Joe Biden promises to reform H-1B visa system, eliminate country quota for Green Cards
Washington: If voted to power in the November general elections, a Biden administration will reform the H-1B visa system and work towards eliminating the country-quota for Green Cards, his campaign said on Saturday, in a move to woo the influential Indian-American community.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
In a major policy document for Indian-Americans released on the occasion of India's 74th Independence Day, the Biden Campaign also emphasised its support to family-based immigration system and streamlining processing for religious worker visas.
The administration will also take steps to stem the rising tide of hate and bigotry, address the security needs of house of worship, eliminate language barriers and honour the diversity and contributions of Indian-Americans, it said.
This is for the first time that a Democratic presidential candidate has come out with an exclusive policy document for Indian-Americans. There are 1.3 million eligible Indian-American voters across eight battleground states. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is scheduled to address the Indian-American community in a video message later in the day.
Biden will support family-based immigration and preserve family unification as a core principle of our immigration system, which includes reducing the family visa backlog, his campaign said.
"He will increase the number of visas offered for permanent, work-based immigration based on macroeconomic conditions and exempt from any cap recent graduates of PhD programmes in STEM fields," the campaign said.
"And, he will support first reforming the temporary visa system for high-skill, specialty jobs to protect wages and workers, then expanding the number of visas offered and eliminating the limits on employment-based Green Cards by country, which have kept so many Indian families in waiting for too long," it said.
According to the policy document, Biden will restore and defend the naturalisation process for Green Card holders. A Green Card allows a non-US citizen to live and work permanently in America.
"He will increase the number of refugees we welcome into this country by setting the annual global refugee admissions target to 125,000 and seek to raise it over time to commensurate with our responsibility, our values, and the unprecedented global need," it said.
"He will also work with Congress to establish a minimum admissions number of 95,000 refugees annually. Biden will remove the uncertainty for Dreamers by reinstating the DACA programme and explore all legal options to protect their families from inhumane separation," the campaign said.
It said Biden will end workplace raids and protect other sensitive locations from immigration enforcement actions.
As a largely immigrant community, but in some cases with American roots reaching back generations, Indian-Americans know firsthand the strength and resilience that immigrants bring to the US, the campaign said.
"But President Trump has waged an unrelenting assault on our values and our history as a nation of immigrants. It's wrong, and it stops when Biden is president," it alleged.
"Biden will rescind Trump's Muslim ban on day one and reverse the detrimental asylum policies that are causing chaos and a humanitarian crisis at our border, the campaign said.
"He will immediately begin working with Congress to pass legislative immigration reform that modernises our system, with a priority on keeping families together by providing a roadmap to citizenship for nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants including more than 500,000 from India, it said.
Indian-Americans of all backgrounds Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jain, and others have been subjected to bullying and xenophobic attacks and need now, more than ever, a reassurance that the US leaders in Washington will have their backs, it said.
During the Obama-Biden administration, the FBI expanded its hate crime statistics programme to include Sikhs, Hindus, and Buddhists. As President, Biden will directly address the rise in hateful attacks and enact legislation prohibiting someone convicted of a hate crime from purchasing or possessing a firearm, it said.
"Biden will appoint leaders at the Department of Justice who will prioritise the prosecution of hate crimes, and he will order his Justice Department to focus additional resources to combat hate crimes including religion-based hate crimes and to confront white nationalist terrorism," it said.
"He will also seek legislation that increases the potential sentence for certain hate crimes that occur in houses of worship and other religious community sites, such as gurudwaras, mandirs, temples, and mosques. And, he will use his executive power to ensure that the Department of Justice pursues such heinous acts of violence against houses of worship to the fullest extent of the law," the campaign said.
Noting that in 2012, the Sikh community suffered a terrible tragedy when a white supremacist opened fire in an Oak Creek, Wisconsin, gurdwara, ultimately killing seven and wounding four, the campaign added that in January 2019, a Hindu temple was the victim of a horrific act of vandalism and destruction, with windows shattered and xenophobic messages spray-painted across the walls.
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BJP Min. Vijayvargiya trolled for riding scooter without helmet amid water contamination crisis
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Indore: Madhya Pradesh Minister and senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya has come under criticism after videos surfaced showing him riding a scooter without a helmet and allegedly without a registration number during his visit to Bhagirathpura, which is hit by a severe contaminated water crisis.
The incident has triggered widespread online backlash and contributed to the growing criticism of the state government's handling of the crisis.
This comes a day after Vijayvargiya was caught on camera using objectionable language while responding to questions from a TV Journalist.
Vijayvargiya had arrived at Bhagirathpura riding a scooter to interact with residents and distribute cheques of ₹2 lakh each to the families of seven deceased persons.
However, the visit saw strong resistance from locals, particularly women, who expressed anger in front of the minister.
Videos of the confrontation were posted on social media by Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari.
In one of the clips, a woman is heard saying that dirty water has been supplied for the last two years and that repeated complaints to the BJP councillor had not resolved the issue.
Patwari, in a post on X, wrote that the entire locality was suffering while the minister “did not even listen to the sister’s words.”
गंदे पानी से 13 मौतों के बाद जब कैबिनेट मंत्री कैलाश विजयवर्गीय अपनी विधानसभा के लोगों से मिलने पहुंचे, तब एक बहन ने उनकी पोल खोल दी।
— Jitendra (Jitu) Patwari (@jitupatwari) January 1, 2026
महिला ने बताया कि पिछले दो वर्षों से गंदा पानी आ रहा है। इस बारे में भाजपा पार्षद को बार बार बताया गया, लेकिन आज तक समस्या का समाधान नहीं हुआ।… pic.twitter.com/4iUsd8omux
Social media users troll Vijayvargiya
“Dear @MPPoliceDeptt, He is Cabinet Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, and the scooter he was using had no number plate,” wrote @NalinisKitchen.
“Kailash Vijayvargiya is in PR Damage control mode. He got so excited that he went on a scooty without helmet & ended up exposing the pathetic pothole and dirt filled road of Indore, city in a state that BJP is in power for almost 20 years now. Self Goal,” wrote @RoshanKrRaii.
“PR damage control turned into a reality check. One scooty ride by Kailash Vijayvargiya exposed Indore’s broken roads, potholes, and dirt—after 2 decades of BJP rule. When optics fail, truth shows up. Self-goal,” wrote another user.
“Look at the filthy streets under the jurisdiction of this incompetent MLA @KailashOnline. On top of that, he roams around the dirty streets in unregistered vehicles without helmets like a goon,” said another post.
10 deaths reported, over 1,400 affected in Bhagirathpura
Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said on Friday that he had received information about 10 deaths caused by a diarrhoea outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water in Bhagirathpura.
However, local residents have claimed that at least 14 people, including a six-month-old infant, have died due to the health crisis. The health department has not officially confirmed these claims.
According to reports, a leak was found in the main drinking water supply pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura, at a spot where a toilet has been constructed. The leakage led to contamination of the water supply.
Over the past nine days, more than 1,400 people have been affected by vomiting and diarrhea in the area.
A health department official, citing the situation till Thursday night, said that 272 patients were admitted to hospitals, of whom 71 have been discharged. At present, 201 patients are hospitalised, and 32 of them are undergoing treatment in intensive care units.
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