Responding to Lok Sabha member of Parliament from Mehmsa District in Gujarat, Jivabhai Patel’s request that Indian passports not be marked “illegal” by Indian Consulates in the United States, for those immigrants who are without valid visa documents, the Consul General in New York has said that they are considering it.

In an interview, Patel, who was on a visit to New York last week, said some Indian immigrants who arrive in the United States without proper visa documents, face harassment and are often asked for bribes by officials on their return to India when ‘illegal’ is marked on their passports.

He said he met with the Indian Consul General in New York, Neelam Deo, to discuss the matter. Deo said that the matter was under consideration and that she would do all to “assist the community.”

Patel said he had also submitted an amendment in the Lok Sabha stating that ‘illegal’ should not be inserted in the documents. If checks are made and a person has a criminal record, then he could be banned from entering the United States again, he said.

He said he had received a reply from Sriprakash Jaiswal, minister of state in the ministry of Home Affairs a few months ago that immigration officials at an entry point in India would comply strictly with the laws while being “sympathetic to those who have been deported and not cause any undue harassment to them.”

Speaking of other issues, Patel said people who run big textile empires were being charged an excise duty of eight percent while the small business owners and spinners were being charged 16 percent. He said he met the prime minister and also the finance minister who have formed a committee to look into the matter. On the committee’s recommendation the excise duty was now leveled at eighth percent for everyone.

Patel said that Gujarat had also requested that the United States open a visa section at Ahmedabad so that people who need visas to visit the United States for business, tourism or higher education studies would find it convenient.