US lawmakers have requested President Donald Trump to reconsider his order regarding H1-B visas which also includes a fee of US $ 1,00,000.
The lawmakers said Indian citizens are at the heart of America’s leadership in information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI) and such restrictive policies would negatively impact relations between the US and India.
US House of Representatives member Jimmy Panetta as well as Congress members Ami Bera, Salud Carbajal and Julie Johnson wrote a letter to Trump on Thursday.
Lawmakers expressed concern over Trump’s announcement to “restrict the entry of certain nonimmigrant workers” to the H-1-B visa program, which imposes a US$100,000 fee on new applications, among other restrictions. He urged Trump to reconsider this decision in view of the possible negative impacts on US-India relations.
“As members of the delegation that recently visited India, we understand the importance of the H-1B program not only to the US economy, national security and competitive advantage, but also to our relationship with India and the Indian-American communities we represent,” he said.
“We respectfully urge you to postpone the September 19 announcement and reconsider any policies that undermine fair access to the H-1B program,” the lawmakers said in the letter.
He said that at a time when China is ‘aggressively investing’ in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, the US must continue to attract the world’s best talent to ‘sustain its innovation ecosystem, strengthen the defense industrial base, and maintain its long-term competitive edge’.
“In the case of India, which was the country of origin for 71 percent of H-1B holders last year, attracting this talent also strengthens our strategic partnership with a major democratic partner in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
