A Nasscom letter to US senators calls for attention to the fact that there is a considerable body of evidence pointing to the contributions made by H-1B visa holders to innovation and entrepreneurship in the US.
United States Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has cancelled his crucial trip to India this month in view of the strained relations between the two countries over the arrest of an Indian diplomat on alleged visa fraud charges.
The 'H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2016' introduced by Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell from New Jersey and Republican Dana Rohrabacher from California would prohibit companies from hiring H-1B employees if they employ more than 50 people
In addition, for those applying for certain L-1A and L-1B must submit an additional $4,500.
US federal authorities have claimed to have unearthed a major H-1B visa racket with the arrest of at least 11 persons, most of them suspected to be of Indian origin.
Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade on Friday asserted that the charges against her in a US court are "false and baseless" and the stand taken by her and the Indian government in the case will be "vindicated".
The city ranks number four after Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai globally.
For Indian parents, sending a child abroad for a three-year degree could deplete 48% of their retirement savings, while a four-year degree may consume up to 64%.
Protect yourself and minimise such frauds by following these simple rules
Devyani Khobragade's maid Sangeeta Richard, in her first public statement, has thanked those who supported her in fight for justice.
The Indian IT companies, which account for a large number of H-1B applications, are likely to face the additional financial burden because of this proposed increase in H-1B filing fees.
The United States has hoped that the major diplomatic row over the arrest of the Indian Deputy Consul General in New York will not affect bilateral ties with India. In a major diplomatic embarrassment to India, 39-year-old Devyani Khobragade, a 1999-batch IFS officer, was taken into custody on Thursday as she was dropping her daughter to school and handcuffed in public on visa fraud charges before being released on a USD 250,000 bond after pleading not guilty.
Given the sharp differences that the Democratic and Republican lawmakers and the White House has on various aspects of immigration reform including H-1B, the Congressional passage of the bill and its becoming a law as of now appears to be a tall order.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday described the indictment of diplomat Devyani Khobragade in the United States as a "defeat" for India, saying that the criminal case against her would remain in America.
Even as efforts are underway for resolution of the row involving Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, her father on Tuesday led a protest march outside the American consulate in Mumbai, terming the United States administration's action against her as "illegal".
India and the US are in "conversations" to resolve the standoff over diplomat Devyani Khobragade, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday said as he described the US as a valuable partner and asked it to "understand the value" of the partnership.
Pakistan's election commission has formed a high-level committee to probe the explosive allegations levelled by a senior bureaucrat that widespread rigging aided by the judiciary and the top election body happened against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The United States on Wednesday said employment of domestic workers will now be on agenda for the bilateral talks with India with which it is in conversation to "determine the way forward" in resolving the 14-day-long diplomatic row.
Sources said no final decision has been taken as yet and it is very possible that a high-level intervention might be required to take a final call on resolving the issue.
The United States has said that in-person registration of domestic workers of foreign diplomats would be mandatory, an apparent fallout of the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade over alleged misrepresentation of the salary paid to her maid.
The full statement of the MEA on the latest in the case relating to Devyani Khobragade:
The external affairs ministry on Friday did not rule out any further disciplinary action against senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade, who had hit the headlines last year after being arrested in the US in a visa fraud case.
Two persons said to be members of the United Kingdom arm of the Aam Aadmi Party are embroiled in a student visa scam in Britain uncovered by the BBC.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to file chargesheet against diplomat Devyani Khobragade and her father Uttam Khobragade in the Adarsh Housing scam for allegedly acquiring a flat on the basis of false affidavit.
'If you are so blinded by the Buy American, Hire American policy, if you are not going to be fair, consistent and welcoming, in the end America will lose out.'
Indian-American Richard Rahul Verma has been sworn in as the United States ambassador to India by Secretary of State John Kerry.
Verma, 46, is the first Indian-American to be the US ambassador to India and is expected to be sworn in shortly.
The case of Devyani Khobragade, a top Indian diplomat accused of fraud by her domestic help, is the third instance where maids working for diplomats at the Indian consulate General in New York have complained against their employers.
Uttam Khobragade, former IAS officer and father of Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York, on Satyurday alleged her daughter's former maid Sangeeta Richards could be a "CIA agent".
India's demand for dropping of all charges against its former Deputy Consular General in New York Devyani Khobragade will come for discussion during the proposed Indo-US dialogue to resolve the issues arising out of her arrest in the US, the government said on Thursday.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today met his United States counterpart John Kerry in Montreux for the first time after a row over the arrest of an Indian diplomat as they committed to move forward bilateral ties and return to close partnerships on strategic issues.
India and the United States have affirmed their shared commitment to continue their work on a broad range of bilateral issues and move forward post the Devyani episode.
Ignoring the United States viewpoint, India has refused to consider the Devyani Khobragade episode as "closed", saying there are "residual" issues which need to be addressed.
S Jaishankar, the new Indian Ambassador to the US, will arrive in Washington on Tuesday to take charge amid a raging diplomatic row over the arrest and strip-search of senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade on visa fraud charges.
US diplomats and their families in India will not be able to avail special treatment at the airports from Thursday night when the deadline expires for surrendering their special passes, as part of government's retaliatory action against the treatment meted out to diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York.
The United States on Tuesday virtually justified the reported strip search by New York police of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, saying "standard procedures" have been followed during her arrest.
After coming to know that Khobragade's daughters were having US passports, the MEA had revoked the children's Indian passports and they challenged this in the Delhi high court.
During the trip, check your bank account and credit card statements regularly for unauthorised transactions.
Indian High Commission staff in Pakistan are being subjected to "intrusive surveillance" and "tailing" by intelligence personnel of that country, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday.
India is making every attempt to ensure that the United States drops all charges against IFS officer Devyani Khobragade.
