PM Modi raises issues of H-1B visas with Joe Biden at bilateral meeting

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with US President, Joe Biden for the first time in person, they spoke about issues that affected both countries especially issues involving the Indian community in the US and the H-1B visas. 

The Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has said, "He (PM Modi) spoke of the issue of getting access for Indian professionals to the United States. In that context, he mentioned an H-1B visa. He (PM Modi) also spoke of the fact that many Indian professionals who work here (in the US) contribute to Social Security. The return of those contributions in the United States is something that affects the number of Indian workers."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described his first bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with US President Joe Biden as outstanding. The Prime Minister and his counterparts - Scott Morrison of Australia and Japan's Yoshihide Suga also attended the meeting of Quad leaders hosted by US President Biden in the US capital on Friday.

The US federal judge had earlier turned down Trump-era changes to H-1B visa rules that were to deter US companies from replacing American workers with cheaper foreign labour. The rules were applied to tech industry workers as well as doctors, accountants, professors, scientists and architects.

(Agency inputs)