US visa policy upsets India despite ‘strategic’ ties
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• Rubio says alliance with New Delhi unaffected by any other relationship, both sides on ‘same page’ on all major issues
• Jaishankar terms visas key for tech cooperation
NEW DELHI: India voiced concern on Sunday over a US visa crackdown, striking a rare critical note even as it expressed broad alignment with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on other fractious issues.
Paying his first visit to India, Rubio said the two democracies were on the same page on all major issues, describing the relationship as a strategic alliance while brushing aside recent unease in New Delhi over trade, China, and the war on Iran.
Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar, however, publicly took Rubio to task over President Donald Trump’s assault on visas. He said he had “apprised Secretary Rubio of challenges that legitimate travellers face in respect of visa issuance”. “While we cooperate to deal with illegal and irregular mobility, our expectation is that legal mobility should not be adversely impacted as a consequence,” he said, noting that visas were key for US-India tech cooperation.
President Trump, who has made curbing non-Western immigration a key political priority, has ramped up restrictions and fees for H-1B visas used largely by Indian tech workers, sending applications tumbling.
The Trump administration followed up Friday by saying that applicants for permanent residency, even when in the United States legally, must leave for processing, likely splitting up many families for extended periods.
Rubio also said the Trump administration remained committed to a strategic partnership with India.
“The US-India relationship has not lost any momentum,” he said, adding, “The relationship continues to be strong.” Rubio said that commercial partnerships between India and the United States were a cornerstone of their relationship, which he called “a strategic alliance”.
For many Indians, even more troubling is President Trump’s recent praise of Pakistani leaders, who have been mediators in the Iran war. When asked about ties between Washington and Islamabad, Rubio said, “I don’t view our relations with any country in the world as coming at the expense of our strategic alliance with India.”
Jaishankar said it was for the United States to decide its partners, and acknowledged that differences will emerge between the two countries.
Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2026
