Jaishankar raises concerns over US visa hurdles with Rubio; US secretary says changes are ‘not targeted at India’

S. Jaishankar on Sunday said he raised concerns with his US counterpart Marco Rubio over difficulties faced by legitimate Indian travellers in obtaining US visas, stressing that legal mobility should not suffer while addressing illegal migration issues.

Speaking at a joint press conference in New Delhi after delegation-level talks, Jaishankar said people-to-people connections remain central to the India-US partnership and highlighted the importance of smooth mobility for business, technology and research cooperation.

“People-to-people ties are at the heart of the India-US relationship. I apprised Secretary Rubio of challenges that legitimate travellers face in respect to visa issuance. While we cooperate to deal with illegal and irregular mobility, our expectation is that legal mobility would not be adversely impacted,” he said.

Responding to questions on changes affecting visa categories such as J-1, F-1 and H-1B, Rubio said the US immigration policy changes are not aimed specifically at India.

“It is not a system that is targeted at India; it is being applied globally. But we’re in a period of transition, and like any transition, there are going to be some bumps on the road,” Rubio said.

He added that the United States is currently modernising its immigration framework after dealing with a broader migration challenge.

Rubio said the US had witnessed a large influx of undocumented migrants in recent years and was now restructuring its system to address those concerns. He also expressed confidence that once the overhaul is complete, the new system could become more efficient and may even prove more beneficial for Indians seeking opportunities in the US.

“Once we’ve completed the work of modernising that system, I think we will end up with something more efficient and, in some ways, perhaps even more beneficial for people from India who seek to enter the United States to work and innovate,” he said.

Rubio arrived in India on May 23 and began his visit in Kolkata, where he visited the headquarters of Missionaries of Charity. He later travelled to New Delhi and met Narendra Modi.

The US Secretary of State is also scheduled to visit Agra and Jaipur before returning to New Delhi for the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting involving India, the United States, Japan and Australia.