Synopsis

US envoy Sergio Gor said he was in talks with American universities like Harvard, NYU and Purdue to bring their institutions to India amid strong demand from Indian students. He also defended US visa screening, saying the country cannot accommodate everyone seeking to enter.

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US envoy to India Sergio Gor said top American universities, including Harvard, NYU and Purdue, are interested in bringing their institutions to India amid strong demand from Indian students to study in the United States.



“One of the things that I've started looking at is actually bringing US institutions to India. The demand is there,” Gor said at The World Leaders Forum.



Gor said he had recently spoken with the provost of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was determined to bring some American universities to India over the next year.

US visa screening

Gor said the Trump administration’s visa screening measures were not targeted at India. He said the US wanted a safe and secure border and needed to know who was entering the country.



“But today, when students apply to visit the United States, one of the things we look at is online presence,” he said.



“So what is that person, what have they been saying online, whether that's Twitter, or YouTube, or any other forum?” Gor said.



He said applicants who posted messages such as “Death to America” should not expect to receive a US visa.



“And unfortunately, and this is, again, this is not targeted towards India, but the days of you tweeting Death to America, and then showing up in an embassy asking for a visa are over. We're not gonna let you in,” he said.



Gor said India also had the right to decide who could enter the country.



“And by the way, India does the exact same thing. When you're coming here, applying for a visa, you get asked all sorts of questions. And several people get denied, frankly. And that's India's right. You should be able to determine who is allowed into your country,” he said.



He said preventing visa overstays and securing the US southern border were priorities for the Trump administration.



“In previous administrations, we had millions of individuals who would overstay their visas in the United States. So today, that is a top priority for this administration,” Gor said.



Also Read| Is a foreign degree still worth it? Indian students rethink as costs soar, visas tighten

US wants to work with India

Asked about his message to young Indian talent, Gor said the US wanted to work with India.



“United States wants to work with India, period. That's what it comes down to,” he said.



He said this included cooperation with US companies such as Google, Microsoft and Micron.



“And so you pick any US company, there's incredible Indian talent. So whether that's Google or Microsoft or Micron, those are good things that we're working together on. And that's something that'll continue to happen,” Gor said.



He said people-to-people ties between India and the US were “unmatched”.



However, Gor said the high demand to move to the US made it impossible for the country to accommodate everyone.



“There's such a high demand of people wanting to go to the United States. It would be impossible for us to accommodate the whole world,” he said.



Referring to a Pew Foundation poll, Gor said more than 900 million people worldwide had said they would want to move to the US immediately.



“That's impossible for us to take 900 million in one year,” he said, adding that the US wanted people who contributed to the country and to the India-US relationship.



Gor said demand for US visas remained high, even as applicants faced difficulty getting appointments.



“The demand has not gone down because it's very hard to get an appointment, even for a visa today,” he said.

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