On Thursday (September 7, 2018), India urged the US to take a sensitive and balanced approach to the issue of changing the nation’s H-1B US visa policy, claiming that such changes could have an impact on the “people-to-people” connections vital for stimulating bilateral ties.
In the first real 2+2 exchanges between the two nations, External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj tried to gain the support of Michael Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, for nurturing more such people-to-people exchanges. US Defense Secretary, James Mattis and Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman also took part in the discussions. Swaraj told a joint press conference that she had asked Pompeo to implement a sensitive and balanced position on the H-1B US visa changes issue, but that Indians do not believe the US will act against their country’s interest given the friendship between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After the talks, a joint statement was issued highlighting the people-to-people ties between India and the US and the benefits those ties provide to both countries and to the world, including collaborations in space, oceans, health, technology, and science, as well as the free exchange of ideas.
H-1B is the non-immigrant US visa that enables companies in the US to hire overseas workers in specialty occupations requiring technical or theoretical expertise, with tens of thousands hired from nations such as India and China per year by tech firms but the Trump administration has been pushing to reform the system due to claims of abuse.