The Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi representing Illinois’ 8th district and immigration lawyer Rajiv S Khanna spoke freely about the immigration reforms needed in America at USINPAC's (US-India Political Action Committee) first of the interactive Community Dialogue series. The interaction focused on issues surrounding Trump Administration’s immigration reform and its impact on US-India relations.
Congressman Krishnamoorthi remarked that though America is a country of laws it is also a country of immigrants when asked about the Trump administration positions around H1B visa and family immigration.
He said there is a shortage of skilled labour and reform is needed to attract highly professional task force that is vital to grow our economy. In a hostile immigration environment, the IT Companies will move jobs offshore. Skilled immigration should figure in the talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump to be held in June.
Krishnamoorthi doesn't think H1B visa program is to blame for massive US unemployment, as unemployment is at a historic low, the House just passed a rewrite of the Perkin’s Act on career and technical education for building a skilled workforce for the 21st century.
Regarding worker shortage in the Silicon Valley, the Congressman remarked if President Trump wants to grow the US economy at three to four per cent, immigration reform must not be reckless, should not fail to retain and attract high-tech workers in AI and Big Data.
Well-known immigration expert Rajiv Khanna suggested a detailed economic, statistical and legal bipartisan study on the effects and benefits of the H1B program to close the gap between perception and reality. Krishnamoorthi agreed, the study would guide us on how to grow our talent pool. He has co-sponsored the abolition of per country caps for an H1B visa, favours both skill based and family immigration.
Khanna voiced the gap on readiness between the US Government and the real world and encouraged USINPAC to drum up support for effective immigration reform.
Sanjay Puri, Chairman of USINPAC, said, “I thank Congressman Krishnamoorthi and Rajiv Khanna for engaging with us, on issues vital to the Indian-American community. We look forward to more conversations on this topic with you.”
The USINPAC is the voice of over 3.2 million Indian-Americans and works on issues that concern the community. It supports candidates for local, state and federal office and encourages political participation by the Indian-American community.