child have?
Their concern is valid, explains the lawyer for immigration based in New York Cyrus Mehta: “US law has no provision to grant non-immigrant status to a person born here.”
The date of maturity of their baby approaching the approach, they consulted their doctor about early delivery. Advice? If everything is going well, they could induce work the 40th week, but they chose to wait.
“I want the natural process to take its course,” said Neha. Akshay adds: “My priority is a safe delivery and my wife’s health. Citizenship comes second.”
Getty images
Trump said that children born of parents who are illegally or temporarily cannot be American citizens
Dr. Satheesh Kathula, president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), contacted the obstetricians of Indian origin in the United States after family media reports in search of early caves. With the exception of “a few instances in New Jersey”, most doctors have noted any of this type of surveys.
“In a country with strict medical laws, I strongly advise premature cesareans just for citizenship,” said the Ohio -based doctor. “Our doctors are ethical and only do them if necessary.”
American citizenship is very coveted, in particular by qualified H-1B visa holders. Indians are the second largest group of immigrants in the United States.
Immigration policies analyst Sneha Puri warns that an order of elder citizenship will hit the Indians hard-more than five million Indians in the United States hold non-immigrant visas.
“If it is applied, none of their future children born in the United States would have citizenship,” she told the BBC.
South Asian parents flood online groups with concerns about the impact of order and the next steps.
Trump’s decree indicates that it does not affect the capacity of children of legal permanent residents to obtain the documentation of American citizenship.
But the Indians in the United States are faced with the longest expectation of any foreign nationality to receive a green card conferring a legal permanent residence.
Current American rules mean that the number of green cards given to people in a country cannot exceed 7% of the total number of green cards allocated.
Indians receive 72% of H-1B visas per year. According to the Cato Institute, the Indians represented 62% of the backlog based on people waiting for green cards – that is to say 1.1 million – in 2023. Indians receiving green cards based on Employment applied today in 2012.
In his report, the director of Cato immigration studies, David Bier, warns: “The new Indian candidates face a life expectation, with 400,000 people likely to die before obtaining a green card.”
On the other hand, most other immigrants obtain a permanent residence within one year, accelerating their path to citizenship.
If it is implemented, Trump’s executive order would also affect undocumented migrants in the United States, whose children born in the United States had previously automatically won citizenship-and who could then sponsor their parents to ask for a card green at the age of 21.
Pew Research estimates 725,000 undeniable undenial immigrants in the United States in 2022, making it the third group. On the other hand, the Migration Policy Institute puts the number at 375,000, ranking India fifth. Unauthorized immigrants represent 3% of the American population and 22% of the population born abroad.
The main concern for Indians on H-1B or O visas is the quality of life of their children.
These visa holders must leave the United States periodically to make their visa buffered in an Embassy in the United States abroad. Those who return to India for this purpose are often confronted with delays to obtain an appointment for this purpose.
These immigrants do not want their children born in the United States to support the same bureaucratic struggles.
Priyanshi and Piyush, who await their first child, say they are looking for clarity on potential changes
Pending in the queue of green cards for several years, Akshay is aware of the ease that American citizenship brings.
“We have been here for over 10 years. As I see my parents aging, it is very important for me to have citizenship. Traveling becomes difficult for us with visa coordination hours, and now with my baby, it could be more difficult, “he said.
Many doctors in the United States oppose Trump’s decree, stressing the role played by foreign qualified workers in the provision of vital services.
Dr. Kathula says Indian doctors in rural areas such as North and South Dakota are crucial. “Without them, health care would collapse. Now they are in limbo to start families,” he said.
He calls the process of setting up a green card and that the children of these workers are granted to the citizenship of the right of birth because of the contribution of their parents to America.
Trump’s order has also strengthened anxiety among the Indians on students and work visas, already aware of their precarious legal status. The only guarantee – the citizenship of their children born in the United States – is now in doubt.
San Jose resident Priyanshi Jajoo expects a baby in April, is looking for clarity on potential changes. “Do we need to contact the Indian consulate for a passport? What visa applies? There is no online information,” she said.
Counting on the days until the arrival of his son, Neha said that uncertainty was an additional source of anxiety.
“Pregnancy is quite stressful, but we thought that after a decade here, it would become easier-so that happens in addition to everything,” she said.
Her husband Akshay adds: “As a legal immigrants and taxes, our baby deserves American citizenship – it’s the law, right?”
