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Citizenship and Immigration
The US has one of the most liberal immigration policies in the world. Its leaders whose ancestors were immigrants appreciate the contributions of immigrants to America’s prosperity.
The first Indian immigrant entered the United States in 1790 as a maritime worker, as part of the early commerce connections between India and the U.S. After that, the next noticeable groups of Indians came to the west- coast of the United States, in the state of Washington, entering from Canada. These early twentieth century immigrants were largely agricultural workers. In the early 1920s only about five thousand Indians resided in the Unites States. At the time Indians were denied citizenship and the right to own land in many states.
After World War II, the U.S. desire for more professionals, particularly doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs, facilitated the immigration of Indians. In 1946, the Indian Citizenship Bill, legalized the ability of Indian immigrants to seek naturalization and granted India a token quota of one hundred immigrants annually.
The Immigration Act of 1965 repealed this quota making it possible for a large number of Indians to enter the US. Between 1960 and 1970 the Indian population grew from about 5,000 to 350,000. The 1990 US Census recorded the number of Indian-Americans at 815,447 and 2000 census puts this number at 1,899,599.
The US Census bureau defines Indian-Americans as "Asian Indians." When households fill out the census they define themselves as Asian Indians, a sub-category of the Asian or Pacific Islander group. People who choose to write in more specific categories, such as Gujarati or Sikh, are still classified as Asian Indians. People are classified as Asian Indians if they are of Asian Indian origin or if they are of Asian Indian race, or if they are foreign born people from India.
The estimated Indian population today is over 2 million (including undocumented persons - like those who come on visitor visa and decide to stay back or who enter without valid legal documentation.) After September 11, 2001 this has become an even riskier proposition. Over 30,000 Indian Physicians are providing quality health care. The IT and Teaching professions have a large number of Indian and Chinese professionals. And Indians have become one of the most valued and prosperous ethnic groups in America. Thousands of Indians live and work in Silicon Valley and many have become shining stars in the IT industry. Unlike in some of the other immigrant communities, there is hardly any organized crime in the Indian community.
Asian perspective
US Asian Population, 2000.
Between 2000 and 2009 the population increased by about 4.3%.
Immigration Basics
USCIS – US Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly INS) is the federal authority for this. For details see Appendix 10.
There are several legal routes for landing in the States - Immigrant visa, Student visa, Temporary work permit such as H1B visa and Tourist visa. If you need more information please contact US Department of State, US Embassy or an Immigration attorney.
Scope and Limitations
All types of Visa require sponsorship, either from citizen relatives in USA or from employers or by INS itself, which conducts Immigration lottery for select countries. India is not one of them.
Tourist visa entitles a person to visit and stay in the US for limited durations as stipulated in the visa. Such a person is not authorized to work.
A student visa as the name implies is primarily for studying in the US. Limited earning through part time work may be allowed. America is hungry for students from other countries for pursuing higher education and these visas are relatively easy to get. To meet shortages of skilled workers in the US especially in IT and healthcare professions H1B visa was instituted a few years ago. Some times this becomes a political hot potato. Currently 65,000 visas are available per year, which starts in October. As of this writing this number has gone up and adjustments for students at American Universities are being proposed. Future scope is uncertain although it’s abolition is highly unlikely. I would strongly urge interested parties to get latest information from US government websites, US consulates and reputed Immigration attorneys rather than relying on friends and relatives in the US or ethnic media. Why? As Iowa state chair for the Indian American Forum for Political Education during the Reagan era, I was actively involved in Immigration reform matters. I know for a fact that the Indian ethnic press on several occasions publishes wishful thinking of Indian immigration activists and community leaders as news. The same can be said about other ethnic activist groups.
Green card
The most important and coveted asset is an immigrant visa, which entitles the recipient to a Green card which entitles the card holder to all benefits available to US citizens except voting rights and running for elective offices of the US Government. The green card is also an authorization to work and severe penalties are levied on employers who hire someone without a green card. Sponsorship by an American citizen - relative is necessary. There is considerable backlog in this area.
Also eligible for green cards are large investors and persons with exceptional merit as determined by USCIS. As visa rules change from time to time it is advisable to obtain latest information from the nearest US Consulates before proceeding further.
Citizenship
A person is eligible to be naturalized after five years in Permanent Resident status (Green card). It may take up to a year or more to be sworn in.
However, a child born on US soil, irrespective of the status of the parents, will automatically become eligible for citizenship. Thus permanent residents can have citizen children! The wife of a US citizen is eligible for citizenship after 3 years as a US resident. Check with USCIS for latest Rules.
A Naturalized citizen is entitled to all the privileges claimed by citizens by birth, except running for the Office of the President of the United States. At the time of becoming a US citizen the applicant has to renounce his existing citizenship. However the US has Dual citizenship treaties with some countries thereby allowing eligible candidates to retain existing citizenships. As of 2009 India is not in this category.
Disclaimer : Although the above information was collected from authentic sources, we give no guarantee for accuracy. Readers are advised to obtain latest information from American Consulates or Immigration lawyers allowed to practice in the United States, as the need arises.
Immigrants who enriched America
Partial list
Albert Einstein.
Scientist Extraordinaire. Germany.
Alexander Graham Bell.
Inventor of the Telephone. Scotland.
Alexander Hamilton.
One of the founding fathers of USA. West Indies.
Alfred Hitchcock.
Hollywood Director. England.
Amar Bose.
Chairman of Bose Corp. Revolutionized stereo sound reproduction. India.
Ameen Abdulrasool.
The Young inventor from Chicago, who developed a portable navigation system for the blind. Pakistan.
Andy Grove.
Founder and Chairman of Intel. Hungary.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Hollywood super star and Governor of California. Austria.
Bob Hope.
Hollywood legend. England.
Daleep Singh Saundh.
US Congressman. India.
Deepak Chopra.
Physician. Motivational speaker. India.
Enrico Fermi.
Physicist and team leader for producing the first Atom bomb. Italy.
St Francis Cabrini.
First American Catholic Saint. Italy.
Felix Frankfurter.
Justice of the US Supreme Court. Austria.
George Soros.
Money Manager. Hungary.
Henry Kissinger.
US Secretary of State. Germany.
Indra Nooyi.
CEO of PEPSICO. Billed among the 50 most powerful women in America by FORTUNE. India.
Irving Berlin.
Composer who wrote God Bless America and other famous songs. Russia.
Joseph Pulitzer.
Publishing magnate. Hungary.
Dr. Kalpana Chawla.
Astronaut. India.
Kirk Douglas.
Hollywood superstar. Russia.
Dr. Kumar Malavalli.
Storage Technology Guru. Inducted to the Silicon Valley Hall of Fame. India.
Levi Strauss.
Inventor of Blue Jeans. Russia.
Madeleine Albright.
US Secretary of State. Czechoslovakia.
Martina Navratilova.
Tennis super - star. Czechoslovakia.
Dr. Michael DeBakey.
The ‘Doctor colossus’, who revolutionized heart surgery and medical treatment. Lebanon.
Omar Sheriff.
Thespian. Egypt.
Paramahamsa Yogananda.
Yogi. India.
Peter Drucker.
Management Guru. Austria.
C.K. Prahalad.
Management Guru. India.
Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Sitar Maestro. India.
Srinivasa (Hal) Iyengar.
Structural Engineering genius. Designer of John Hancock Building (1970) and the 110 story tall Sears Tower both in Chicago (1973). India.
Dr. Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar.
Nobel Laureate. Physics. India.
Dr. Sudhir Srivastava.
Cardiac Surgeon. Pioneer in Robotic Heart Surgery. India.
Dr. Suresh Gadasalli.
Interventional Cardiologist, who performed the world’s first Tandem Robotic Heart Surgery along with Dr. Srivastava. India.
Yul Brynner.
Hollywood Legend. Hungary.
Fareed Zakaria.
Journalist. India.
Dr Zach Zachariah.
Florida Cardiologist. Member of President Bush’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans. India.
Zubin Mehta.
Symphony Conductor. India.
The 20 –meter-high busts of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln were carved into solid granite at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
