Coronavirus: Americans in India don't want to return, but are Indians safe in US?

The United States, which is facing the world's worst coronavirus crisis, is arranging for flights to bring back its citizens from India. But a lot of them don't want to go back. On the contrary, Indians living and working in the US need visa extensions to stay in the country. Amongst these Indians, there are some doctors and nurses, who are helping America to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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So far, 13,000 Americans have been evacuated from India. However, more than 24,000 US nationals are currently in the country and five flights are scheduled for this week to rescue them. But, most of the these people are unwilling to return to home.

Reportedly, the American Embassy called nearly 800 US citizens in India and only 10 wanted to fly back.

However, the uncertainity of Indians in American remains and the ones affected are those whose visas are expired and whose vias extensions have been delayed. These include healthcare professionals and researchers.

Over 300,000 Indians who are techies and working on H-1B visas are unsure whether their visas will get an extension.

The pandemic has caused an economic downturn and US employers cut a record 701,000 jobs in March. However, practically, it will not be possible for so many Indians to come back to India. And this is the reason why Indian government is urging the US to extend H-1B and other visas.

Two weeks back, the US received about 275,000 requests for H-1B visas, three times more than the mandated 85,000. More than 67% of the applications were from Indians.

At this juncture, India is not just providing the US with HCQ, but taking care of its citizens too. But, tens of thousands Indians future in America look edgy.