Amid growing anxiety among Indian professionals in the United States over immigration enforcement and work visa policies, a senior US State Department official has insisted that American visa laws are not aimed at India and are being applied uniformly across all countries.
According to a news agency PTI report, while speaking at a roundtable organised by the New York Foreign Press Centre on Thursday, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said concerns over selective treatment were misplaced and stressed that the administration's approach was focused on consistency in the enforcement of existing laws.
"When it comes to visas… what we had here for a long time with previous administrations going back was inconsistent application of visa law. That is no longer the case. We are consistently applying visa law across the board. I think that will offer clarity,” Pigott said.
He was responding to a question from the agency regarding immigration policies and concerns among Indians living in the US on visas such as H1B, which are widely used by technology professionals, healthcare workers and other skilled employees from India.
Seeking to address apprehensions among Indian visa holders, Pigott emphasised that the measures being implemented were global in nature rather than country-specific.
“There are no visa laws that target India. These are global visa laws that are being implemented with clarity, clear instructions that are being applied across the board,” he said.
Pigott noted that US visa policy continues to support international mobility for economic activity, investment and workforce development. He said Washington remains committed to working with partner countries to facilitate the movement of people whose presence contributes to trade, business and professional collaboration.
“When it comes to visa policy in general, we are of course going to work with other countries to allow people to enter the country that are needed for trade and investment, to work, and there are numerous examples of that happening with different bilateral partners across the world."
At the same time, he said, the United States seeks to ensure that domestic workers also benefit from economic opportunities created within the country.
"We also are clear, as in any country, that if you are going to create a job in the US, that we want to make sure that Americans have opportunities there, and every country has a similar mentality,” he said, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed that each country pursues its own national interests.
Reiterating the administration's position, Pigott said visa policies are intended to strike a balance between attracting talent and investment while protecting opportunities for American citizens.
“Of course, we're going to facilitate and allow ways that people need to come in to facilitate investment, to train workers, and make sure that visa policies are in place to allow that to happen. We're applying the laws consistently across the board. There are no visa laws that target India specifically.
"We are going to make sure that when we have visa policies in place, that while we facilitate the entry of workers into the United States, we want to make sure, as any country would, that Americans in America, or name your country and their own citizens, have the opportunities of that investment as well,” he said.
Pigott's remarks come at a time of heightened uncertainty among immigrant communities following a tougher immigration posture adopted by the Trump administration during its second term in office.
The administration has intensified enforcement measures and introduced stricter requirements affecting immigrants entering the country on work visas, including the H1B programme, which has long been a key pathway for Indian professionals seeking employment in the United States.
The policy shift has also coincided with concerns among sections of the Indian diaspora over a rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric and hostility directed at immigrant communities, including Indians, amid the administration's hardline stance on immigration.
(With PTI inputs)
