Back to the roots: Usha Vance lands in India – all you need to know about the US Second Lady’s India connect

Usha Vance is back home!
The Second Lady of the United States of America landed in India (at Palam airport) along with her husband, the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, and their three children. This is VP Vance’s first official visit to India, and as it turns out, it is also quite a homecoming for Usha Vance. After all, the Second Lady is back to her roots!


Although the Second Lady has become quite popular by the name Usha Vance, her full name is still anchored to her Indian heritage.
Usha Bala Chilukuri Vance is an American lawyer who has been the second lady of the United States since 2025, being married to Vice President JD Vance. She is the first Asian American, first non-white, and first Hindu American second lady. A former trial lawyer, she has also worked with justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.


Although the world became aware of Usha Vance as the Second Lady, the wife of JD Vance, the VP of the US, Usha herself is a highly accomplished lawyer and the daughter of Indian immigrants, and is widely recognized for her remarkable academic achievements.
Usha Vance's parents are Telugu Brahmins from the West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. Her paternal ancestry can be traced to Chilukuri Buchipapayya Sastri (c. 18th century), who lived in Saipuram in Vuyyuru mandal of Krishna district.
Due to Usha’s Indian connect, even her husband, VP Vance is known as the ‘Andhra Alludu’ (son-in-law) – a title he proudly embraces!

Although Usha’s roots trace back to Andhra Pradesh, she grew up in a San Diego suburb. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in History from Yale University, she also has a master's degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge.
She graduated from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in history and from Yale Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. After law school, she served as a law clerk for several senior federal judges, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and Judge Amul Thapar.

Usha and Vance’s paths crossed at Yale Law School, and they married each other in 2014. In 2024, the second couple of the US celebrated a decade of their marriage. Vance often called Chilukuri his "Yale spirit guide."
Usha and Vance’s wedding ceremony included Hindu rituals. The couple has three children. She has supported her husband strongly throughout his political career and often appeared alongside him during his campaigns.

Vance has described his wife, Usha, as the ‘powerful female voice’ on his left shoulder. Usha has stated that her husband longed for a tight-knit family. In his note of gratitude after securing the position of the VP of the US, Vance thanked his wife for all her support and wrote, “To my beautiful wife for making it possible to do this”.
Usha and Vance, who married in 2014, have two young sons, Ewan and Vivek, and a daughter, Mirabel. Vance and Usha welcomed their first child, son Ewan, in June 2017. Few details about Ewan have been shared, as the couple has kept their children mostly out of the spotlight.
However, since becoming the Second Family of the US, the couple usually takes their three children along with them to their official state visits. The three Vance kids were seen in Indian attire as they landed at Palam Airport on April 21, 2025.