The Head Of Republican Hindu Coalition Shalabh Kumar, who has been a big supporter of US President Donald Trump, has dismissed media reports that the US is considering an executive order limiting H1B visas.
Kumar said at a news conference that The Trump administration isn't planning any executive action to clamp down on H-1B visas, PTI reported. The statement follows reports of a leaked draft of the executive order, as well as the introduction of a bill in the US House of Representatives that aims to drastically tighten the requirements on the H1B and L1 work visas.
Kumar's statement is also in stark contrast to White House spokesperson Sean Spicer's admission earlier this week when he told reporters, that the action on H1Bs would be part of larger immigration reform. "With respect to H-1Bs and other visas, it's part of a larger immigration reform effort that the president will continue to talk about through executive order and through working with Congress."
According to Kumar, however, H1Bs from India are going to go up, not down.
"There will be a need of more H-1B visas. The number of people on H-1B from India is certainly going to increase," Kumar said, adding that American economy has a huge shortage of IT workers that can only be filled by Indian IT workers.
Trump vowed to increase scrutiny of H-1B and L-1 visa schemes during his election campaign. Kumar, however, stressed that Trump's actions would make it easier for Indians to get American green cards.
Late last year, Kumar hosted a Bollywood-style charity event "Humanity United Against Terror" in support of Trump that was blatantly Islamophobic with bizarre performances.
Earlier this week, he praised the Trump administration on its controversial travel ban barring foreign nationals from seven Muslim countries to enter the US.
"We applaud the Trump administration for taking this decisive move to protect our citizens from Islamic terror," Kumar said.
WIth PTI inputs