Uncertainty over return to U.S. haunts non-immigrants stuck in India

Vinayak, 27, a computer engineer, who has been working in California in the U.S. on a H1B visa since 2018, came down to Bengaluru last month to attend to his ailing mother after she tested positive fo

Vinayak, 27, a computer engineer, who has been working in California in the U.S. on a H1B visa since 2018, came down to Bengaluru last month to attend to his ailing mother after she tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to a hospital. But, his plans to return have been thwarted by the travel restrictions from India imposed by the U.S. administration, covering most non-immigrants, in the light of the sharp surge in COVID-19 cases. “Due to the travel ban, I am stuck here indefinitely even though I have a valid visa stamping,” said Mr. Vinayak, while expressing fears about losing his job if the company he works for did not wish to continue employing him remotely. “The unsureness of situation has been giving me anxiety attacks and I haven’t slept peacefully in the last week. Seeing me anxious has also taken a toll on my mother’s health,” he said. Mr. Vinayak is just one of the hundreds of non-immigrants working in the U.S. or their family members, who are stuck in Bengaluru and different parts of the country due to the Presidential Proclamation 10199 of April 30, 2021, that suspends the entry of non-immigrants, who were present in India during 14-day period preceding their attempted entry into the U.S.