‘US ready to address India’s concerns over visa fee hike’

The US is ready to address the Indian government’s concerns on a host of trade and business issues, including the H1B visa fee hike and social security equalisation, ahead of the bilateral economic dialogue next week.

“Purpose of this (India-US economic) dialogue and discussion would be to make sure that we know the full set of concerns and if there are measures that we need to take on that side, we would work on them as well,” the Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs, Ms Lael Brainard, said.

In her interaction with a group of Indian reporters ahead of next week’s India-US Economic Dialogue, Ms Brainard said her understanding is that in the area of H-1B visas, the country is the biggest — 50 per cent more than any other nation — beneficiary of this.

The concern of India with regard to the visa fee, she argued, has not altered this figure in any way.

“But this is an area, where we would continue to look at because this is important to you,” she said when asked about India’s concerns in this regard.

“On social security equalisation, at the moment it is not clear how far we are going to proceed because the systems of the two countries are very different. But we certainly in principle are going to engage in discussions and would continue to do so to see whether there is more potential there,” she said.

Corporate America has also urged policymakers to enter a bilateral investment treaty with India, which they argued is the next key step — after the civil nuclear deal — to strengthen and deepen trade and business ties between the two largest democracies of the world.

“The priority is to deliver on a US-India Bilateral Investment Treaty that incentivises greater two-way foreign direct investment,” said Mr Ron Somers, President of US India Business Council (USIBC), in his address to the 36th anniversary leadership summit of the organisation, which is the apex body of Indian and American corporate world here.

“USIBC calls upon both the governments to re-energise BIT discussions, by re-engaging in technical discussions, as soon as possible,” said Mr Somers in the presence of top officials and corporate leaders from both the countries.