New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday raised concerns with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio over difficulties faced by legitimate Indian travellers in securing US visas, amid tightening immigration and visa rules in the United States.
Addressing a joint press conference in New Delhi after delegation-level talks, Jaishankar said that “people-to-people ties are at the heart” of India-US relations and stressed that genuine travellers should not face disruptions due to measures aimed at curbing illegal migration.
“We cooperate to deal with illegal and irregular mobility, our expectation is that legal mobility would not be adversely impacted as a consequence,” Jaishankar said, adding that the issue was particularly relevant for business, technology and research cooperation
between the two countries.
Responding to questions on recent changes affecting visa categories such as J1, F1 and H-1B, Rubio said the changes were part of a global immigration overhaul and were “not targeted at India.”
“It is not a system that is targeted at India; it is one that’s being applied globally,” Rubio said, while acknowledging that the transition could involve “some bumps on that road.”
Rubio said the United States was modernising its immigration system following what he described as a broader migratory crisis, claiming that over 20 million people had entered the country illegally in recent years.
He also expressed optimism that the revamped immigration framework could ultimately benefit Indian professionals and innovators seeking to work in the United States. Rubio said the new system would be “more efficient” and could prove “even more beneficial” for Indians entering the US for work and innovation.
Rubio, who is on a visit to India, also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The US Secretary of State is scheduled to visit Agra and Jaipur before returning to New Delhi for the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting involving India, the US, Japan and Australia.