US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has moved to reassure Indian citizens over the Trump administration's immigration overhaul, stating clearly that changes to the US visa system are 'not targeted at India' and that bilateral ties in trade, defence, and people-to-people exchanges will continue to deepen. Gor made the remarks in an interview conducted at the White House on 27 June.

Visa Reforms Are Systemic, Not India-Specific

Responding to concerns over H-1B visas and reports of heightened immigration enforcement across the United States, Gor was direct: 'I don't think the big item to remember on that is this is not targeted at India.' He framed the reforms as a comprehensive overhaul of the entire US immigration architecture — one that had been, in his words, left wide open under previous administrations.

'The United States, we had to take stock of the whole immigration system, every kind of visa,' Gor said. 'Unfortunately, under previous administrations, our borders were wide open. That's something the President wanted to fix on day one.'

He acknowledged that India's large population naturally meant a higher number of Indians were affected by procedural changes, but was careful to distinguish scale of impact from intent. 'Of course, India's a massive population, so you're impacted by it,' he said. 'But things continue.'

Modi and Trump Aligned on Illegal Immigration

Gor pointed to a shared ideological position between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump on the question of illegal migration. 'It's actually something the Prime Minister relates to,' he said. 'When I listen to the Prime Minister speaking in India, he talks about no illegal migrants. We hundred per cent agree with that.'

The framing is notable — the ambassador is positioning immigration enforcement not as a bilateral irritant but as a point of convergence between the two leaders, potentially insulating the broader relationship from domestic political pressures on either side.

People-to-People and Strategic Ties Remain Strong

Gor cited the volume of visa operations at the US Embassy in India as a barometer of bilateral vitality. 'Our Embassy is one of the busiest embassies in the world as it relates to visas,' he said, adding that 'people-to-people ties will continue, trade will continue, commerce will continue.'

He also underscored the depth of the strategic partnership with two data points: 'India exports more to the United States than anywhere else in the world. India does more defence exercises with the United States than any other country in the world.'

India remains one of the largest sources of international students and skilled professionals entering the US, and Indian companies have continued to expand investments across the American market — making mobility of talent and business travellers a structural pillar of the relationship.

Energy Diversification and the Iran Factor

On the energy front, Gor said New Delhi had already significantly increased purchases of US energy and argued that supply diversification served India's long-term security interests. 'I think we've already seen an incredible increase in energy coming from the United States,' he said. 'For India, that's a good thing. You want to be diversified. You should not have all your energy supplies coming from one place.'

He also referenced the recent disruption linked to Iran's attempted closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a case in point. 'When Iran decided to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, which are international waterways, the whole world was impacted by it. So having different sources is a good thing for every country,' Gor said.

What This Signals for India-US Relations

The India-US partnership has expanded considerably over the past two decades, spanning defence, technology, trade, clean energy, and critical supply chains. Despite periodic friction over immigration enforcement and trade imbalances, both governments have consistently described the bilateral as among their most consequential strategic relationships. Gor's remarks suggest Washington is keen to prevent immigration optics from undercutting that larger architecture ahead of what is expected to be a busy diplomatic calendar between the two nations.