New Delhi: India raised visa and immigration issues with US during the visit of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar said, “I apprised Secretary Rubio of the challenges legitimate travelers face in visa issuances. While we cooperate on combating illegal migration, our expectation is that legal mobility will not be adversely impacted.”
Dr S Jaishankar further said, “India and the United States have common interests, but they also face shared challenges. Prominent among them is terrorism. Our position in that regard is very clear. It is one of zero tolerance. We appreciate the strong cooperation between the concerned agencies of our two countries in this domain. I particularly recognised the extradition from the United States to India last year of a key planner of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Our two countries will intensify cooperation bilaterally, as well as in relevant international forums.”
Accepting the Indians’ contribution to the U.S. economy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “The changes that are happening now, or the modernisation of our migration system into the United States, are not India-specific; it is global, it’s being applied across the world.”
Marco Rubio further said, “We’ve had a migratory 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’ve had to address that challenge… Everything that you do as a country needs to be in your national interest, and that includes your immigration policy.”
“It is not a system that is targeted at India; it is one that’s being applied globally. But we’re in a period of transition, and like any period of transition, there’s going to be some bumps on that road,” Rubio added.
