Joe Biden promises to end suspension of H-1B visas
WASHINGTON: Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has said the US and India are “natural partners” and if elected, the relationship will be a “high priority” for his administration. He promised to end the temporary suspension of H-1B visas that President Donald Trump ordered last week ostensibly to ensure American have the first crack at jobs as the US reopens after Covid-19 lockdown.
The visa programme, of which Indians are the largest beneficiaries, has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s immigration hawks.
“That partnership [with India], a strategic partnership, is necessary and important in our security,” said Biden at a virtual fund-raiser on Wednesday. He gave an account of his role in promoting the relationship and securing the US-India civil nuclear deal.
“I was proud to play a role more than a decade ago in securing congressional approval for the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement,” he said. He added it was a big deal.
The deal set a high bar for everything that has followed in the relationship.
“Helping open the door to great progress in our relationship and strengthening our strategic partnership with India was a high priority in the Obama-Biden administration and will be a high priority if I am elected president,” Biden, a former vice-president, said. “India needs to be a partner in the region for our safety sake and quite frankly for theirs.”
Late former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee first used the phrase “natural allies” to describe the US-India relationship. Former US president George W Bush switched in “partners” for “allies”.
At a virtual town-hall with Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Biden opposed Trump’s suspension of H-1B visas. “He [Trump] just ended H-1B visas for the rest of this year. That will not be in my administration,” he said.