H-1B Visa: Effects On Indians

Donald Trump rose to power with his nationalist ideas vowing to help America reach its pinnacle. Employment to the Americans was one of his main agenda. And as soon as he rose to power, he proposed a reform in the H-1B visa programme.

H-1B visas are one of the most coveted work visas that offer employment to non-immigrants on a temporary basis in the US. Some of the changes include doubling the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders to $130000, removing country quota for equal opportunities, and giving preference to students educated in the US.

Companies with more than 50 employees and more than 50 per cent H-1B visa holders will be prohibited from hiring more foreign employees. Spouses of H-1B visa holders will be prohibited from working in the US.

Indians are the biggest beneficiaries of H-1B visas. More than 70 per cent of the total approved visas are occupied by Indian companies, followed by the Chinese. 60 per cent of Infosys employee employees are H-1B visa holders. Indian IT industry extracts almost about $65 billion of export revenue from the US. Indian tech firms like Infosys, TCS, and Wipro will be badly hit by the bill which comes into implication from April 3.

Indian IT sector is facing its worst time in a decade. Britain's exit from the European Union had an impact on their projects. Falling pound had their revenue cut out and reduce their operating margin. Now after the new reforms in the H-1B visa, companies will be tempted to hire local Americans and limit sending the Indians to work. This will increase the number of already unemployed engineers to a larger extent.

IT sector has grown at a leisurely rate of 5 per cent. While there are almost 4 lakh engineers who graduate every year, hiring has been as low as 30-40 per cent. Mismatch of demand and supply is a prominent factor in the unemployment. There is a need to curb the imbalance between the industry and universities.

The bill is good news for students planning to study in the US since it will help bridge the gap in the students and getting employment. The only obstacle is that they need to find a job paying more than $130000. The other option in to gain experience in India initially and then apply for a job in the US with H-1B visa.