T'gana CM urges PM, EAM Jaishankar to address H-1B visa fee hike issue on 'war footing'

Hyderabad, Sep 20 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the suffering of Telugu IT professionals would be "unimaginable" over US President Donald Trump's move to make a steep hike in H-1B visa fee and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the issue on a "war-footing".

"The executive orders of President of America had come as a shocker to all. This is totally unacceptable in the historical context of Indo-American relationships," Reddy said in a post on X late on Saturday.

It is for the Union government to immediately set up a mechanism to resolve the issue amicably, keeping the interests of "our tech population" and skilled workers, who have served America for so long, he said.

"The suffering for our Telugu techies will be unimaginable. Requesting Hon’ble Prime Minister and EAM Shri @DrSJaishankar to resolve this issue on a war footing," he said.

President Trump has signed a proclamation to raise the H-1B visa fee to a staggering USD 100,000 annually, a move which will adversely affect Indian professionals in the US.

Trump on Friday signed the proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain nonimmigrant workers', saying the abuse of the H-1B visa programme is a "national security threat". PTI SJR AMJ AMJ