Indian parents face uncertainty over US citizenship for newborns
The wait for temporary US visas for soon-to-be-born babies of expectant Indian moms has just gotten longer, immigration lawyers told ET.
The challenge to the Presidential executive order on birthright citizenship is still awaiting a decision in the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS).
Trump's executive order puts the US citizenship of unborn children of foreign nationals including Indians on temporary visa in limbo. This has caused much anxiety among the expecting Indian parents as they throng immigration attorney offices to seek further counsel. While some are even considering shifting to those states that do not recognize the Trump order as of now, an attorney, who did not wish to be identified, told ET."The scenario for Indian nationals on temporary visas expecting children in the US is quite uncertain. Depending on the jurisdiction, children born in the US may or may not automatically acquire citizenship," said Sukanya Raman, country head, Davies and Associates. "This is complicating decisions around childbirth and long-term residency planning."
(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) According to experts, about 1.5 lakh newborns annually could be denied US citizenship if the order comes into effect.
Many foreign nationals have in the past used the US' birthright citizenship path to gain legal entry for their offsprings. This has given way to "birth tourism" which refers to the practice where foreign nationals travel to the United States on visitor visas with the primary intention of giving birth. This ensures their children automatically acquire US citizenship under the 14th Amendment.This trend has been particularly common among women from countries like Russia, China, and Nigeria, said experts. "Recently, a growing number of Indian nationals have also pursued this route," said an attorney.The SCOTUS deliberations, which started on May 15, primarily focused on the scope of nationwide injunctions rather than the constitutionality of executive order itself, said experts.
Despite being a smaller share, Indian families could be deeply impacted by changes to birthright citizenship laws, given the large number of Indian nationals on temporary visas, say experts. "Our firm has been receiving a continuous flow of inquiries from Indian nationals ever since Executive Order 14160 was announced," said attorney Prachi Shah who runs her eponymous firm. Expecting parents on H-1B, H-4, F-1 and OPT visas are queueing up at the immigration lawyers' offices. There is widespread anxiety in the Indian diaspora, said lawyers."The executive order is quite egregious," said Rajiv Khanna, managing attorney, Immigration.com."For some parents, it's devastating because to have a child in the US after decades of living here and not have them be a US citizen is ridiculous," he said.It usually takes 10-15 years for people to get a green card in the US for people who are here legally."The outcome of the hearing is not clear as to what is going to happen," said Khanna."The US Census doesn't collect statistics on the legal status of parents, but roughly 21-25% of babies have at least one foreign citizen parent," said Jath Shao, principal attorney, Shao Law Firm."The Trump administration's strategy seems to be arguing technicalities and wanting to impose their changes and make all the individual states and plaintiffs fight it," said Shao.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
23 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Excise duty on liquor goes up by over 50%, retail prices to rise from 14% to 60%
MUMBAI: The cash-strapped Maharashtra government on Tuesday increased the state excise duty on Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) by over 50%, which will lead to a significant increase in retail prices by over 60%. It has also increased the duty on country liquor and imported premium liquor, which will hike their retail prices by 14% and over 25% respectively. The excise duty on beer and wine has not been increased. The government expects the whopping hike to increase its revenue to ₹57,000 crore, up ₹14,000 crore from the ₹43,620 crore collected in FY 2024-25. It expects 10% of the estimated revenue receipts of ₹5.60 lakh crore for the financial year 2025-26 to come from this. While tapping sources of revenue that would enable the drained exchequer to bear the burden of populist schemes like Ladki Bahin and sops for farmers and other communities, the Mahayuti government in January constituted a committee headed by then additional chief secretary Valsa Nair to recommend steps to increase revenue from liquor sales. The committee submitted its report in April this year, and the state cabinet gave its assent to this on Tuesday. Based on the recommendations of the committee, IMFL will now attract four and a half times excise duty on the manufacturing cost instead of the existing three times. 'This will vary based on the manufacturing price but could lead to a huge hike of over 60% in retail prices,' said an excise department official. The cost of IMFL currently ranges between ₹120 and ₹150 for 180 ml, which will now go up to a minimum of ₹205. Premium brands will cost a minimum of ₹360 for 180 ml as against their current rate ranging between ₹210 and ₹330. The price of 180-ml bottles of country liquor has gone up to ₹80 from the current price of ₹70. Beer and wine have been exempted from the excise duty hike. Officials said the retail price of beer, which has a lesser percentage of alcohol compared to hard liquor, is among the highest in the country and was thus exempted. In the case of wine, it is the policy of the state to promote wine since a significant chunk of the country's wineries are in Maharashtra and a significant number of farmers who supply grapes for these wineries are also based here. The government has also introduced a new category called Maharashtra-made liquor (MML), which will also be exempted from the hike. MML brands, made from grains, will cost a minimum of ₹148 for 180 ml, a price that has been strategically kept in the existing price range of IMFL to help MML capture the IMFL market. An official from the excise department said that the new category had been introduced to revive the 70 manufacturing units that manufacture IMFL from molasses and grains. 'Currently 22 of the 70 licenced units are entirely defunct while 16 do no manufacturing and renew their licence only for permission to sell liquor through their shops,' he said. 'The remaining 32 are actually manufacturing the liquor, and 10 of these produce 70% of the IMFL manufactured in the state.' The official added that distilleries using molasses would have to shift to making grain-based liquor in order to get the benefit of the exemption. The reason for this, he alleged, was that most of the grain-based manufacturing units are owned by politicians and the decision was taken to benefit them. The duty hike on IMFL brands has come after 14 years. According to officials, the excise duty levied is still lower than other neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. 'The committee's recommendations were based on the study of the rates in other states,' said an officer. Another officer said that the hike in duty on country liquor brands was minimal since a greater increase and higher price would lead to the consumption of illicit liquor. 'It is also because the last hike was done in 2022,' he said. The cabinet has also allowed owners of bars to rent out permit room licences for alcohol by paying 10% of the licence fee.
Hindustan Times
23 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Modi government's 11 years full of achievements:MoS defence
Union minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth on Tuesday said that the 11 years of Modi government are full of achievements and remain unmatched. Seth, who addressed the media in Shimla, said that today the whole world looks at India with respect and the world's view towards India has changed. Today's India is a new India which neither fears anyone, nor bows down, nor extends hands in front of anyone. 'During the Covid-19 pandemic, when the world invented the vaccine, we invented not one but two vaccines, then the Congress party made fun of it. The Prime Minister not only saved 140 crore lives but also saved the world by giving vaccines to 118 countries,' he said. The minister of state for defence said that on PM's call, 175 countries of the world accepted June 21 as Yoga Day. 'No one believed that India would organise such a grand G-20 summit but the whole world acknowledged the success with which the government organised the summit. When the Ukraine-Russia war started, we evacuated 23,000 students from safely and students from 28 countries came out safely from there with our tricolor flag in their hands. Under Operation Kaveri, more than 3,000 Indians were brought back safely,' Seth said. The MoS further said that after the Pahalgam terror attack, the country wanted revenge and our PM said that those who were behind this incident would be razed to the ground and he did it. 'This is the first time in the world that such a huge military operation was carried out on a nuclear-armed country. Our mighty army destroyed the terrorists within 23 minutes and destroyed 11 of their air bases,' he said.
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Got to do a better job': Donald Trump claims he dialled Gavin Newsom over LA unrest; governor says 'didn't even get a voicemail'
Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump (File photo) US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reignited tensions with California Governor Gavin Newsom, claiming he had personally called the governor to criticise his handling of the state. "A day ago. Called him up to tell him, got to do a better job, he's doing a bad job. Causing a lot of death and potential death," Trump told reporters when asked, 'When is the last time you spoke with Governor Newsom?' — Acyn (@Acyn) Newsom, however, flatly denied the exchange ever happened. 'There was no call. Not even a voicemail,' he said, adding, 'Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn't even know who he's talking to.' The remarks come as Newsom filed an emergency motion in federal court Tuesday to block National Guard members and Marines from participating in immigration raids in Los Angeles. 'Trump is turning the US military against American citizens,' the governor wrote on X. While Trump initially deployed the Guard to protect federal buildings, California officials were recently informed that the Pentagon would expand their role to supporting immigration enforcement. This includes securing perimeters during ICE operations. On Tuesday, ICE posted photos on X showing National Guard troops present as officials detained two men. Commentator Pete Hegseth reshared the images with the caption, 'This We'll Defend.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Eat 1 Teaspoon Every Night, See What Happens A Week Later [Video] getfittoday Undo Newsom's filing argues the troop deployment will escalate tensions and provoke unrest. A federal judge is set to hear the case Thursday. Administration lawyers pushed back, calling the governor's request a 'dangerous' move that could disrupt federal authority. Meanwhile, arrests were made Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles as protests entered their fifth day. Speaking at Fort Bragg, Trump referred to Los Angeles as a 'trash heap,' vowing to 'liberate' the city from criminal elements. 'We will liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean, and safe again,' he said. Trump's portrayal of the city clashed with its affluent reality , where the average home costs nearly $1 million, according to Zillow — but aligned with his ongoing effort to frame Democratic-led cities as plagued by lawlessness.
