The vice president also mentioned his South Indian in-laws while calling for a balance between welcoming foreign professionals and protecting American workers.
Separately, a new executive order calls for increased scrutiny of employers that hire foreign workers, particularly companies accused of laying off U.S. employees while using the H-1B program.
The proposed fee, up from the current $2,000-10,000 cost per petition, is expected to affect on-site hiring by Indian IT firms and could encourage US enterprises to shift more work offshore
The Labour Department's watchdog says it is investigating alleged abuse of foreign worker visa programmes, including claims of fraudulent applications and worker exploitation.
