Nasscom says HR 170 Bill & higher visa fees to put big Indian IT companies at disadvantage

NEW DELHI: Fresh restrictions on work visas for technology workers proposed by the Trump administration are set to further exacerbate difficulties faced by Indian outsourcing companies. The proposed regulations — like the HR 170 — as well as the doubling of visa fees announced earlier, have increased the burden on local technology firms placing them at a disadvantage compared to overseas rivals, according to a software industry lobby.

"The US government's immigration policy is creating an artificial distinction between one company and another," said R Chandrashekhar, president of the National Association for Software and Services Companies. "Our problem, which we have brought to their attention, is that you cannot and should not be doing things which discriminate against Indian companies even though you have not named them," he said.

Nasscom has brought this disparity to the attention of the Indian government, the official said.

Last month, The Protect and Grow American Jobs Act (termed as HR 170) was passed by the House Judiciary Committee and is now awaiting a nod from the US Senate.

The HR 170 Bill currently classifies any company that has more 15% of its workforce working onsite as "visadependent". These companies have to then necessarily increase the minimum salary for H1-B visa holders from $60,000 to $90,000 and cannot move employees on visa from one client to another. Clients have to certify that the visa holder is not displacing an existing employee for his/her the entire tenure which could be six years.

Nasscom's Chandrasekhar termed these as "unbelievably onerous conditions." "We see this as clearly discriminatory because it affects only the large Indian companies and will have the effect of tilting the playing field against Indian companies," he said.

The proposed visa regulations come at a time when Indian IT outsourcers — which have nearly half their employees working onsite — are battling the impact of higher visa fees.

National Association of Software & Service Companies (NASSCOM)