It’s a re-think on US dreams

The cold-blooded murder of Srinivas Kuchibhotla has come as the proverbial last straw for the lakhs of Indians settled in the US. It was all fair till Donald Trump came out of the blue and launched his presidential campaign, spewing racial venom. Things took a real turn for the worse after he took office a month ago, when restrictions were imposed on entry of foreigners, followed by curbs on H1B visas. With hate crimes on the rise in recent weeks, Indians wanting to send their wards to the US are having a re-think.

Notably, a large chunk of Indian students and techies going to the US in recent years are from the two Telugu states.

N. Raghav, a US aspirant and B. Tech graduate from the Sanketika Vidya Parishad College of Engineering, says, “Many of my seniors studying or working in the US have asked me to refrain from going there in view of the existing uncertainties. From Trump’s orders restricting entry to foreigners and curbs on H1B visas and green cards, he has turned into a nightmare for the Indians there. There is a proposal to reduce the duration of optional practical training, something that lured Indian students to the US.”

From early 2000, working or studying in the US has been an unwritten rule for the Telugu families, with at least one member from each family heading for America, which got referred to as the ‘Telugu boom in the US’. Now, the ‘’new reality” in the US may deter many youths from this path.

Kanchu Lakshmana Rao says his son working with a software MNC in Hyderabad is trying for an H1B Visa, but he’s no more interested in sending him there. “Trump’s racial slurs against immigrants can put lakhs of lives at risk. When a President passes harsh comments against the non-natives, racists take it as a licence to launch attacks on immigrants. The trend is very disturbing for those of us whose family members are living in the US,” said he.

Each year, about 30,000 students from India had been leaving to the US for higher studies.