According to recent reports, the US has issued another warning to international students, including those from India. The US administration has told international students, “If you skip school, do not attend classes or drop out of your course without informing your school, your US student visa may be cancelled and you may be denied a visa to the US in the future. Therefore, follow the conditions of your visa and maintain your student status as before to avoid any issues.” After these orders of the US administration, it is known that it is no longer easy for international students to stay in the US. There is a large number of Indian students in the US. The US embassy team in India issued more than 1,40,000 student visas in the year 2023. In fact, the only purpose of Indian students going to the US or other countries under the pretext of studies is to obtain citizenship there. Like the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and other countries have also tightened visa rules so that the number of immigrants and international students can be limited.
According to another report, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) in Canada has started preparations to deport 30,687 illegal immigrants. Of these, the largest number after Mexico are Indians, with students from Punjab and Gujarat leading the way. According to the CBSA report, this situation has arisen due to cases such as violating visa rules, staying after the expiration of work permits, criminal activities and rejected political asylum applications. In particular, 27,140 people who had sought political asylum are now on the verge of deportation. In addition, 1400 students who came on study permits and left their studies midway and 1256 people involved in criminal cases are also on this list. The most affected areas are Quebec (16,556) and Greater Toronto (9,699), where a large number of Indians live.
Indian students and workers have also been hit hard in England. According to 2024 figures, 37,000 students, 18,000 workers and 3,000 other Indians left the country due to strict visa policies and lack of jobs. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) report, there was a decline of 431,000 in net migration, with Indians leading the way.
Now the question arises whether strict laws abroad will be able to stop the migration of Indians, especially Punjabis? The answer to this can be that due to strict laws abroad, migration from Punjab to other countries has been curbed to some extent, but it has not stopped completely, rather migration from Punjab to other countries continues as before. It has certainly happened that earlier a large number of people were ready to go abroad through donkey routes or other illegal routes due to not getting visas through legitimate means, but now a large number of people try to go abroad only through legal channels so that they do not face any problem in going abroad.
The main reason for the migration of youth from India to other countries and illegal migration is the widespread unemployment in India. A report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) some time ago states that 80 percent of the total unemployed in India are youth. According to ‘The India Employment Report 2024’, unemployment among youth in India has increased by about 30 percent in the last 20 years. In the year 2000, the unemployment rate among youth was 35.2 percent, which increased to 65.7 percent in 2022. The International Labor Organization and the Institute of Human Development have jointly prepared this report. The report says that the unemployment rate is very high among youth with high school or above. Studying abroad is becoming a status symbol among students. Now, the way the US, Canada, Australia and other countries are tightening their visa rules for students and immigrants and issuing new decrees every day, how much will immigration be curbed? Only time will tell.
