40% software applicants to the US are rejected

As if the global macroeconomic headwinds weren’t enough, information technology firms are also grappling with higher rejection rates for working visas in the US due to dwindling jobs there.

Indeed, things have come to such a pass that commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma was forced to raise the issue at an economic forum in Washington, DC in September this year.

“Uptake of H-1B visas this year is less than half of the annual prescribed limit and the rejection rates have gone up,” Sharma had said in his speech.

Som Mittal, president of National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), alluded to slower uptake in US working visas, which in their heydays used to get exhausted by April or June but are now taking almost the full year to be fully utilised.

“In normal years, the quota of H-1B, B1 and L1 visas released by the US government used to get over by April, May or June. Last year, it stretched up to February. This year, the rejection rates have shot up really very high. We don’t know whether this is being done on the directive of the Congress,” the Nasscom head said.

He said the rejection rate in case of some companies had increased as much as 40% and the US consulate was using flimsy excuses to turn down visa applications.

Several senators in the US administration have been blaming outsourcing of IT business to India for the increase in the rising unemployment rate in the US and have been advocating a hike in visa fee and cut in the number of visas to address the issue.    Turn to Page 8