Indians Support of Democrats in America Defies Logic
I attended a birthday party in the suburb of Philadelphia a few weeks ago. A friend of mine who was at the party informed me that he was going back to India in a couple of months. He was on an H-1B visa. He informed me that getting H-1B visa extended (H-1B should be valid for three years) was very difficult. His company has informed him
that he should go back to India instead of trying to extend his visa. After a few drinks and reminiscing about our years growing up in India I asked him who he would vote for if he were a US citizen. Without any hesitation he mentioned that he would vote for the Democrats.
There is no question that Indians are leaving the United States and going back to India in large numbers. The H1-B quota has not been filled for the first time in over 15 years. There are still 20,000 visas remaining. This is partly due to the recession but mainly due to policy implemented by the Obama administration. The administration has made it clear that any company that receives TARP money (bailout money) cannot hire foreigners who are on H1-B or other types of temporary visas.
Now let’s look at the immigration policy. Getting a Green Card in US used to be very easy. In the early 90’s an Indian citizen could get a Green Card in about 18 months start to finish if he files under the EB1 or EB2 category. Now the waiting time is approximately 6 years in theory (for all practical purposes the Green Card is on hold for anybody who applies based on the “work” category and not on “asylum” category). What are the reasons? Is it because the immigration department is overwhelmed? The fees have gone up astronomically in the last 15 years. In addition as the world is growing economically there is less interest from countries that normally sends a lot of immigrants to the US namely India and China.
Anyone who follows American politics knows that the Democrats like to pander to the immigrants from Mexico (including the illegal immigrants). They are a big vote bank. But democrats do not want immigrants from other countries. They claim that these immigrants take jobs away from Americans. The actual reason for this policy is that most of the large unions support the Democrats. Large unions do not like immigration for obvious reasons.
Now let’s look at the American policy towards India. American governments under the Republicans have really pushed the envelope when it comes to developing ties with India. The Democratic governments have mostly paid lip service. Indian-American relations started improving during the Reagan administration (remember the famous trip made by Rajiv Gandhi to the United States in the 80’s?). This relationship improved under Bush (Senior) and Narasimha Rao). This relationship finally reached the logical strategic level under Manmohan Singh and George Bush. In between what did the Bill Clinton administration do? Bill Clinton imposed sanctions on India for testing the nuclear bombs in 1998 (Bill Clinton mentioned that he was forced to do it because of US laws. Compare this to George Bush who amended the US law to pass the India-America Nuclear Act). The Obama administration is now currently dragging its feet when it comes to pushing the policy forward. On the other hand Obama tried to club (by appointing a special envoy) India, Pakistan and Afghanistan together to try and solve in the problems in the region (Republican on the other hand think that India is not part of the problem and should not be clubbed together with rogue states like Afghanistan and Pakistan).
So why do most Indians think very favorably of Democrats and not the Republicans? Why do we think highly of Bill Clinton and Barak Obama and less of Ronald Regan, George Bush (Senior) and George Bush (Junior)? Is this because we like American politicians who are similar to Indian politicians? Politicians who talk a lot and say the things that you want to hear but are unwilling to deliver when the time arrives? Is this because we like great speeches and ideas but not actions?
Related posts:
- Shared Legacy: George Bush and Manmohan Singh
- Welcome Back President Bush
- The Heat Is On President Obama
- Will India be Thrilled if GOP Wins the Midterms?
- India-US Strategic Dialogue is a Waste of Time
Category: News & Government