Visa, OCI card suspension prevents several Indians in US from flying back home
Washington: Several Indians in the US, either on the H-1B work visa or Green Card having children who are American citizens by birth, are being prevented from travelling to India aboard the special repatriation flights being run by Air India amidst the coronavirus-linked global travel restrictions.
According to the regulations issued by the Indian government last month and updated last week, visas of foreign nationals and OCI cards, that provide visa-free travel privileges to the people of Indian-origin, have been suspended as part of the new international travel restrictions.
For some of the Indian citizens like the Pandey couple in New Jersey (name and place changed at request), it's a double whammy. Having lost their H-1B job, they have to go back to India within the stipulated 60 days as required by law. The couple has two kids aged one and six years who are American citizens.
In the wee hours of Monday, they had to return from Newark airport as Air India refused to give their kids a ticket to fly to India along with them, despite them having a valid Indian visa. The young mother and father are Indian citizens.
They said that the officials from Air India and (Indian) Consulate (in New York) were very cooperative.
But they could not do anything as their hands were tied by the latest regulation issued by the Indian government, a shocked Ratna Pandey told PTI.
"I would like to urge the Indian government to reconsider their decision on the humanitarian basis," said the Indian national who has lost her job but could not leave the US within the stipulated 60 days to avoid any future visa complications.
She now plans to make an appeal to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend their stay.
Last month, H-1B visa holders, mostly Indians, launched a White House petition urging US President Donald Trump to extend their permissible stay from 60 to 180 days after job loss. However, there has been no decision from the White House so far.
While there is no official statistics of how many Indian H-1B visa holders have lost their jobs, it is believed to be substantial.
The US, due to the coronavirus pandemic, is experiencing an unprecedented unemployment rate and more than 33 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last two months. Given this massive job loss, Indians, who have lost their jobs, are unlikely to get one and thus many would have no other option but to travel back home.
In the case of single mother Mamta (name changed), the situation is graver as her son is just three-month old. Only she was given the ticket and the infant was not allowed to fly along with her because he carried an American passport.
"I would like to request the Indian government to let us fly back home. I don't want to stay in the US any longer," she told PTI hours after being prevented from boarding her hometown Ahmedabad-bound flight from Newark on Sunday.
"I am alone here. I don't have a relative here. It's a difficult situation," she said.
"Vande Bharat Mission is a humanitarian mission. But this is certainly inhuman," said Rakesh Gupta (name changed) from Washington DC.
An H-1B professional, Gupta has lost his job and needs to return to India within the stipulated 60 days. He and his wife, Geeta (name changed) being Indian citizens, received the confirmation of their seats in the flight but have been told that their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter cannot travel with them as she carried an OCI card.
"I don't believe this," he said.
Unlike the Pandey couple and Mamta, who had made the payment of USD 1,361 per ticket for their flight back home, Rakesh has not made the payment. Air India has said that the money would be refunded.
All the three Indian citizens requested the Indian government to help them travel back home by making necessary changes in the current regulations.
As per a recent government notification, all existing Indian visa holders, and visa-free travel facility, granted to OCI card holders who are not in India, have been suspended till restrictions on international air travel remains.
New York-based community leader Prem Bhandari said that the May 5 travel advisory has created multiple painful issues for the OCI card holders in the US and also to Indian citizens who are either on Green Card or H-1B visas and want to travel back home, but cannot leave their kids who are Americans by birth.
"We would like to express our disappointment with the discrimination between OCIs and citizens in respect of entering India at this critical stage when many OCIs have lawfully built their homes, families and businesses in India," Bhandari said in a letter to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Monday.
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Lara Dutta stranded in Dubai as Middle East unrest escalates, urges better sense to prevail
Mumbai (PTI): Bollywood actor Lara Dutta Bhupathi, who is currently in Dubai with her daughter and former tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi, on Wednesday said she is feeling “nervous” and “stressed out” due to the ongoing conflict and is hoping to return to Mumbai.
The actor said she had travelled to Dubai , which has been like a home to her for the past three years, for a brand-related commitment when the Israel-Iran war began. She recalled hearing explosions and seeing missiles being intercepted while she was at a studio.
“I can’t lie (been) stressful days. We are nervous and it’s been scary. Lots of fighter jets flying overhead, lots of loud booms. Though we live in a villa in a very safe neighbourhood, the windows shake, the house and the doors rattle, and it's unnerving. But I haven't felt unsafe, not even once,” the actor said in a video clip, admitting that the nervous energy compelled her to make it.
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Tensions in the Middle East escalated sharply after the United States and Israel launched a coordinated offensive against Iran on February 28. Tehran responded by firing drones and missiles at Israel, US military installations across the Gulf region, and the global business hub of Dubai.
She praised the UAE government and said they’ve doing an “incredible” job and they are being “looked after” and “protected” regardless of the nationality.
“…We feel like we count, we matter. The UAE government as somebody living in this city, is making sure they do everything in their power to protect us and keep us safe,” Dutta said.
The actor expressed her admiration for the workforce from her gardener to delivery riders, and said she has immense respect for the everyday heroes who keep the country running.
She said they are looking at flights back to India, and but they are not available.
“We are trying to get back to Mumbai, more so because the kids are lot more nervous, we are as well as grown-ups. We are trying to get out,” an emotional Dutta said.
“I was in India, obviously, when India and Pakistan went to war, and we saw how well our country protected us then. And it's the same here. No one, no civilian, deserves to live in fear or be caught up in a war that is destabilising an entire region,” she said.
Dutta said she is hoping that the “common sense and better judgement would prevail”.
Friends and colleagues from the film industry commented on Dutta’s post.
“I'm glad you're safe, Lara, and credit where credit is due to the UAE govt,” actor Richa Chadha said.
Actor Sudhanshu Pandey said, “Lara my dearest, you hang in there, all will be well. Stay together stay strong, this will be over soon.”
Earlier, actors Esha Gupta, Sonal Chauhan were stranded in UAE and have safely returned to India.
