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A Bloomberg study places India astatine the apical among nations with approved H-1B visa applications from 2020 to 2023, with 232,974 approvals, representing astir 73.7% of each H-1B visas granted. Complementing this, a Pew Research study shows that US migration surged by 1.6 cardinal successful 2023, the largest summation successful much than 2 decades, with immigrants present constituting implicit 14% of the population, the highest since 1910.
Indians fertile arsenic the second-largest migrant radical successful the United States, aft Mexicans, underscoring the cardinal relation Indian professionals play successful the American workforce.For galore Indian professionals moving successful the United States connected H-1B visas, which are impermanent enactment visas that let US employers to prosecute overseas workers successful specialty occupations, the eventual extremity is often imperishable residency, commonly referred to arsenic a green card. A greenish paper grants the holder the ineligible close to unrecorded and enactment indefinitely successful the US and provides a pathway to citizenship.
The travel from H-1B to greenish paper and yet to US citizenship is often agelong and complex. It is besides taxable to caller evolving rules.
The caller US citizenship test: What’s changing
The US authorities is introducing a much demanding civics trial for citizenship applicants, reinstating a mentation primitively implemented successful 2020 nether the archetypal Trump administration. The Biden medication had scrapped this test, arguing that the further questions created unnecessary barriers for ineligible immigrants.
Now, applicants filing citizenship applications aft mid-October 2025 volition beryllium required to survey a excavation of 128 questions covering US past and politics, and correctly reply 12 retired of 20 questions orally — a notable summation from the erstwhile 2008 version, which required 6 close answers retired of 10 questions from a 100-question pool.The trial is oral, not aggregate choice, and astir questions let respective acceptable answers.
For applicants aged 65 oregon older who person held imperishable residency for 20 oregon much years, the request is constricted to a excavation of 20 questions, and they whitethorn instrumentality the trial successful their preferred language. Some of the recently included topics screen the 10th Amendment, the Federalist Papers, erstwhile President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, and notable examples of American innovation.
Beyond the test: Increased scrutiny for applicants
The civics trial changes are portion of a broader tightening of the ineligible migration process by the Trump administration. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has expanded the factors considered erstwhile evaluating whether applicants show “good motivation character,” a halfway request for citizenship. The medication has besides revived “neighborhood checks,” successful which investigators interrogation neighbors and co-workers to verify an applicant’s eligibility.Matthew Tragesser, a spokesperson for USCIS, stated that reinstating the 2020 civics trial ensures that caller citizens “are afloat assimilated and volition lend to America’s greatness.” He described it arsenic the “first of many” changes. “American citizenship is the astir ineffable citizenship successful the satellite and should lone beryllium reserved for aliens who volition afloat clasp our values and principles arsenic a nation,” helium added, according to CBS News.Pro-immigrant advocates, however, person warned that these reforms could make caller hurdles for semipermanent residents. A elder argumentation counsel astatine the National Immigration Law Center, noted, “All this does is marque it harder for long-time residents who lend to this state each time to yet execute the imperishable protections that lone US citizenship tin offer,” arsenic reported by CBS News.
Implications for Indian H-1B holders and beyond
For Indian professionals connected H-1B visas aiming for greenish cards, these changes are peculiarly significant.
Many already navigate a dilatory and sometimes unpredictable process to unafraid imperishable residency. Citizenship is often the last step, offering benefits specified arsenic voting rights, extortion from deportation, and the quality to sponsor household members. The caller test, with its expanded questions and accrued scrutiny, means applicants indispensable put further clip and mentation to conscionable the requirements.Yet, it is important to enactment that these rules use to each applicants, not conscionable Indians.
Anyone seeking US citizenship, careless of nationality, volition request to contend with the updated civics trial and the broader vetting measures. For a increasing migrant colonisation — present implicit 14% of the US population, these changes awesome a heightened absorption connected assimilation, cognition of American history, and alignment with nationalist values.
Navigating the way forward
For H-1B holders and different prospective citizens, mentation is key. Understanding the scope of the test, reviewing the expanded 128-question pool, and being alert of the further inheritance scrutiny tin marque the quality betwixt occurrence and delay.
While the reforms whitethorn look daunting, they are a portion of the evolving scenery of US migration argumentation — 1 that professionals, particularly from India, indispensable show closely.As the US recalibrates the citizenship process, Indian professionals and different immigrants look the dual situation of excelling successful their careers portion staying up of regulatory changes. With the rules astir H-1B visas, greenish cards, and citizenship tightening, 1 has to wonder: How overmuch are you consenting to put to recognize the existent outgo of this journey?
