Washington/Hyderabad, May 14 -- US Senator Eric Schmitt has triggered controversy after targeting Hyderabad's Chilkur Balaji Temple-popularly known as the "Visa Temple"-while criticising America's H-1B visa programme in a series of posts on social media platform X.

Schmitt, a Republican senator from Missouri, argued that US employment-based visa programmes such as H-1B, L-1, F-1, and Optional Practical Training (OPT) are suppressing wages and displacing American workers.

He further wrote that "billions now flow to India for AI training instead, subsidised by Americans."

Controversial reference to Chilkur Balaji Temple

In one of his posts, Schmitt shared an image of the Chilkur Balaji Temple, calling it a "Visa Temple" and alleging tha...