Indian IT firms unfazed by US H-1B, L1 visa rules

The scare over H-1B and L1 visa for information technology (IT) professionals working in the US reared its head again on Thursday, with US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for the post of Attorney General Senator Jeff Sessions promising legislative measures to curb their "abuse" by foreign workers.

But the Indian IT industry is not much rattled by Sessions' ranting as most feel that Indian tech companies have reached a level where they can easily adapt to changes in the US immigration rules.

They also feel that shortage of local skilled tech workers in the US would make it difficult for the Trump administration to follow through the election rhetoric.

R Chandrashekhar , president, National Association of Software & Services Companies (Nasscom), told DNA that while there was no doubt that restrictions on visas for skilled professionals would "complicate business" for them, it was, however, not a "major threat".

"It does complicate business but I wouldn't say it is a major threat. It will also adversely impact the US because the client company (in the US), which need these services, will also face challenges," he said.

According to him, there will be more than a million unfilled IT jobs by 2018 because of unavailability of skilled workers. "So, what happens if you don't allow skilled (foreign) people to come and you don't have your own skilled people? You don't even have a pipeline. Then, either the jobs will go out (offshore or to foreigners) or the work will remain undone," argued the IT services lobby body chief.

Ashok Soota, executive chairman of Bengaluru-based Happiest Minds, also believes that Indian tech firms have reinvented themselves time and again to survive visa restrictions of all kinds in the past and would do it again.

He believes it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. "Everybody is afraid but now we have to see how we can convert that into an opportunity. And that is the essence of a good vibrant industry".

The Bill that was re-introduced last week in the US Congress backs key changes in the H1-B programme that allows skilled workers from countries like India to fill high-tech jobs in the US.

H-1B visas admit 65,000 workers and another 20,000 graduate student workers each year and are assigned through a lottery once a year by Unites States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

It is feared that a tighter immigration policy will have an adverse impact on the $110-billion IT industry. Indian IT services companies like Infosys, Wipro, TCS and others are heavily dependent on US for their business.

Silicon Valley reportedly relies heavily on hiring talent from countries like India, a practice made possible through the H-1B visa programme for specialised workers. Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Service shows that the tech sector is by far the biggest beneficiary of the programme, taking more than 64 per cent of the 315,000+ H-1B petitions in 2014.

In November, the Internet Association, an umbrella body for internet corporations representing Google, Facebook and Amazon, among others, had addressed president-elect Trump in an open letter, laying out the industry's stance on key policy areas.

Among other things, the letter called for immigration reform that would "allow more high-skilled graduates and workers to stay in the United States and contribute to our economy" – a notion that runs counter to attorney general nominee Sessions.

Indian citizens receive almost 70% of all the H-1B visas issued worldwide, according to a statement by US Assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, Michele Bond.

According to data from 2014, 86% of the total H1B visas issued that year for technology firms was used to hire IT professionals from India.

(with inputs from agencies)