There Are No Visa Laws That Target India Specifically: US Official on H1B

New York: Amid immigration concerns among Indians in the US on visas such as H1B, a senior American official has said that the country's visa laws are not targeting India specifically but are being consistently applied globally across the board.

"When it comes to visas… what we had here for a long time with previous administrations going back was inconsistent application of visa law. That is no longer the case. We are consistently applying visa law across the board. I think that will offer clarity," State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.

Pigott was responding to a question by PTI on immigration, including concerns among Indians in the US on H1B visas, during a roundtable meeting organised by the New York Foreign Press Centre with a select group of journalists here on Thursday.

"There are no visa laws that target India. These are global visa laws that are being implemented with clarity, clear instructions that are being applied across the board," he said.

He added that when it comes to visa policy in general, "we are of course going to work with other countries to allow people to enter the country that are needed for trade and investment, to work, and there are numerous examples of that happening with different bilateral partners across the world."

"We also are clear, as in any country, that if you are going to create a job in the US, that we want to make sure that Americans have opportunities there, and every country has a similar mentality," he said, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed that each country pursues its own national interests.

"Of course, we're going to facilitate and allow ways that people need to come in to facilitate investment, to train workers, and make sure that visa policies are in place to allow that to happen. We're applying the laws consistently across the board. There are no visa laws that target India specifically.

"We are going to make sure that when we have visa policies in place, that while we facilitate the entry of workers into the United States, we want to make sure, as any country would, that Americans in America, or name your country and their own citizens, have the opportunities of that investment as well," he said.

In its second term in the White House, the Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on immigration, including putting and enforcing stringent requirements on immigrants coming into the country on work visas such as H1B, which are significantly used by technology, medical and other professionals from India to work in America.

There is also concern over increasing instances of hateful rhetoric targeted against immigrants, including Indians, due to the administration's hardline immigration policies.