EAM Jaishankar To Meet Marco Rubio In NYC Today Amid H-1B Visa Fee Hike Row

(MENAFN- Live Mint) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will meet US Secretary Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the UNGA session in New York today.

The meeting is scheduled at 11 AM (US time, 21 September) which means 8.30 PM Indian time today, according to a public schedule released by the US Department of Stat .

Also Read | Trump's revised H-1B visa fees amount to 10% of 5 Indian IT firms' profits

This will be the third face-to-face meeting between Jaishankar and Rubio this year. The last meeting between the two was on July 1 on the sidelines of Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Washington, DC . Before that, Jaishankar met his American counterpart, just days after he assumed office, while participating in the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in Washington in January.

Today's meeting is, however, first in-person meeting between the two leaders since tensions between India and the United States rose in July over trade tariffs and India's purchase of Russian oil and since the 50 per cent US tariffs on Indian goods took off on August 27.

The meeting coincides with the ongoing India-US trade talks which are currently underway in Washington. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is also in the US leading the discussions which resumed after Donald Trump announced that his team was continuing trade negotiations with India.

Earlier this month, Donald Trump said he was optimistic about concluding a trade agreement with India. In response, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the trade negotiations would pave the way for "unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership"

H-1B visa fee hike of $100,000

Jaishankar's discussions with Rubio would focus on trade negotiations and the Trump administration's recent decision to raise H-1B visa fees, according to reports.

Also Read | Piyush Goyal to visit US on Sept 22 for 'early conclusion' of trade deal

White House on September 20 clarified that the $100,000 fee is not a annual charge and won't apply to existing holders of valid visas re-entering the country

The meeting is scheduled at 11 AM (US time, 21 September) which means 8.30 PM Indian time today, according to a public schedule released by the US Department of State.

"This is NOT an annual fee. It's a one-time fee that applies only to the petition." And, goes on to add that current H-1B visa holders who are currently outside of the country right now will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter the United States," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.

Donald Trump's surprise H-1B visa fee hike of $100,000 (~ ₹90 lakh) on Saturday triggered a wave of panic – leaving tech giants including Meta, Microsoft at the edge.

Also Read | H-1B Visa: Why Trump imposed $100,000 fee for highly skilled foreign workers?

This year's UNGA session coincides with several thematic events, including a commemoration of the UN's 80th anniversary, a Climate Ambition Summit convened by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and a high-level meeting marking 30 years of the Beijing Declaration on women's rights.

(With agency inputs)

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