California hosts the largest Telugu-speaking population – of close to 2 lakh – closely followed by Texas (1.5 lakh) and New Jersey (1.1 lakh). States like Illinois (83,000), Virginia (78,000), and Georgia (52,000) too have a significant pool of people from the two Telugu states. Between 60,000 and 70,000 students arrive in the US each year, along with close to 10,000 H1B visa holders. About 80% of them are registered with us, said Ashok Kolla, former secretary of the Telugu Association of North America.
