Germany Woos Indian Workers Spooked by U.S. Visa Changes

Comparing its migration policy to a German car — reliable, modern and predictable — Germany’s ambassador to India made a pitch for skilled Indians to come to his country, taking an indirect jab at the United States over its crackdown on skilled foreign workers.

In what he described as “a call to all highly skilled Indians,” the diplomat, Philipp Ackermann, posted a video to social media on Tuesday, playing up the prospects for well-paid jobs for skilled Indians in Germany, which is facing a rapidly aging society and a dwindling labor force.

“Our migration policy works a bit like a German car — it’s reliable, it’s modern and it is predictable,” Mr. Ackermann said in the video. {snip}

That tone contrasted with recent comments from Washington, where President Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that adds a $100,000 fee for new applicants for H-1B visas, which allow foreign workers like software engineers a chance to be employed in the United States. Indians account for the largest nationality of workers who are granted the visas.

Germany would like to attract some of them. Already, about 124,000 Indians work in Germany, according to government data. {snip}

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Last year, Germany started a program aimed at making it easier for more workers from India to come to the country by opening up a larger contingent of visas for them and streamlining the application process.

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