Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to visit US, H1B visas, safety of Indians likely to be discussed

Delhi: Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will embark on a visit to the United States on 28 February during which key bilateral issues including India's concerns over a possible clamp down on H1B visas and safety of Indians are expected to be discussed.

On his US visit Jaishankar will meet Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

During his Washington DC visit, the FS will also be meeting with chairpersons of key Congressional Committees.

According to officials here, Jaishankar will also be holding talks on regional and international issues of mutual interest with senior members of the Donald Trump administration during his four-day visit.

Maintaining that the government was engaged with the Trump administration as well as members of the US Congress on concerns regarding the H1B visa issue, they said India's view that Indian IT companies were contributing to the American economy by increasing the competitiveness of their firms will be conveyed by the foreign secretary during his meetings, as per PTI.

The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year.

On Feburary 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pressed the US to have a "balanced and farsighted perspective" on the movement of skilled professionals.

He had made the comment while receiving a 26-member bi-partisan US Congressional delegation in the national capital.

"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," a PMO statement said.

Soon after taking over last month, Trump had decided to overhaul the work visa programmes like the H-1B and L1, a move that will adversely hit the lifeline of Indian tech firms and professionals in the US.

At present, 65,000 H1B visas are issued by the US every year and Indians account for a major chunk in it. 

Meanwhile, During the visit, which will be taking place barely days after killing of an Indian engineer in a crowded bar in Kansas City in an apparent hate crime incident, the issue of safety of Indian nationals is also expected to figure during the discussions between Jaishankar and the American side.

In a related news, India today demanded the "strongest action" from the US government regarding Kansas City shootout.

The two men, who had been living in the US for the last few years, were shot late Wednesday. 

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and Alok Reddy Madasani, 32, wounded in the attack. Both men worked as aviation systems engineers for GPS manufacturer Garmin.

"USA should respond to this incident. American President and people of America, they should come out openly to condemn such actions... and then take strongest action," Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying. 

"These kind of incidents involving racial discrimination are shameful," Naidu said in the southern city of Hyderabad where the victims` families live.

"They will dent the image of USA. So the US President, administration and civil societies should unequivocally respond and condemn such incidents."
US authorities have arrested 51-year-old Adam Purinton, who allegedly told the men "Get out of my country!" before opening fire. 

Purinton was detained late Wednesday at a restaurant after claiming he had killed two Middle Easterners.

He has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder and is being held on a $2 million bond. 

The FBI is trying to determine if the shooting was a hate crime.

The shooting has made headlines in the Indian media, amid concern that the hardline immigration policies of President Donald Trump may have laid the groundwork for such an attack.

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj expressed shock and Indian authorities have been in touch with the US authorities, the victims` families and the local Indian community in the US.