India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York on Monday. The talks will happen on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, or UNGA, session. Officials say this meeting aims to boost ties between India and the U.S. while addressing recent tensions.
This will be the third face-to-face chat between Jaishankar and Rubio this year. They last met on July 1 at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Washington. Before that, Jaishankar connected with Rubio in January, right after Rubio took office, also during a Quad event in Washington.
Monday’s discussion marks their first in-person talks since strains hit India-U.S. relations. Key issues include U.S. trade tariffs and India’s buys of Russian oil. Tensions ramped up when the U.S. slapped 50% tariffs on Indian goods, effective August 27.
The meeting comes at a key time. It overlaps with a trip by India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who’s leading a team to negotiate trade deals in Washington.
Experts see this as a big moment for India-U.S. relations, especially after the Trump administration raised H-1B visa fees to $100,000. The change has stirred up the tech world, leaving many workers unsure about their future. The H-1B program lets skilled foreign workers, including many from India, take U.S. jobs.
But the White House pushed back on the worries in a statement to on Saturday. A spokesperson called it a “one-time fee” that hits only new H-1B visa applications—not renewals or existing holders. “It only applies to new visas, not renewals or current visa holders. It will first apply in the upcoming lottery cycle,” the official said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that on X, formerly Twitter. She wrote: “Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will not be charged $100,000 to re-enter. H-1B visa holders can leave and re-enter the country.”
As India and the U.S. navigate these trade and visa hurdles, the Jaishankar-Rubio meeting could help smooth things out and keep their partnership strong.
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