Nasscom wants Senators to fix H1-B visa issue

NEW DELHI: Taking up the cause of nine IT companies accused of misusing the H-1B visa, Nasscom has shot a letter to Senators Durbin and Grassley addressing the issues raised by them in their May 14 letter  about reported fraud and abuse of the H-1B visa programme and its impact on American workers. The premier trade body of the IT software and services industry has also offered to meet and sort out the issue with the Senators.

The letter states that among other significant areas of concern, one at a broader level is to address the mistaken belief that US-India trade is flowing only in one direction. It pointed out  that India is a major buyer of a host of US goods and services, including aircraft, wheat, branded garments and accessories and an overwhelming majority of the computers and software used by domestic IT industry are those produced by US companies.

The Nasscom note has also drawn attention to the fact that the largest outsourcing contracts from the private sector and the I government have been bagged by the US firms.

Raising objection to the clause in the Immigration Bill, which “prohibits companies from hiring H-1B employees if they employ more than 50 people and more than 50% of their employees are H-1B visa holders,” the industry body said this was a protectionist measure. 

On the linkage between layoffs and the H-1 B visa, the letter notes that these two do not go hand in hand as established by a 2006 survey carried by Money Magazine. 

While the number of H-1B visas is currently limited to 65,000 a year, the H-1B visa is not limited to the IT sector or to Indians alone. In fact of the H-1 B visas granted in the year 2006, nearly 14,000 (more than 20%) visas were granted to American educational institutions. 

The H-1B visa cap, which was reduced from 195,000 to 65,000 two years ago, has been a major issue. Several US industry leaders have been repeatedly demanding a raise in the cap.