Indo-US groups for campaign on visa issues concerning India

New York, October 9

Several Indian-American community organisations have called for campaigning with the Obama administration to take up issues of H-1B visas, immigration reform and visa backlogs affecting Indians annually.

The Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO-New York), South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS) and the Kerala Center organised an immigration seminar here recently and discussed various immigration issues impacting H-1B visa holders from India and Indian-origin families settled in the US.

The participants at the discussion noted that H-1B visas continue to be scrutinised heavily by agencies such as the US Department of Homeland Security, US Department of State and the US Department of Labour.

Many of the largest users of the H-1B visa are very significant technology companies from India and grassroots efforts should be made to help the government understand that India is not the only user of these technology visas.

Attempts to avert a form of reverse discrimination should be undertaken soonest, the panelists said.

They also noted that it is time that the US includes India in the Treaty Investment and Treaty Trader category for the immigration visa purpose, adding that this has been the source of a great deal of frustration between the United States and India for many years.

The seminar also felt the need for grass-root actions to support President Obama’s executive actions that were announced in November 2014.

While immigration reform holistically seems to be stalled, Obama’s executive actions are designed in a piecemeal manner aimed at improving the overall immigration law system, GOPIO said in statement.

On the extreme backlogs for Indian nationals in many visa classifications, the panelists said these backlogs have resulted in families being separated for long periods of time.

“One of the major tenets underlying US immigration law is family unity. It continues to be our hope that these backlogs can be reduced in some fair manner,” GOPIO’s founder president Thomas Abraham said.

GOPIO and other community groups vowed to campaign with Obama administration and elected officials on these issues. — PTI