Narendra Modi must be PM to be automatically eligible for US diplomatic visa: Congressional report

By A Representative
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi must become Prime Minister of India in order to get a diplomatic visa for the US. This is the crux of the new Congressional Research Service memorandum “Visa Policy: the case of Narendra Modi”, written by Ruth Ellen Wasem, specialist in immigration policy, made public on March 18. In her categorical statement, Wasem says, “If Narendra Modi were to become Prime Minister of India, he would automatically be eligible for A-1 (diplomatic) visa as head of state, regardless of the purpose of his visit.”
The rider of “if Narendra Modi were to become Prime Minister” should appear as a clear disapproval of Modi’s policies in Gujarat, say observers. While the Congressional report is being widely interpreted, including by the New York Times, as “the prospect of keeping Modi out of the US is looking dimmer and dimmer”, Wasem’s analysis provides two different scenarios under which Modi can get visa. The first is “if” he becomes Prime Minister, and the other is, in case he remains Gujarat chief minister.
In the latter case, according to Wasem, “If chief minister Narendra Modi sought visa to come to the US today, he would likely to be applying for a B visitor visa. The B-1 visas are visitors for business and other purely local employment or hire. The B-2 visas are granted to temporary visitors for ‘pleasure’ otherwise known as tourists. His role as the chief minister of Gujarat does not provide eligibility to enter as a diplomat on A visa. Ambassadors, consuls, and official representatives of foreign governments enter the US on A visas.”
Pointing out that only in case the Government of India certifies him as “part of a special diplomatic mission or delegation could he apply for A visa”, Wasem suggests, even then, getting the A category would not be so easy, as it would require a lengthy procedure. This procedure would require the US diplomats to get themselves satisfied that Modi is a “key contact, who promotes US national interests, mission goals, or public diplomacy efforts”, and is a “prominent individual who is not a contact, but is well known, such as a nationally-known figure.”
In fact, the researcher says, Modi’s visa application would have to be examined under the US law International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which states that “any alien who, while serving as a foreign government official, was responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom… is inadmissible.” As it was on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF’s) advise Modi was denied visa in 2005 for 10 years, the option of looking into his role in the 2002 riots would still be open.
While considering his visa application, the US government would look into India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) report which said Modi “was widely accused of being reluctant to bring the perpetrators of the killings of the Muslims to justice”. It would also see other reports, including the one prepared by the special investigation (SIT), appointed by the Supreme Court, which found “no substantial incriminating evidence” against Modi. At the same time, it would consider the Gujarat High Court criticism of Modi for “inaction and negligence” during the violence.
The US Congressional report, interesting, does not stop here. At the very fag end, it quotes President Barrack Obama’s August 2011 order, which says the President, if he so wishes, can prohibit “the entry of any foreign national” who is “detrimental to the interests of the US.” The order specifically says the US president can cancel order of a foreign national in case he has “planned, ordered, aided, abetted, committed or otherwise participated in, including through command responsibility, widespread or systematic violence against any civilian population … on race, colour, descent, …indigenous group, language, religion…”
The research paper was prepared on the basis of a query by Representative Joe Pitts, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Representative Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota, who have “a track record of criticizing Modi”, says the New York Times, adding, On November 18, 2013, Pitts introduced House Resolution 417, which called for the US to continue to deny Modi a visa and argued that ‘the Gujarat government has not adequately pursued justice for the victims of the 2002 violence.’ Today, the resolution has 44 co-sponsors, including Ellison.”
Quoting sources in the US Congress, the New York Times believes, this was the “last ditch attempt” by Pitts and Ellison “to see what can be done to block Modi’s visa.” It adds, “This perhaps explains why the congressmen asked the Congressional Research Service about existing legal options to challenge a decision to grant a United States visa to a foreign national, but Wasem, an immigration specialist, said she was unable to answer the question” and the issue would be addressed separately by “Margaret Mikyung Lee”, a legal expert.

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

The ultimate all-time ODI XI: A personal selection of icons across eras

By Harsh Thakor* This is my all-time best XI chosen for ODI (One Day International) cricket: 1. Adam Gilchrist (W) – The absolute master blaster who could create the impact of exploding gunpowder with his electrifying strokeplay. No batsman was more intimidating in his era. Often his knocks decided the fate of games as though the result were premeditated. He escalated batting strike rates to surreal realms.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Search This Blog