New Delhi: The American Embassy School, located within the US embassy compound here, is under the scanner for alleged violation of tax and visa laws — a fallout of the reciprocal measures taken by New Delhi to pare down the privileges of US diplomats in India over the Devyani Khobragade episode.
Reports said several American teachers, who are spouses of US diplomats, work at the American school without legal work permits in violation of Indian laws.
A New York Times report on Thursday said the school has issued a handout to staffers saying that women teachers whose husbands would be teaching at the school should not reveal that they will be teaching too.
“The female spouse should not state that she will be working,” the handout stated, instructing spouses to list their occupation on visa applications as “housewife”, adding that “no sexism is intended on our part”, according to the NYT report.
The American Embassy School handout “notes that India has placed restrictions on the number of tax-free visas available to school employees”. “So, if you are a teaching couple,” the handout says, “we usually have the male spouse apply for the ‘employment’ visa and the female spouse be noted as ‘housewife’ on the visa application,” the NYT said.
India’s external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said: “We are aware of these reports. These are serious issues. We will examine them very carefully.” IANS
