US Congressman Ed Markey, more familiar to the pro-India lobby as a critic of the India-US civilian nuclear agreement, is supporting the Hindu American Foundation's protest  against the Bush Administration's intention to change immigration provisions with regard to R-1 religious work visas.

In a missive he shot off to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Markey expressed concern over the pending immigration rule change that could have the unintended effect of discriminating against people of non--Judeo-Christian faiths. He  urged the USCIS to consult with, and incorporate the feedback of, religious groups while considering the change.

The USCIS is considering changing the definitions of eligible religious workers and religious denominations related to the R-1 Religious Worker visa after widespread reports of fraud and abuse.

Markey is a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, which has jurisdiction over the USCIS. In his letter to Richard Sloan, the director of the Regulatory Management Division of USCIS, he said, "In seeking to improve the R-1 visa rules, we have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater."

"While I applaud the efforts of the Homeland Security officials to reduce fraud in the R-1 programme, the proposed changes must not exclude or impede legitimate visa applicants of non-Judeo-Christian faiths," he said.

Markey pointed out, "Some religions in the United States, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, rely more heavily on foreign religious workers for their religious practice."

He added, "For example, several of my Hindu American constituents in Massachusetts rely heavily on religious workers from abroad. An overly restrictive final rule on R-1 visas could greatly impact their ability to fully practice their faith."

Markey argued that "we are a tolerant and inclusive society and our laws should reflect these values." He urged USCIS "to encourage and thoroughly consider more feeback from religious organisations as it formulates changes to improve the R-1 visa rules."

Ishani Chowdhury, executive director of HAF, told rediff.com that she had met with Markey's aides about three weeks ago and sought relief from the pending changes. The changes could leave many Hindu temples across America without priests and other religious workers familiar with the traditions and customs of the Hindu faith, on the eve of Diwali.

She said, "I just spoke to the Congressman's office and thanked them for sending out the letter to the USCIS."