Visa fee hike discriminatory, targeted at Indian IT firms: Jaitley tells US
India has expressed concern over the hike in visa fee by the US, saying it is "discriminatory" and largely affects Indian IT professionals.
During a bilateral meeting with US Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also underlined the need for early conclusion of Totalisation Agreement which would benefit Indians working in America.
Referring to the visa issue, he spoke about "India's concern over the hike in the H-1B and L1 visa fee, which is discriminatory and in effect is largely targeted at Indian IT companies".
Last year, the US Congress imposed a special fee of up to USD 4,500 on H-1B and L-1 visas - popular among Indian IT companies -- to fund a 9/11 healthcare Act and biometric tracking system.
While agreeing on the USD 1.1 trillion spending Bill, Congressional leaders decided to impose a special fee of USD 4,000 on certain categories of H-1B visas and USD 4,500 on L-1 visas.
Jaitley expressed India's keenness in early conclusion of a Totalization Agreement with the United States, a finance ministry statement quoting him said.
As per Industry estimates, Indian professionals contributed more than USD 25 billion to the US Social Security during the last decade, without being able to retrieve their contributions.source:ntoday.
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