US visa no longer a passport to love for Indians after Trump’s H-1B squeeze

SIDHI SHARMA WANTED to marry an Indian citizen with a high-flying job in the US.

- ABINAYA V, RISHIKA SADAM & URVI DUGAR

But the 19-year-old medical student from India's northern Haryana state dropped the idea after seeing recent headlines about US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

"I had always dreamed of settling in the US after marriage," she said, without elaborating on her reasons. "Trump has shut the door for me."

Tighter US immigration policies, particularly for the H-1B skilled-worker visa, are making families in India less inclined to marry their children to Indian citizens based in the United States for fear the potential partners might lose their job or immigration status, according to matchmakers, academics and prospective brides and grooms.

There is no official government data on marriages between Indian citizens living at home and overseas.