Shashi Tharoor Highlights ‘Surprising’ Silence of Indian-Americans Over US Visa Policy

Tharoor On H-1B Visa Policy:The Trump administration in the US has made a major change to the H-1B visa policy, increasing the application fee to approximately ₹8.8 million. Reacting to this, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed surprise at the silence of the Indian-American community and said they should come forward and speak out against this change.

Issue raised in Parliamentary Panel

On Tuesday, a parliamentary panel met a delegation of US lawmakers and discussed anti -India decisions recently. During this time, the question was also raised as to why the Indian-American community is so silent on these matters. Tharoor said that all the members of the panel, whether from the ruling party or the opposition, were surprised about this silence. Indian -origin American MP Ami Bera and other members led by him also appeared to agree with this concern.

#WATCH | Speaking on tariff imposed by the US, in an interview to ANI, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, "...Mr Trump has this idea that tariffs are the magic instrument to solve a number of his problems...The unfairness of this has created a very strong backlash in India and the… pic.twitter.com/xjuuXXGSTb

— ANI (@ANI) September 23, 2025

Tharoor's message: It is important to speak out and fight back

Tharoor said, "It is surprising that no Indian-American voter has called their representatives to express their support or opposition to the policy change." He stressed that the community must reach out to its political representatives, raise its voice for India's interests, and remain active in applying pressure.

US lawmakers expressed appreciation

Some US lawmakers said that they had seen the strength and flexibility of India's economy. They said that despite the increase in the H-1B visa fee, the contribution of the Indian community should be appreciated.

Other strategic issues discussed

The meeting also discussed issues such as the relaxation of US sanctions on Iran's Chabahar port, which India is developing, and the 50 percent tariff on Indian goods. Many MPs criticized these policies of the Trump administration. Tharoor said that all these incidents made it clear that the US Congress and the general public are committed to strategic partnership with India.