 The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U.S. citizenship to whites only, and in the 1923 case, "United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind", the Supreme Court ruled that high caste Hindus were not "white persons" and were therefore racially ineligible for naturalized citizenship.It was after the Luce–Celler Act of 1946 that a quota of 100 Indians per year could immigrate to the U.S. and become citizens.The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 dramatically opened entry to the U.S. to immigrants other than traditional Northern European and Germanic groups, and as a result would significantly alter the demographic mix in the U.S.

Serious race riots in Durban between Indians and Zulus erupted in 1949.