PM Modi announces big changes in US visa rules for Indian professionals. Mint:- 24 Jun 2023, 07:13 AM IST Edited By Sanchari Ghosh

 

Bringing good news for US visa aspirants, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday informed that two new American consulates will be opened in India - Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

Also highlighting the major changes the US government in planning to introduce to ease work visa rules, PM Modi said that Indian immigrants will no longer be required to visit their home country just for the sake renewing their HIB visa renewal.Addressing the Indian diaspora at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, he stated, America's new consulates will be opened in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

It has now been decided that the H1B visa renewal can be done in the US itself.The move is part of a people-to-people initiative and comes after a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and US President Joe Biden.

The United States authorities announced that they will introduce 'in-country' renewable H-1B visas as part of the people-to-people initiative to smoothen the process of H-1B visa renewal for several Indians who are working in the US on a H-1B visa.Meanwhile, India is going to open a new consulate in Seattle this year. Apart from this, Indian Consulates will be opened in 2 more cities in America."Together we are not just forming policies and agreements, we are shaping lives, dreams and destinies," said PM Modi.

This comes a day after the two countries welcomed an announcement by the US Department of State that it would launch a pilot to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas later this year."The leaders welcomed an announcement by the U.S. Department of State that it would launch a pilot to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas later this year, including for Indian nationals, with the intent to implement this for an expanded pool of H1B and L visa holders in 2024 and eventually broadening the program to include other eligible categories," the India-US joint statement said.The leaders affirmed that the movement of professional and skilled workers, students, investors and business travelers between the countries contributes immensely to enhancing bilateral economic and technological partnership.