India raises high visa cost issue with US

India-US Trade Policy Forum to be held in October end

India on Tuesday raised the issue of high cost of visa with the US. Both sides will discuss the issue in detail during the ninth Trade Policy Forum (TPF) to be held in the US in the last week of October. This was decided in a meeting between commerce secretary Rita Teaotia and deputy US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Holleyman here on Tuesday.

According to India, the high cost of professional visas – H1B and L1 – and the corresponding higher wage implications under the US Immigration Reforms impact the country’s information technology sector and professionals.

During the meeting on Tuesday, Teaotia suggested that a high-level group be created with members from both the countries to address India’s concerns related to the US Totalisation and Social Security Act. India believes the policy is “discriminatory towards Indian workers in the US”, who end up losing their social security contributions due to “discrepancy in the visa and social security regimes”.

Under the Totalisation Agreement, Indians who go to US to work for a stipulated period of time need not pay the social security tax in the US. At present, Indians working there on a short-term basis pay the social security tax but are not entitled to enjoy the benefit of the social security in return for the taxes.

Seeking greater access to the US market, Teaotia apprised the deputy USTR of the difficulties faced by textile exporters in entering the US markets due to non-tariff barriers. She suggested that a working group on market access for Indian products, including pharmaceuticals.

The TPF, established in 2005, is the premium forum for bilateral trade. It has five focus groups - agriculture; innovation & creativity; investment; services; and tariffs & non-tariff barriers. It is alternatively held in India and the US.

The last meeting was held in last November in New Delhi after a gap of four years. The meeting was chaired by commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman and USTR Michael Froman.

Both sides have set a target of achieving $500 billion worth of trade in goods and services, a huge jump from the present $100 billion.