Question asked at college job fair: Are you a U.S. citizen? [View all]

For decades, Indian students with degrees in highly sought-after technical fields have followed a glide path to a life in the United States: win acceptance to a good American university, secure a student visa and, after graduating, find work at an American company. When Sai Sushma Pasupuleti arrived at the University of Houston in 2023 to pursue a doctorate in electrical engineering, that path was wide open.

Now, it is all but blocked. A couple of months ago, Pasupuleti attended a job fair at the university. She approached booth after booth, résumé in hand. But each representative asked one question: Are you a U.S. citizen? When she said she was not, they sent her away.

“I did a lot of hard work,” she said, crestfallen. “It’s crazy how they didn’t even look at my résumé.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/opinion/indian-americans-trump.htm