In early March, Poorva Dixit bought a ticket to India from the United States, to aid her 72-year-old mother 

Her husband and children stayed back in California due to COVID-19 risks. To travel back, Poorva had to visit the U.S. consulate to get her H1B visa stamped to travel abroad.

On March 16, the day before her visa appointment, the consulate shut down due to coronavirus restrictions because of which Poorva was stuck in India. 

But now, a new immigration order issued by President Donald Trump on June 22 banned the entry of holders of certain temporary work visas. 

Green cards issued outside the U.S. were already temporarily banned but those restrictions were extended until the end of the year.

"I have no idea what my next steps would be," says Poorva Dixit, a software engineer on H-1B visa in the U.S. 

Poorva Dixit is one of nearly 1,000 people in India trapped due to similar situation. 

Trump's executive order suspends the entry of people arriving on visas including H-1B for skilled workers, often those in the tech industry. It applies to L visas used for international transfers of high-level employees, as well as different categories for seasonal workers and intern and trainee programs, in addition to accompanying family members.

Some exemptions to the ban include food supply industry workers, medical professionals, etc.  

Kaustubh Talathi, Poorva Dixit's husband says its been tough to keep their 3 and 6-year old daughters away from their mother for so long. 

"I can see that they're emotionally disturbed right now and they are losing weight," Talathi said.

The White House said the visa measure is necessary to make jobs available for Americans when millions are out of work due to the pandemic. "Buy American, hire American," as is Donald Trump's motto. 

"I'll just break the lease and pack my stuff and keep it in storage for some months and go back to India and see. Like, if I step out of the USA, then I'm in the same queue as Poorva, so I'll be banned as well," says Kaustubh Talathi. 

The new work visa freeze is set to impact about 525,000 people.

"It's just emotional turmoil that we are in," Poorva Dixit said.

(With input from Reuters)

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