VISAKHAPATNAM: For years, the “American Dream” drew thousands of Telugu-speaking students and technology professionals to the United States with the promise that talent, hard work and perseverance would eventually be rewarded with stability and a place to belong. But the new immigration policy unveiled by the Donald Trump administration has now left many staring at an uncertain future, as fears grow that the lives they carefully built in America could suddenly be placed on hold by a system becoming increasingly difficult to navigate.
Under the new US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy, most green card applicants must now leave the US and complete consular processing abroad, restricting the long-used Adjustment of Status pathway. The move has raised concern particularly among Telugu-speaking communities, whose population in the US has grown from 3.2 lakh in 2016 to 12.3 lakh in 2024.
12.5% Indian students in US from AP, TG: Report
According to the Student Indian Mobility Report 2024, students from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana account for nearly 12.5% of Indian students in the US.
Many among them are already navigating an increasingly difficult immigration landscape marked by H-1B visa uncertainties, layoffs and decades-long green card backlogs for Indian nationals.
“The DHS is specifically targeting NRIs,” said Sampath, a PhD scholar in the United States, adding, “Usually NRIs who file for green cards are already well-settled. With no guarantee of success, companies may eventually become reluctant to continue sponsorships, and that could create a chain reaction affecting even students pursuing higher education in the US.”
“Indian professionals already face some of the world’s longest waiting periods for employment-based green cards due to country-wise visa caps. In several categories, petitions filed around 2012 and 2013 are still under processing despite nearly 1.4 lakh employment-based green cards being issued annually across all nationalities.
Priyanka, a recent master’s graduate, said the policy has turned years of sacrifice into anxiety. “For students like me on an F1 visa this is not just,” she said.
“We came here on our family’s savings, we paid our own tuition and rent and visa fees. People who followed every legal process are now being asked to leave the lives they built here and start all over again without certainty that they can return.”
Neel, an immigration expert in the US, warned the implications extend beyond immigration paperwork. “Researchers, physicians, scientists and tech professionals may now have to leave the US for extended periods during consular processing,” he opined, further adding, While the Trump administration has defended the move as part of broader efforts to tighten immigration controls and prevent misuse of the legal immigration system, many Telugu-speaking professionals fear the policy could further complicate an already exhausting pathway to permanent residency in the United States.
