A Scotch Plains man is finally back home after being stuck in India for about a month.

Ashu Mahajan went to India to care for his father who had COVID-19. But as the COVID restrictions tightened, Mahajan wasn’t allowed to return to the United States.

Sen. Bob Menendez intervened to arrange for Mahajan’s return. Mahajan’s wife blames the entire experience on what she calls “visa limbo.”

"We've been stuck waiting for our citizenship to happen for the past nine years,” Neha Mahajan says. "This visa limbo, you know, it has happened today. And we are thankful we were able to get out of it. But this will continue to happen until visa reforms happen."

The Mahajans have been in the U.S. for 13 years on a work visa. It required an in-person appointment at the U.S. Consulate in India to get back to New Jersey, but those offices were closed while Mahajan was there.

India now has the third-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, passing 300,000 victims. More than 4,400 people died in the past 24 hours.

A majority of India's population lives in areas where healthcare is limited.

Delhi territory has stopped vaccinations for young adults due to a supply shortage.