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California is adding a new holiday to its calendar. On Monday, Oct. 6, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 268 into law, making California the third state to designate Diwali — the Hindu festival of lights — as an official statewide holiday. “Diwali, a festival of great significance to Indian Americans and South Asian Americans, is celebrated annually by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains throughout the United States and across the globe,” the bill says. Also known as Deepavali, Diwali is “one of the most sacred festivals in Hindu Dharma traditions” celebrated by “more than a billion people around the...

After California legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom recently made Diwali a state holiday, Sacramento Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes said local leaders and community members had a request: “Can we please do a resolution at City Council?” Talamantes said. “This is historic, this is huge.” On Tuesday, she, Mayor Kevin McCarty and Councilmember Mai Vang, will do just that to honor the religious celebration. “It’s such a big celebration of culture, diversity,” Talamantes said. The holiday is a major event in India, particularly for followers of Hinduism and Sikhism, and is marked by candle and lamp lighting to symbolize light over...

In the video, Harold Weinbrecht, the mayor of Cary, and TJ Cully, the mayor of Morrisville, are seen grooving to the iconic song 'Chunri-Chunri' alongside other performers at an event. Diwali 2025 In America: Diwali, a festival that marks the victory of good over evil and is one of the major festivals in India, illuminates the US cities as the Indian community abroad celebrates the occasion. The festive spirit can also be seen in many countries around the world, with North Carolina, USA, being a glittering example. Two mayors in North Carolina danced their hearts out to the tunes of...

Donald Trump aide Harmeet Dhillon, the Indian-origin assistant attorney general for civil rights at the US Department of Justice, reacted to a viral post on an apparent H-1B scam and outrightly rejected it as "illegal". The post claimed that some tech positions are only being advertised in local newspapers so that no one can see them, and they can hire H-1Bs. "A reader from Connecticut shares job listings for tech positions from local newspapers that they intend to fill with Indian H-1Bs," the post said. "None of these jobs can be applied for online. If you want to become a...

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has signaled that the H-1B visa system will face key reforms before the $100,000 fee applies in 2026. He called the lottery “bizarre,” opposed low-cost hiring, and said visas must go to the most highly-skilled workers. -snip- Lutnick said the H-1B visa lottery system is flawed and needs reform. Referring to conversations with the heads of two leading global tech companies, he said they found the concept of allocating visas for skilled workers through a lottery “bizarre.” He argued that the US must ensure visas go only to the most highly skilled professionals. -snip- The...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, saying it overrides existing provisions in current laws that apply to the H-1B programme. “The Chamber’s litigation argues that the new fee is unlawful because it overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern the H-1B program, including the requirement that fees be based on the costs incurred by the government in processing visas,” the Chamber said in a statement on October 16. The Trump administration announced a $100,000 fee on fresh H-1B visa applications. This was...

A growing push in the United States to restrict post-study work rights and increase taxes on international graduates is creating serious concern among Indian students. At the heart of the issue is Optional Practical Training (OPT), a popular programme that allows international students to work in the US after finishing their degrees. For many, OPT is a critical stepping stone to securing an H-1B work visa and building a long-term career in the country. What is OPT — and why does it matter? OPT lets students on F-1 visas work in the US for up to 12 months after graduation,...

e U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday filed a lawsuit over the Trump administration imposing a $100,000 fee to the H-1B worker visas. -snip- In a release regarding the lawsuit on Thursday, the Chamber called the new fee unlawful since it "overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern the H-1B program, including the requirement that fees be based on the costs incurred by the government in processing visas." "The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration Thursday over hefty new fees in the H-1B visa program, joining the legal campaign against the administration’s changes to a program used by some of the biggest tech companies in the U.S. -snip- The chamber’s lawsuit is seeking to block the new H-1B program restrictions, which were rolled out in a presidential proclamation that the chamber says “is not only misguided policy; it is plainly unlawful.” “The President has significant authority over the entry of noncitizens into the United States, but that authority is bounded by statute and cannot directly contradict...

The number of new FHA mortgages granted to non-permanent residents has dropped to near-zero following the Trump administration’s recent executive orders targeting immigrants, according to new data. In a March 26 letter, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that non-permanent residents in the United States, including H-1B visa holders, would no longer be eligible for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), effective May 25. The move, the letter said, was in line with President Donald Trump’s “commitment to safeguarding economic opportunities for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents,” while also ensuring that “federal benefits, including access...

Many Indian-Americans have chosen to remain silent on H-1B changes and immigration struggles. This piece tries to decipher the reason, the pressures facing diaspora communities, and why success should come with responsibility. -snip- Created in 1990 under President George H. W. Bush, the H-1B program was designed to allow U.S. employers to hire foreign professionals to fill critical skill gaps. What is, in reality, a randomized lottery where every applicant has an equal chance of selection, regardless of nationality, is often mischaracterized as a program favouring Indians, simply because they make up the largest share of participants. Counting visa renewals...

The CEO of a tech company that is one of the biggest H-1B visa sponsors in the U.S. said they would no longer be hiring applicants on the visa amid a Trump administration visa crackdown. Tata Consultancy Services’ CEO K Krithivasan said that the Indian tech company would reduce the number of H-1B visa holders in its U.S. offices. Krithivasan told the Times of India that the company would “continue to hire more locally,” adding that this was part of a “reduction in dependency on visa-based talent.” -snip- Krithivasan told the Times of India that the company had around 11,000...

US Senator Charles Grassley and Richard J. Durbin has sent a letter to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for hiring thousands of H-1B visa workers in the country while conducting ‘massive layoffs’ globally. The letter, dated September 24, 2025 is addressed to TCS CEO Krithi Krithivasan raises concerns about “troubling employment trends” in the tech industry. It quotes a Wall Street Journal report pointing at the tech sector’s unemployment rate, which is “well above” the overall jobless rate. The letter asks the Indian IT firm that while it has announced to lay off 12,000 employees worldwide, “you have been filing H-1B...

The H-1B visa, introduced by the United States in 1990, has long been a pathway for highly skilled professionals from across the globe to contribute to America’s technology sector. Many of today’s tech leaders, including Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, and Satya Nadella, entered the US through this programme, allowing them to innovate, lead companies, and create global impact. -snip- Sundar Pichai Pichai came to the US as an international student before transitioning to an H-1B visa, which allowed him to join Google in product management roles. Over the years, he rose to become CEO of Alphabet, overseeing key innovations in...

Paridhi Upadhaya was packing her bags after securing a computer science scholarship in the US until headlines of President Donald Trump's H-1B visa crackdown last week prompted her family in Lucknow to scrap the plan. "Trump's unending onslaught against immigrants is forcing us to consider other destinations for her," the 18-year-old's father, Rudar Pratap said. Upadhaya is among thousands of Indians for whom the American dream of world-class education, lucrative careers, better quality of life and social mobility, is turning sour due to rising U.S. visa restrictions and policy unpredictability. For decades, the H-1B visa has been the gateway to...

In India, some of the biggest jobs in tech come to you. Graduates of the Indian Institute of Technology (ITT), one of the country’s most prestigious universities, are recruited directly by Indian companies as well as American firms looking to lock down some of the world’s top talent in fields that will dominate the future, such as artificial intelligence and robotics. Many of them also continue their studies in the United States, where India overtook China last year as the biggest source of foreign students. But policy decisions and other moves by the Trump administration, including the recently announced $100,000...

The H-1B visa has helped skilled professionals from across the world to advance America's technology sector. Three stalwarts who have made an indelible mark in the US after obtaining an H-1B visa are - Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella. For many Indians, it has symbolised the realisation of the "American Dream", however, on September 21, US President Donald Trump imposed a new $100,000 fee on this visa, pushing it into major controversy. -snip- Satya Nadella Microsoft's chief executive officer had started his career in the 1990s under the H-1B visa program. He has highlighted the program's importance for...