A lawsuit was registered April 13 in India’s Supreme Court, which asked the Indian government to evacuate thousands of Indian nationals stranded in the U.S. due to a travel ban imposed by India amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit was filed by Vibha Makhija, a veteran advocate and the third woman to be designated senior counsel by the Supreme Court. It is scheduled to be heard April 20.
“I am appalled by my country,” Makhija told India-West by telephone from Delhi. “Every country has recalled its citizens except India,” she said, noting that India’s ban for international and domestic flights is in violation of the country’s constitution.
India imposed a blanket travel ban on flights to and from the country on March 11, including Indian Americans with OCI cards. The ban was later modified to include Indian nationals; however, India has evacuated its citizens from China and Italy, two countries heavily impacted by coronavirus.
In an April 15 speech to the nation, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended a nationwide lockdown to May 3. He did not state when the travel ban will be lifted.
“There are so many highly-stressed and distressed people,” said Makhija, anecdotally recounting the case of an elderly cancer patient who had traveled to the U.S., for a clinical trial, but is now stuck.
Indian tourists in the U.S. are also stranded as are Indian students, whose U.S. campuses have shut down amid shelter-in-place orders throughout the country. Many are without money and face a crisis in shelter, she said, adding that the U.S. has the highest number of confirmed infections worldwide — 671,308 as of April 16 — and 34,309 deaths.
By comparison, India’s infection rates are relatively low with about 11,933 confirmed infections, and 392 deaths, according to Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data released April 15.
Makhija told India-West there was no reason vulnerable Indians in the U.S. could not return to India. She noted that the World Health Organization has set out specific guidelines for international travel, including seating arrangements, no food service, personal protective equipment for airline staff, and other requirements.
Makhija’s daughter was able to fly back to India from New York on March 22. She was held at the Delhi airport for eight hours, and then was ordered home quarantined for an additional 14 days.
“Health workers came in and checked on her every day,” said Makhija, stating that India is well-prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than adequate supplies of hospital beds, ventilators, and personal protective equipment as well as medical personnel and community health care workers.
Sumati Rao, spokeswoman for the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, told India-West she has received more than 3,500 e-mails from students, tourists with visas about to expire, and highly-skilled Indian workers on H-1B visas who have been laid off amid the crisis and face deportation within 60 days.
The Consulate and the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC have been encouraging stranded Indian nationals to apply for visa extensions to remain in the U.S. until India lifts its travel ban. “It has not been categorically mentioned whether India will lift its travel ban on May 3,” said Rao.
The Department of Homeland Security announced April 13 that it would consider extensions for individuals who are stranded in the U.S. with visas that will expire shortly.
“We recognize that non-immigrants may unexpectedly remain in the United States beyond their authorized period of stay due to COVID-19.” said the agency, encouraging people to apply for extensions well before their visa expires.
Rao said that the Indian American community has been very helpful in coming to the aid of stranded students. The Consulate has placed several in hotels and motels, where they also receive meals.
The Consulate remains open virtually, Rao told India-West, adding that it has been providing emergency visa services and passport renewals in the absence of CKGS, which normally handles such matters.
Sanjay Panda, India’s consul general for the West Coast, has been personally impacted by travel restrictions. The diplomat was to take up his new post as the Ambassador to Turkey earlier this month, but has not been able to leave the U.S. “My bags are packed and I’m ready,” he told India-West, but added that he was hesitant to fly in the midst of the pandemic.
“You don’t know the person sitting next to you. They may be asymptomatic carriers,” he said.
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