An Indian woman has been granted US citizenship at the age of 99.
Daibai was born in India in 1925 but has been living in Orlando, Florida with her daughter. On X, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the news and described Daibai as a “lively” individual.
A picture featured Daibai proudly holding her certificate alongside her daughter and the officer who swore her in as a US citizen. The tweet read: “They say age is just a number. That seems true for this lively 99-year-old who became a #NewUSCitizen in our Orlando office.
“Daibai is from India and was excited to take the Oath of Allegiance.
“She’s pictured with her daughter and our officer who swore her in. Congrats Daibai.”
USCIS is tasked with handling immigrant visa petitions, naturalisation applications, asylum applications and green card applications. The agency also handles petitions for non-immigrant temporary workers such as H-1B visas, which are used by hundreds of Indian techies to work in the US.
On social media, some netizens praised Daibai, with one commenting: “Finally! Congratulations to Daibai.”
Another said: “Awesome.”
However, Daibai’s story sparked a discussion over why it took so long for the US to complete the naturalisation process, especially since Daibai has been living in the country for years. One user sarcastically wrote: “Rumour has it that Daibai was in the Indian green card backlog, renewing her H-1B every three years, and now can finally retire.”
Another said: “Most Indians in employment-based green card backlog would look like this by the time they get their green cards.”
Many highlighted the waiting time to obtain a H-1B visa in the US. Working professionals such as engineers, scientists and journalists face a minimum wait of 500 days for visa approval, with some waiting times exceeding 100 years.
One user said: “I think Indians should avoid pursuing studies in the USA.”
“Upon passing the exam, you receive a three-year work visa, but if you fail to secure an H-1B visa in the lottery after three attempts, you’ll be required to leave the country with an education loan burden.
“Consider other countries.”
Another said: “But most Indians who are employed in H-1B, unfortunately, won’t even get their green cards when they are 99 or even when they are 150 years old.” One comment read: “Of course, the people who are waiting in backlog currently may get citizenship at the age of 99 or might have died.”
A user asked: “What about people who have been paying lots of taxes and are Masters degree holders working tech jobs?”
