No cap on H-1B visas: US Consul

Started by sajiv, Apr 23, 2009, 12:07 PM

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sajiv

No cap on H-1B visas: US Consul

Kakinada: The US Government did not impose any restriction on the issue of H-1B visas to Indians as reported in the media. The same number of visas were being issued as in the previous years but there was misinformation in the Indian media that the US was issuing lesser number of them to non-immigrants Indians due to the global economic crisis, said Consul General of the USA (Hyderabad) Cornelis M. Keur.

Speaking to media persons during a brief visit of JNTU here on Wednesday, Mr. Keur said there was no cap on H-1B visas but the rules were being implemented more carefully due to prevailing situation in the USA where companies were being asked to recruit foreign nationals only if they don't find qualified persons who are natives of the USA. "The US loves to issue as many H-1B visas as possible as it would be a win-win situation both for itself and job-seekers coming from abroad", he observed.

Mr. Keur said Andhra Pradesh has been the single largest source of talented human resource for the USA, accounting for not less than 40 per cent of the visa applications that were being filed in US Consulate at Chennai. AP continues to be a major supplier of skilled workforce to the US and that is what prompted the US Government to set up Consulate at Hyderabad. Almost half of the work load of the US Consulate at Chennai is now being shared by its counterpart at Hyderabad.

The US Consul General further said that the USA has a huge number of American citizens of Indian origin contributing to its growth in diverse fields and the Indian talent pool has a predominant advantage of being well-versed in English language compared to that of China. Indians have traditionally played a vital role in commercialising scientific knowledge into practical applications in the USA and they come with an entrepreneurial spirit better than what China was now able to offer. As regards his visit of JNTU-Kakinada, Mr. Keur said it was one of the excellent educational institutions in India located in the coastal districts whose potential for growth is tremendous. The US Consulate would extend all possible help to promote academic exchanges between JNTU-K and American Universities.

Pat for V-C
He has also appreciated the efforts being made by Vice-Chancellor Allam Appa Rao to develop the varsity into a world class institution.

Prof. Rao said it was the first ever visit of a Consul General of the USA to Kakinada and he was proud to be associated with Mr. Keur and looked forward to fruitful relationship with him. Prof. Rao sought help from the Consul General for the exchange of intellectual capital in order to transform these coastal districts into a wealthy region in India.

He has earlier given a presentation to Mr. Keur on the activities of JNTU-K with specific focus on the strategic planning initiatives and efforts being made to enhance the quality of technical education.