Modi wants US to revisit restrictions on H1B visa

PM Modi made the comment while receiving a 26-member bi-partisan US Congressional delegation here. Welcoming the Congressional Representatives to India, he said their visit augured a good start to bilateral exchanges following the change in the US Administration and Congress.

He recalled his positive conversation with Trump and the shared commitment to further strengthen ties that have grown deeper in the last two-and-a-half years. In this regard, he recognised Congress’ strong bipartisan support for the India-US partnership, a PMO statement said. 

Modi shared his perspective on areas where both countries can work even more closely, including in facilitating greater people-to-people linkages that have, over the years, helped contribute to each other’s prosperity. 

“In this context, the Prime Minister referred to the role of skilled Indian talent in enriching the American economy and society and urged developing a reflective, balanced and farsighted perspective on movement of skilled professionals,” the statement said.

Britain on Tuesday said there is no cap on visa for Indian students and they are free to access world-class education in top notch UK universities. British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith said that the UK had announced 600 scholarships for Indian students aspiring to study in the UK. 

“UK has no cap on visas for students from India or anywhere else. All are treated the same. Whoever comes will join almost half a million international students who come to the UK to access word-class education in the world-class universities,” he said here. 

Asquith was speaking at the India launch of the report of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. India has time and again asked Britain to relax student visa rules for greater mobility of students. 

UK’s visa policy requires students to return home after their courses end — a move that has led to fall of Indian students enrolling in British universities by 50 per cent. As per estimates, the number of study visas issued to Indian nationals have fallen drastically. Asquith also said that the UK is participating in several initiatives of the Indian government to promote skilling.