Eric Garcetti is the brand new US Ambassador to India
New Delhi:
Reducing the wait time for US visas for Indians will not be the “tenth or eleventh precedence” however the “primary precedence”, the brand new US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti instructed NDTV at present.
Mr Garcetti takes fees at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has began preparations to fly to the US on a state go to on June 22. US President Joe Biden can be anticipated to go to India later this yr to attend the G20 summit in Delhi.
“I’m very excited to be the ambassador right here not solely when Prime Minister Modi will come to the US however President Biden will have the ability to come right here as effectively. That’s historic. I’m not positive if this has occurred earlier than, each leaders visiting one another’s nation in a spot of simply months,” Mr Garcetti mentioned.
On a query whether or not he could be wanting into the difficulty of lengthy wait time for US visa, Mr Garcetti mentioned, “Absolutely, and the President mentioned, ‘Eric, go repair this’. It’s not only a tenth or eleventh precedence. It’s the primary precedence for me.”
“I believe visas contact Indians extra straight than anything that America does. And it is a good drawback to have. More and extra Indians wish to come to the United States, to check, as vacationers… We are dedicated to fixing this drawback,” the US Ambassador mentioned.
“Already, wait instances (for visa) are down 60 per cent for the reason that starting of the yr. In January, February and March, we processed a report variety of visas. Last yr the most important supply of pupil visas got here from India than some other nation. Hold on, within the subsequent few weeks, when our leaders meet, you’re going to get many bulletins. And even earlier than that we’re ready for the coed visa season and already the wait time is getting shorter and shorter. We need extra Indians to proceed to return to America,” Mr Garcetti mentioned.
The US is on observe to subject greater than 1,000,000 visas to Indians this yr, a prime official had mentioned in April. The US can be prioritising H-1B and L visas, essentially the most sought-after by info know-how professionals from India, Donald Lu, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, had instructed information company PTI in April.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits US corporations to make use of overseas employees in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical experience.
Mr Garcetti, whereas speaking about India’s G20 presidency amid the struggle in Ukraine, instructed NDTV that India’s G20 presidency is “spectacular” as “India is a bridge between the previous and the long run, between east, west, north, south”.
“We stand with India on these aspirations to verify G20 is not only concerning the struggle in Ukraine. We will not cease talking out strongly about an unprovoked invasion by Russia. I’m positive Indians perceive how necessary borders and sovereignty are. At the identical time we all know there are relationships which were there for many years,” he mentioned.
The US Ambassador denied India and the America are coming nearer as a result of China issue.
“I believe we actually like one another. India and the US are pure associates. It’s not transactional; it is relational. It’s not simply an affinity for one another; we do have mutual pursuits. It’s not going to be outlined by different components, whether or not China or anything,” he mentioned.