New Delhi: The US announced Thursday that it has revoked and denied visas for certain Indian nationals, including business executives and corporate leaders, citing their alleged involvement in trafficking fentanyl precursors.
In a statement, the country’s embassy in New Delhi said the decision was taken “in furtherance of the Trump administration’s efforts to keep Americans safe from dangerous synthetic narcotics”.
Fentanyl precursors are the base chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid driving a drug crisis in the US.
However, the embassy did not disclose the identities of the Indian nationals concerned. It said the visa restrictions extend beyond the executives to their immediate family members, who may now be considered ineligible to travel to the United States.
The statement added that individuals tied to companies linked with fentanyl precursor trafficking would face closer scrutiny in future visa applications.
“Stopping the flow of fentanyl and its precursors into the United States is one of our highest priorities. We have revoked visas for company executives and family for the unlawful involvement in controlled substance trafficking, including fentanyl,” the embassy said in a post on X.
Stopping the flow of fentanyl and its precursors into the United States is one of our highest priorities. We have revoked visas for company executives and family for the unlawful involvement in controlled substance trafficking, including fentanyl. Those who facilitate the flow of… pic.twitter.com/atWupz7WLG
— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) September 18, 2025
Chargé d’Affaires at the US embassy Jorgan Andrews said the individuals and organisations involved in the production or trade of narcotics “will face consequences that may include being denied access to the United States”.
The move came a day after the Trump administration named India, alongside China and Pakistan, as a major drug transit or illicit drug-producing country. In a notification to Congress, President Donald Trump said that these countries, by producing or enabling the movement of narcotics and precursor chemicals, were endangering the safety of US citizens.
The White House justified this designation of a total of 23 countries by pointing to fentanyl and other synthetic drugs as a national emergency and the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 44.
Earlier in January, the US Justice Department charged two Surat-based companies namely, Raxuter Chemicals and Athos Chemicals, along with Bhavesh Lathiya, the founder of Raxuter, with conspiring to distribute and import fentanyl precursor chemicals into the US.
Lathiya was arrested in New York City in January and arraigned in the Eastern District of New York where the Attorney General Merrick Garland said the accused “conspired to distribute and import fentanyl precursor chemicals from India to the United States and Mexico”.
According to prosecutors, shipments were falsely labeled as ‘Vitamin C’ or other benign products to evade detection. If convicted, Lathiya faces up to 53 years in prison.
In March, a second case surfaced when Vasudha Pharma Chem Ltd, a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company and three of its senior executives were indicted by a federal grand jury in Texas.
According to the Department of Justice , the Indian nationals were charged with manufacturing and distributing “N-BOC-4-piperidone”, which is a fentanyl precursor.
This year, the Trump administration has taken a series of measures targeting Indian nationals over violations of US law.
In May, it deported more than 300 Indians on three military flights, a first-of-its-kind operation and imposed visa restrictions on executives of travel agencies accused of facilitating illegal migration.
Around 50 additional Indian nationals were deported to Panama, part of efforts Washington described as dismantling human smuggling networks.
In August, the US State Department further revoked more than 6,000 student visas alleging overstays or violations of American law, including serious crimes and terrorism-related activities.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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