The hyperbolic saying that “every Punjabi has a passport and a Canadian/US visa in his pocket” is seeing a semantic shift.In a change of trend of an overwhelming desire to migrate to countries like Canada, the US, Australia and the UK, the number of Punjabis seeking passports has dipped by over 40 per cent since 2023, says data released by the Ministry of External Affairs.The ruling dispensation in Punjab might credit itself with the reverse trend as a success of its “Vatan Vapsi” (return to motherland) campaign, but the underlining reasons are rather rooted in the tightening of the study visa rules, high costs and job shortages in Canada and the United States Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) against illegal immigrants after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.Reports indicate that nearly 40 per cent of the undocumented immigrants deported by the USA in early 2025 were from Punjab and Haryana.Harjinder Singh Sandhawalia from the Sikh Centre of Seattle said there were at least half a million illegal Punjabi immigrants in the USA. After the ICE started tightening its grip on the illegal immigrants by raiding workplaces, the proliferation of illegal immigration, networks of fraudulent travel agents and many individuals risking their safety through illegal “donkey routes” to enter the US or Canada had taken a hit. “It was acting as a deterrent for those waiting to enter these countries through illegal means,” he said.According to recent data presented in Parliament, people from Punjab accounted for the highest share of Indians deported from the USA in early 2025, representing about 40 per cent of the total number of individuals.Punjabi-speakers constitute a large proportion of Indian asylum claims in the USA, with their numbers increasing significantly in recent years. As of early 2026, the landscape for Punjabi asylum seekers in Canada and the USA is undergoing significant shifts, characterised by a major tightening of immigration rules in Canada, a projected surge in undocumented residents and a sharp decline in illegal crossings from Canada into the USA, suggest reports.Punjabi NRI groups, who had so far been helping illegal immigrants to stay in foreign lands, have disassociated themselves from the undocumented immigrants after the US enforcement agencies have issued warnings in this regard, says Sandhwalia.Over the years, a large section of Punjabis who are part of international migration from the region did not comprise quality immigrants. Insiders in the multi-crore immigration industry say compared to those seeking legal channels to settle abroad, the region had not been exporting quality immigrants.The trend in lesser number of applicants for passports is directly related to the tightening of norms and enforcement in high demand countries like the USA and Canada.” Many were applying for student visa to Canada aimed at getting permanent residency. With Canada tightening norms on the PR and work permit for those entering on student visa, the fresh passport seekers have reduced.The amount of money sent or spent abroad by Indians fell to a two-year low of $1.94 billion in November 2025, pulled down in large part by a sharp dip in the amount spent on foreign studies, which fell to its lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic-impacted month of April 2020. The data on the outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Liberalised Remittances Scheme (LRS) shows that the other reason for the fall in overall remittances in November 2025 was a dip in the amount spent on foreign travel. The total outward remittances under the LRS stood at $1.94 billion in November 2025, down 0.5 per cent from its level in November last year. This is the lowest it has been since November 2023.Also, the dynamics of the reversal of immigration trend in Punjab has economic casualty back home. A Jalandhar-based immigration consultant said there had been 60 to 70 per cent dip in business, as it affected related businesses like foreign exchange, IELTS coaching centres and other employment generation businesses. Echoing the same sentiment, a Vancouver-based consultant said many immigration companies that were dependent on applications for student visa had shut down their business.