September 22, 2013
NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prepares to leave for his bilateral meeting with US President Barack Obama, New Delhi has reiterated that the proposed immigration Bill being discussed in the US Congress will hurt Indian information technology (IT) companies by adversely impacting visas for highly skilled non-immigrant workers.
September 22, 2013
NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prepares to leave for his bilateral meeting with US President Barack Obama, New Delhi has reiterated that the proposed immigration Bill being discussed in the US Congress will hurt Indian information technology (IT) companies by adversely impacting visas for highly skilled non-immigrant workers.
Foreign secretary Sujatha Singh said Indian IT companies have a certain business model and that the procedures that are being discussed in the US Congress would make it difficult this business model to be continued successfully.
"So, what we are trying to do basically is to flag our concerns in the manner in which this is going to impact on our highly-skilled non-immigrant workers. We are trying to flag the fact that some aspects of the proposed immigration reform would adversely impact visas for highly-skilled non-immigrant workers,'' said Singh, briefing reporters about the visit.
In July, the US Senate had passed an Immigration Bill that changed rules governing H-1B and L-1 employment visas intended for high-skilled workers. The Bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives.
If passed in the current form, the Bill will make it mandatory for firms with temporary foreign employees to pay a sharp supplemental fee for each such non-US national. It may also prevent any firm from hiring people on H1-B visas if 50% of its employees are not Americans.
The foreign secretary described trade and economic relations as a key pillar of the relationship, with a combined total of $100 billion in goods and services trade. "Both sides are working at a senior official level to address issues of concern on each side, in areas ranging from manufacturing, trade, investment, innovation as well as with regard to issues relating to non-immigrant visas for our highly skilled IT and ITES workers," she said.
Courtesy: PTI
