ABSTRACT
Background According to the 2000 census, there are over 1.6 million people of Asian Indian origin in the United States, accounting for about 0.6% of the total U.S. population. Asian Indians make up the third largest subgroup of Asian Americans. Small numbers of Asian Indians came to the United States as traders in the 18th century. Since that time, Asian Indians have immigrated to the United States in waves, though the pace of the immigration has been regulated by various changes in the immigration rules. In fact, in 1917, their immigration was outlawed, and they were denied citizenship, ownership of land, and the right to marry Caucasians until 1946 (Asia Society, The, 1996; Jensen, 1988; Periyakoil, 2004). In the decades since 1985, large numbers of young and highly educated Asian Indians have immigrated to the United States to work in the high-technology industry. Asian Indians cohorts can be found in every state of the United States; concentrations of over 60,000 can be found in California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois, followed by the Washington D.C. area. In addition to vast differences in acculturation levels, Asian Indians in the United States speak many different Indian dialects (Bengali, Gujarati,
Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and more) and practice different religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Sikhism, and Zorastrianism). This diversity has resulted in tremendous heterogeneity in the Asian Indian population in the United States.
