Indian IT services companies can breathe a sigh of relief, with US President Donald Trump choosing not to push for legislative changes in the country’s visa program for technology workers in his latest executive order.
Donald Trump has signed an executive order on stricter enforcement and review of the H1B visa – especially in the IT industry to bring “highly skilled” foreign workers into the US. “Highly skilled” is a lot to do with the salary what employers will get in the US.
The number of Indians in the US searching for jobs has gone up more than 10-fold between December and March, according to a research done by consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Pvt Ltd.
There were approximately 600 US-based Indians seeking jobs in India in December 2016. By the end of March 2017, the number had gone up to approximately 7,000.
The current H-1B programme, which is lottery-based, allows a maximum of 65,000 visas for the general category and a further 20,000 for people who have a US master’s degree from an accredited institution. The application cap for financial year 2018 was reached within four days of the lottery opening this year.
A report cited companies such as Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp and Mphasis Corp. as examples of outsourcing firms that would likely have fewer visas approved once the changes are adopted. The H-1B work visa program channels thousands of foreign workers to the US technology industry.