US visa delays brought up at EAM Jaishankar and Marco Rubio meeting

The issue of delay in visa processing was raised when external affairs minister S Jaishankar met US secretary of state Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday. Talking to media persons in Washington, Jaishankar said the delay "hampers work, business, travel, tourism, as well as people-to-people ties". He added that his concerns were noted by Rubio.

Jaishankar said it was a critical issue and required urgent attention. " I flagged some concerns that are very widespread in India about delays in visas. The relationship is not well-served if it takes 400-odd days for people to get a visa," he said.

Jaishankar said the Trump administration is prioritising India ties. "It was very clear that the Trump administration was keen to have India present at the inaugural itself. They're clearly prioritising the bilateral relationship. In the meetings, it was also evident that they would like to build on the foundation of the relationship, a foundation which the first Trump administration also contributed a lot to building."


When asked about Trump's China policy, Jaishankar said this is a matter between the US and China and he will not publicly comment on the matter.