E-Paper
Evacuation of Indians stranded in US begins, 2,000 to return in first leg
An estimated 24,000 Indian have registered for evacuation with Indian missions in the United States, and they include students, H-1B workers with expired visas or those who have laid off, businesspeople and tourists and those with medical conditions.
Up to 2,000 Indians are expected to be evacuated from the United States in the first wave of seven flights starting Saturday, with the first lot set to leave by an Air India flight from San Francisco.
Indian officials have said a decision on the next wave of flights will be taken at a later date, depending on how the situation evolves.
These evacuation are part of the Vande Bharat Mission, an effort launched by the Indian government to bring home Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns and the suspension of international travel.
The US leg of it is probably the largest evacuation of Indians from this country.
An estimated 24,000 Indian have registered for evacuation with Indian missions in the United States, and they include students, H-1B workers with expired visas or those who have laid off, businesspeople and tourists and those with medical conditions.
There are an estimated 2,00,000 Indian students in US colleges and universities, and hundreds of thousands on H-1B short -term non-immigrant visas and and Green Cards.
The next flights leave from Newark (May 10 and 14), Chicago (May 11 and 15), Washington DC (May 12), and San Francisco (May 13.
All passengers will be medically screening before boarding the flight and only those asymptomatic will be allowed to travel.
They will be medically screened and arrival in India and will have be undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine.
