US needs Indian immigrants, says Congressman

Washington: The United States needs highly qualified professionals from India, an influential American lawmaker has said, advocating that the US Congress remove the seven per cent country quota for issuing of Green Cards that has resulted in decades of long wait for professionals from India who have moved to this country.

“It’s so important that Indians are able to immigrate to the United States when they’re looking for jobs because the United States depends on high quality, high skilled, very smart people coming from all over the world to work here. It’s one of the natural advantages of the United States that we welcome people from all over the world,” Congressman Matt Cartwright, who represents the 8th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, told PTI in an interview.

Cartwright is supporting the move by Indian American organisations, including the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora (FIIDS) for removing the per country seven per cent quota in issuing Green Cards every year.

“The problem is that we have limited this to seven per cent from every country, and that disproportionately hurts big nations like India. Not only big, but also very highly skilled. There’s so many highly educated people in India, and it’s a resource that the United States would be foolish, foolhardy not to take full advantage of the people who want to come to this country and become part of our economy and become part of our brain trust in this nation,” Cartwright said in response to a question.

“Always, the United States of America has always welcomed people of high intellect and high ethical standards and work standards to come here and invigorate our economy. That’s been part of a tradition in the United States for a couple of hundred years, and so to cut ourselves off with this arbitrary seven per cent number, that’s a mistake, and that’s why I’m proud to be part of the effort to do away with that,” he said.

Responding to another question, the Congressman said it is essential that the US has a close and enduring friendship with India.

Cartwright further elaborated, “The international trade that goes on between the two countries is vital. The most important export from India are the people. In my own district in northeastern Pennsylvania, it is a vibrant, wonderful, family-oriented community of Indians. In fact, they talked me into going to visit the BAPS Temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey, which I did last year. I was astonished. I was awestruck. I was blown away by that temple. I want to go back. In fact, I was there when they were dedicating it. 12,000 volunteers put that thing together. These are the kinds of people we want in the United States of America.”