India, US deliberate on student mobility, legal migration

New Delhi, February 23

India and the US discussed the mobility of students and professionals and safe and legal migration at the 11 Consular Dialogue here on Friday.

They also discussed ways of enhancing cooperation on a wide range of issues such as extradition, protection of vulnerable women and children and enabling smooth travel of their respective nationals, said an MEA statement.

For the US side, the issue of massive illegal migration from India via chartered flights to Nicaragua has become an issue. Last year, US border authorities reported that nearly one lakh Indians were arrested while trying to enter the US illegally.

The Indian delegation was led by MEA’s Joint Secretary KJ Srinivasa and the US delegation by Rena Bitter, Assistant Secretary in the Department of State. “The dialogue reinforced the strong people-to-people ties and cooperation that both nations share across consular issues of mutual interest. They welcomed the launch of a pilot in the US to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain categories of visas as proactive steps toward strengthening connections between people of the two nations,” said the statement.