Indian Firms face US visa curbs over ‘illegal’ immigration
The move comes in the wake of the deportation of more than 300 Indians from the US in three military flights early this year
The US state department on Monday announced visa restrictions on owners and officials of travel agencies in India who have “knowingly” facilitated illegal immigration to the United States, the latest in a series of steps by Washington aimed at tackling the issue.
There was no immediate word on how many individuals and travel agencies would be impacted by the move, with the US state department signalling its intention to hold accountable people who violate American laws, including “facilitators of illegal immigration”.
A spokesperson for the US embassy added: “We cannot provide a list of individuals or travel agencies the United States is taking steps to impose visa restrictions on due to visa record confidentiality.”
The move comes in the wake of the deportation of more than 300 Indians from the US in three military flights early this year – the first time that Washington used military aircraft for such an operation – and the deportation of some 50 Indians to Panama. There was no immediate response from Indian officials to the measure announced by the US state department on Monday.
A majority of the deportees are from Punjab and Gujarat , sent abroad on so-called “donkey routes” by travel agents. A special report by Hindustan Times on January 5 of the deportees found that most had paid between ₹30 lakh and ₹45 lakh, with preferred routes being India-Dubai- Columbia-Panama-Costa Rica-Guatemala-Mexico-US, and India-Dubai-Brazil-Guyana--Ecuador-Columbia-Panama- Mexico-US.
The US state department said in a statement that it was taking steps to “impose visa restrictions on owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies based and operating in India for knowingly facilitating illegal immigration to the United States”.
“We will continue to take steps to impose visa restrictions against owners, executives, and senior officials of travel agencies to cut off alien smuggling networks,” the statement said, noting that the visa restriction policy is global and even applies to individuals who otherwise qualify for the Visa Waiver Program.
The US mission’s consular affairs wing and the Diplomatic Security Service “work across our Embassy and Consulates to actively identify and target those engaged in facilitating illegal immigration and human smuggling and trafficking operations”, the statement said.
US immigration policy aims to inform foreign nationals about the dangers of illegal immigration and to “hold accountable individuals who violate our laws, including facilitators of illegal immigration”. Enforcing US immigration laws and policies is critical to upholding the rule of law and protecting Americans, it said.
Earlier this year, the Indian government made it clear that it is opposed to illegal immigration because of its links to organised crime, and said that New Delhi will take back all Indians who have either over-stayed in the US or are there without proper documentation. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also said the Indian side is willing to work with the Trump administration to address all matters related to illegal immigration.
Jaiswal said it would be “premature” to talk about the number of illegal Indian immigrants in the US, but added that New Delhi “will take things forward” and facilitate the return of all such migrants.
People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that figures from the US department of homeland security suggested there are close to 18,000 illegal immigrants from India in the US, and that the American side had sent back close to 1,000 illegal migrants towards the end of 2024.
However, the deportation on the military flights caused a controversy as women and children too were handcuffed and put in shackles, and the matter was taken up by the Indian side with US authorities.
Ritesh Desai, owner of Ahmedabad-based Ryna Overseas, a consultancy specialising in overseas student admissions, praised the US government’s sustained efforts to curb illegal immigration from India, describing them as part of a long-term endeavour. Recalling a 2013–14 visit by a US diplomatic security official to his office, Desai said the official sought details on local illegal immigration patterns and potential gathering spots in Mehsana, regarded as the hotbed of illegal immigration activities.
“As a firm that facilitates genuine student admissions abroad, we fully support measures that maintain the integrity of the process,” he said.
Desai also highlighted how unauthorised immigration affects legitimate students. About a year and a half ago, several Australian universities, temporarily paused applications from certain Indian states, including Gujarat, citing concerns over illegal immigration. The bans were later lifted after a review of admission procedures.
Kuljit Singh Hayer, president of Punj-Aab travel agents association, said it is welcome step by the US, but it is nearly impossible to implement these restrictions on the ground. “First and foremost, how will they detect or bring on record the travel agencies involved in facilitating illegal immigration to the US. The travel agents involved in such illegal activities operated under dummy names,” he said.
He added that this could be gauged from the fact that despite deporting hundreds of youths from the US to India, very limited number of FIRs were registered in India against the travel agents and most of them were registered against unidentified travel agents.
