America’s immigration system needs reform: US Congressman Shri Thanedar

New Delhi [India]: Indian American Congressman Shri Thanedar on Sunday called for the need to reform America’s immigration system, saying there were issues because of which tech companies were finding it difficult recruiting a skilled workforce.

Shri Thanedar said, “We have issues around our immigration system.

America’s immigration system needs reform. A lot of tech companies are losing out on hiring a skilled workforce that they need to take our economy forward and create more jobs in America.”
The Congressman also voiced agreement with the demand for increasing H1B visas and expediting the process of clearing green card applications, saying that people waiting anywhere between 10 and 15 years to get their hands on the coveted green cards have to go through “very stressful situations”.

He added, “We are often asked if are taking any steps to fix the broken immigration system, increase H1B visas and green cards, as well as ensure quicker access to green cards.”
He added, “Some people have been waiting 10-15 years to get their green cards. This has resulted in a stressful situation for many engineers and those skilled in technical jobs. They are vital for the American economy.”

Speaking on the delegation from the US Congress, which is currently in India and will attend the Independence Day function in the national capital on Tuesday, August 15, the Congressman from Michigan’s 13th Congressional district said, “This idea of a Congressional delegation to India started when Modi-ji came to America. I had a chance to escort him to the joint session of the Congress where he gave a great speech.

The members of Congress really liked his speech and want to work on improving our relationship with India as we see a lot of threats from China. We see threats from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well.

Currently, there is so much instability across the globe as well in the Indo-Pacific area and a strong relationship with India is the need of the hour.

This is why the Congressional delegation is here in India. Also, Modiji had specifically invited us to come to Delhi to attend the celebration of the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.

So we are here at the invitation of the Prime Minister of India.”

Detailing their scheduled plans of the Congressional delegation during the ongoing visit, Shri Thanedar said, “We will also be meeting the President (Droupadi Murmu). We will also hold meetings with cabinet members and talk about collaboration in defence, innovation and technology, and automotive technology that would benefit my home state of Michigan and my home district of Detroit. So there’s a lot that we intend to do during this visit, but it’s primarily to foster and grow, relationship between these two great democracies.”

He also brought up India and the US underlining their commitment to taking the bilateral ties, across diverse spheres, forward during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent maiden State visit to the country, and especially at the State dinner hosted in his honour by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

“President Biden and his wife Jill Biden hosted a State dinner in honour of Prime Minister Modi. They laid the foundation for a very strong friendship between our two nations through their personal interactions. Going forward, this strong bond or friendship will be the basis for a much stronger relationship between the two countries. There is a lot more that we could do together,” the Congressman said.

During his State visit, Prime Minister Modi announced that Indian professionals could now renew their work visas without travelling to the US.

“New American consulates are being opened in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. H1B visas could now be renewed in India itself,” PM Modi said in his address to the Indian diaspora at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington DC.

The decision, PM Modi said, is in line with the initiative to boost and harness people-to-people contact between the two countries which the two leaders stressed during their bilateral meeting in Washington DC.

The US authorities announced the introduction of ‘in-country’ renewable H-1B visas as part of the people-to-people initiative to smoothen the process of H-1B visa renewal for several Indians working in the US.

While India will open a new consulate in Seattle this year, similar embassies are also in the works in two more American cities.

“Together, we are not just forming policies and agreements but we are shaping lives, dreams and destinies,” PM Modi said earlier after his one-on-one meeting with President Biden.

The two leaders affirmed that the movement of professional and skilled workers, students, investors and business travellers between the countries contributes immensely to enhancing bilateral economic and technological partnerships.

While acknowledging the important steps taken to augment the processing of visa applications, the two leaders noted in the joint statement, “the pressing need to further expedite this process.

The leaders also directed officials to identify additional mechanisms to facilitate travel for business, tourism, and professional and technical exchanges between the two countries”.