The Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday that since January 2025, 2,417 Indian citizens have been deported or reversed from the United States.
During the weekly media briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s firm stand against illegal stay and stressed the commitment to promote the legal route for migration.
Jaiswal said, “2417 Indian citizens have been deported or sent back home from the US since January. We want to promote the legal route of migration. India is against illegal migration.”
He said that India aims to encourage legal migration and discourage illegal activities that weaken these efforts. He further said that the government verification of nationality and withdraws individuals without legal status when obtained appropriate documents.
Jaiswal said, “Whenever there is a person who does not have legal status in a country and he comes to us with documents, and if it is claimed that he is an Indian citizen, we check his background, confirm nationality and then we are in a position to withdraw it. This is happening in the case of exile from the United States.”
Talking about fraud cases, the spokesperson said, “As far as visa fraud and other cases are concerned, we want to promote legitimate migration from India. We want to see how we can curb illegal stay, as it weakens our efforts to promote valid migration.”
Jaiswal also associated it with the government’s efforts in India. He said, “The Government of India is working closely with the state governments to crack down on people who promote illegal stay. We are raising awareness about legitimate stay.”
“We have been regular consultations to our citizens to stay away from employment opportunities available in South-East Asia,” he said.
It is linked to the widespread cooperation of India and the US in matters of migration and enforcement on awareness and enforcement. The Ministry of External Affairs had said that India and the United States have close cooperation on the exile of migration issues, especially Indian citizens with illegal status. Jaiswal also highlighted this cooperation in his media briefing on 29 May.
Providing updated data, the Ministry said that since January 2025, about 1080 Indians have been deported from the US, of which about 62 percent have returned from commercial flights.
Speaking in a weekly briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said, “On the issues of migration between India and the US, there is a close collaboration on the exile of Indian citizens who are either in illegal condition or who travel illegally; we take back them when they receive details about them.”
He provided more clarity on the latest figures. He further said, “The figures are that since January 2025, about 1080 Indians have returned to the US or have been deported from the US. About 62 percent of them have come from commercial flights.”
Apart from migration issues, Jaiswal also said that India had seen reports suggesting the update guidance of the US government regarding student and exchange visa applicants.
In response, the Ministry of External Affairs had emphasized that welfare of Indian students abroad is a “highest priority” for the Government of India and India will continue to monitor further progress in this regard.
Jaiswal said, “Although we believe that the visa is a sovereign task, we still hope that the application of Indian students will be considered on the basis of merit and they will be able to join their educational programs on time.”
