Mysterious deaths of Indian students in US cast spotlight on safety and pursuit of American dream
- The deaths have cast a spotlight on students from India who are studying in the US, many of whom are from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
- An increasing number of these students are facing challenges such as working illegally to finance their studies and drug abuse
For the past month, TB, who prefers to use his initials, has been flooded with messages at his university in Boston from fellow students from the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over safety concerns.
They were worried after three students from these states were found dead in mysterious circumstances in Connecticut while another was attacked by robbers in Ohio over the period.
“The incidents have created a sense of risk in the minds of these students, and for some, their hopes of achieving their goals have been shattered,” TB, an Indian American, who is studying computer science at a private university, told This Week In Asia. “As a community, we have extended support for one another,” said TB, whose parents are from Andhra Pradesh.
The spate of deaths has cast the spotlight on students from India, especially those from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana – the two states which account for the largest number of students from India studying in the US every year.
So far this year, at least six Indian students have reportedly died under mysterious circumstances in the US - three of them are from the two Telugu-speaking southern Indian states.
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In early February, a student who hailed from Telangana was found dead in Ohio. Although foul play was reportedly ruled out, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has claimed on social media that the student died from a physical attack. Another student from the same Indian state was allegedly robbed and assaulted in Chicago on February 4.
In January, one student from Andhra Pradesh and another from Telangana were found dead at their residence in Connecticut, with media reports citing a gas leak as the cause of their deaths.
Last year, a student from Andhra Pradesh died in Seattle after she was hit by a police vehicle. There have also been several incidents of Indian students being robbed or attacked in several US cities.
Boston-based Telugu-speaking Mohan Nannapaneni, the founder of non-profit Team AID, which helps distressed foreign students in the US, said whenever Indian students find themselves in precarious situations, they typically resist and end up facing greater risk unlike locals, who may avoid confrontation during a mugging.
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At least four students from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana who are studying in the US told This Week In Asia they were “scared” to live there. They did not want to reveal their names because they feared being identified.
To help Indian students in the US, Akshay Chaturvedi, the founder of higher education platform Leverage.biz, is preparing advisories on issues related to areas to avoid, safe areas to live and buddy networks for fellow students on campus to look after one another.
The American dream
According to the US-funded Open Doors Report (ODR), the number of Indian students who went to the US rose to an all-time high of 268,923 in the 2022-23 academic year. Indians represent 20 per cent of all US student visa applicants. Last year, the US issued 102,655 F-1 student visas to Indian students.
A separate report showed that the largest number of students from India studying in the US were from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, followed by Maharashtra and Punjab.
To cater to this demand, many consultants work in cities such as Hyderabad in Telangana and Vijayawada and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh to help these students, many of whom typically choose to study technology and management in the US. The consultants would help fill application forms for the students, prepare them for English proficiency tests and visa interviews, and find accommodations for them in the US.
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Among them is consultancy firm Exxella, which helped send 1,000 students to several US universities from these two states last year, and is expecting a similar number this year.
“Students prefer to stay close to Telugu-speaking communities in Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Texas,” said Pavan, who uses only his first name, an internal analyst at Exxella, which has seven branches in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Pavan said of the 1000 students from India who went to the US last year, at least 40 per cent took educational loans from banks. Many local moneylenders also provide loan services.
Seeking illegal work
An increasing number of Indian students in the US who face financial difficulties have resorted to working illegally, according to Nannapaneni.
F-1 visa holders are prohibited from working but many students from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana who hold these visas were often from unaccredited or dubious US universities that helped them find jobs, said Nannapaneni.
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“These universities often do not conduct regular classes and students use the study hours to engage illegally in unauthorised work at department stores, gas stations, pizza shops, and grocery stores, making themselves susceptible to crime,” added Nannapaneni, who went to the US from Andhra Pradesh in 1992 for his postgraduate studies.
Many Indian students seek to apply for an H-1B visa for legal employment, said Nannapaneni. However, obtaining this visa has been very challenging due to the surge in applications and limited quotas in recent years, he added.
“Since the H-1B system operates on a lottery basis, individuals often face disappointment in the first year, prompting their reapplications, which would require them to remain in the US,” Nannapaneni said.
The 65,000 H-1B visa cap for bachelor-level degrees and the 20,000 cap for advanced degrees for the financial year 2024 have been fully taken up.
According to Pavan, some Indian students would also change universities after arriving in the US so that they could work without telling their parents.
A serious problem that has emerged among US-based Indian students in recent years is drug abuse, said Nannapaneni.
While Nannapaneni was speaking with This Week In Asia, he received several calls from Indian students based in different US cities who expressed concerns about drug abuse, including some who were addicted to the habit.
During his interactions with students, Nannapaneni found out that many Indian students are addicted to recreational drugs such as MDMA and synthetic opioid drugs such as fentanyl, and they tend to buy cheaper and fake versions of these drugs, which have caused them to suffer from mental health issues.
Nannapaneni believed that the hopes of Indian students for a successful life in the US were based on false promises by errant universities and consultants and they felt dejected when they found out that good opportunities were few and far between.
“When their dreams get shattered, they engage in illegal jobs for survival or get addicted to alcohol or drugs to cope with frustration,” Nannapaneni said. “They must do a reality check before coming to the US.”
