Congratulations to the Atlanta Indian Women’s Forum (AIWF) for an excellent International Women’s History Month event, featuring dynamic panels and nearly 300 engaged attendees! Highlights included Monimala Basu’s inspiring keynote on her journey from a conservative, traditional Bengali upbringing to a respected journalist at AJC (Atlanta Journal & Constitution)/CNN breaking professional gender glass ceilings along the way, and CDC Deputy Director Reshma Mahendra’s data on domestic violence in the South Asian community.
Our immigration panel of AILA fellow members, Bhavya Chaudhary and Lalitha Alladi, curated topics of greatest interest to the audience:
- H‑1B updates;
- H‑4 derivative status and domestic violence protections under alternate U/T visas;
- International travel guidance while in non-immigrant status and pending adjustment status;
- USCIS adjustment and naturalization interview trends;
- B‑1/B‑2 requirements and Mission India wait times;
- H‑1B appointment rescheduling impacts on H‑4 dependents; and
- EB‑5/Trump Gold residency pathways.
Our panel was well attended and much appreciated! A shout out to my fellow GIACC women board members, Swapnali Mehta, Jigna Shah, Nina Chopra, Donna Smiley and Priya Raj, who attended, networked and cheered on our panel!