'We Never Know What The Future Holds...'

'...but I'll say this to my fellow Americans, the more ties that we have to more Indians and the more ways we can find to grow our economic and educational exchanges, the stronger America and India.'

While the high demand for visas by Indians to travel to the United States is seen as a significant issue, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Monday said he sees this as an opportunity for closer ties.

"Deeper than the Pacific Ocean, wider than this entire globe, is the demand of Indians to come to America. Some see this as a problem. I see this as an incredible opportunity, an expression of the closeness that we have and the desire for us to get even closer," Garcetti said in his last public speech as the US ambassador.

The outgoing ambassador's statement comes against the backdrop of the raging debate over issuance of certain categories of visa that allows American companies to hire highly skilled Indian professionals temporarily.

All eyes are now on the new regime in the US under President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take over on January 20.

In 2024, one million non-immigrant visas, including a record number of visitor visas, were issued to Indians.

More than 5 million Indians currently hold a US visa in 2024, and the US mission to India met the visa interview demand for all first-time student visas.

Garcetti further said that the US mission in India has worked to streamline visa processing to keep up with the demand and since March 2023, visas have been increased by more than 60 per cent.

Wait time has also been eliminated for all visa types, except for first time visitor visas, where the wait time is down 75 per cent from the peak.

"Indian students, Indian-American immigrants are there helping run our world's most important universities, our companies, our research entities. They're providing innovation and a record strong tax base... This makes America, in my opinion, a better and a stronger country.

"We never know what the future holds, but I'll say this to my fellow Americans, the more ties that we have to more Indians and the more ways we can find to grow our economic and educational exchanges, the stronger America and India."

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com