US President Donald Trump’s decision in June to suspend a number of work visas until the end of the year, including the highly sought-afte...
US President Donald Trump’s decision in June to suspend a number of work visas until the end of the year, including the highly sought-after H-1B, has earned him condemnation from business leaders who rely on foreign workers for key positions and from experts who believe it will end up harming the American economy.
But zoom in past the big-picture analyses and the fallout of Trump’s decision is playing out in terms of lives upended and families kept apart because of the new rules and the uncertainty they brought.
“It’s been four months now. I am still waiting to be with my children,” said Poorva Dixit, an H-1B visa holder who has been living in the US for 14 years. Dixit had planned to make a short trip to India in March to be by her mother’s side through a high-risk medical procedure.
At the time, her two daughters and husband decided to stay back due to the rising fears of the coronavirus pandemic. But not long after Dixit arrived in India, the country – and the US consulate – went into lockdown, preventing her from getting the requisite stamp on her visa to return.
“My mother did not survive the surgery and passed away on June 24. After finishing her last...
