Visa issues with US not taken to WTO: Government

NEW DELHI: India has not lodged any complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against visa issues with the US, Parliament was informed today.

"No Madam," said Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia in a written reply in the Lok Sabha to a query on "whether India has lodged any complaint with the WTO under the Dispute Settlement Mechanism over the cost of US work visas, which are too high and discriminatory against a group of Indian IT firms".

On the refusal rate of short-term visa applications by the US, he said denial rates for Indian born applicants for new L1B petition has risen to 13.4 per cent in 2010-11 from 2.8 per cent in 2007-08.

"As per the industry reports, this has resulted in many employers being unable to transfer their employees into the US to work on research projects or serve customers," Scindia said.

On actions taken by India, he said the visa issue has been raised at various levels with the US government, including ministerial-level, commerce secretary level and commercial dialogue.