External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised concerns on Sunday over the Trump administration's changes to visa and immigration policies during talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying legal mobility should not be adversely impacted by the new approach.
Speaking at a joint media briefing after wide-ranging discussions with Rubio, Jaishankar said people-to-people ties remain central to the India-US relationship and flagged challenges faced by legitimate Indian travellers in obtaining visas. "People-to-people ties are at the heart of the relationship. I apprised Secretary Rubio of challenges that legitimate travellers face in respect to visa issuance," Jaishankar said.
“While we cooperate to deal with illegal and irregular mobility, our expectation is that legal mobility would not be adversely impacted as a consequence. After all, this is very relevant to our business, technology and research cooperation,” he added.
The remarks come amid concerns in India over changes to US immigration rules, including higher H1B visa fees and revised green-card procedures that reportedly require applicants to file from their home countries.
Responding to a question on alleged incidents of racism against Indians in the United States, Rubio dismissed suggestions of systemic targeting while acknowledging isolated remarks by individuals. "I will take that very seriously about the comments. I'm sure that there are people who have made comments online and in other places because every country in the world has stupid people," Rubio said.
"I am sure there are stupid people here; there are stupid people in the United States who make dumb comments all the time,” he added.
Rubio said immigrants had played a key role in shaping the United States. “Our nation has been enriched by people who have come to our country from all over the world, become Americans, assimilated into our way of life, and contributed greatly,” he said.
On the changes to Green Card norms, Rubio said the reforms were part of a broader overhaul of the immigration system and were not specifically directed at India.
"We've had a migration crisis in the United States. This is not because of India, but broadly, we have had over 20 million people illegally enter the United States over the last few years, and we have had to address that challenge," he said. "The US is the most welcoming country in the world on immigration," Rubio added.
Responding to a separate question, Jaishankar said both New Delhi and Washington were pursuing policies driven by national interests. "While the United States has been very forthright in putting forward its foreign policy outlook as 'America First', India has an ‘India First' approach. So both of us are obviously driven by our respective national interests," he said.
Rubio's India visit comes more than a month after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri travelled to Washington for talks aimed at stabilising ties that had come under strain over the past year. Relations between the two countries deteriorated after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on Indian goods and US President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed he had played a role in defusing the India-Pakistan military tensions in May.
New Delhi firmly rejected those assertions, maintaining that the cessation of hostilities resulted solely from direct talks between India and Pakistan.
Differences over immigration policies, including higher H1B visa costs, also contributed to tensions in bilateral ties. However, both sides have stepped up diplomatic engagement in recent months and are now working towards finalising a mutually beneficial trade agreement.
(With PTI inputs)
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