By Admin 
The administration of US President Donald Trump has increased the annual fee to US $ 1 lakh by imposing a huge economic burden on H-1B visa holders and employers. The move is going to have a direct impact on Indian IT companies, professionals and global technical giants. Experts believe that companies will now reduce new applications and the trend of outsourcing may increase. Also, this change can also bring new opportunities for Indian cities.
What did the former CFO of Infosys say?
Mohandas Pai, former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Infosys, dismissed the notion that companies use H-1B visas to send cheap workers to the US. He said that the average salary paid by the top 20 H-1B employers to employees is already more than US $ 1 lakh. Pai described President Trump’s statements as ‘absurd rhetoric’.
India can get benefit
Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that this increase in H-1B visa fee will harm America’s innovation ecosystem. But he also added that this will now move towards the laboratory, patent and startup of the next wave towards India, especially towards cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad. According to him, the closure of America’s doors for global talent will give new pace to the technical cities of India and India can become the center of innovation.
Impact on Indian IT companies and global giants
Sajai Singh, partner of JSA Advocates and Solicitors, said that this decision of America will prove to be expensive for those Indian IT companies and professionals who are very dependent on the H-1B visa. He warned that this would affect the business model and earnings. An IT industry expert said that Indian technical companies get around 8,000 to 12,000 new H-1B approval every year. This effect will not be limited to Indian companies only, but will also have on multinational companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
NASSCOM expressed concern
Industry body NASSCOM issued a statement on Saturday, saying that increasing the H-1B visa application fee to $ 1 lakh will adversely affect Indian technology service companies. According to NASSCOM, this may disrupt the commercial continuity of projects running abroad. NASSCOM also expressed concern that the time limit of September 21 is extremely short and this has increased uncertainty among professionals and students around the world.
NASSCOM further said that Indian and India-centric companies are already emphasizing local appointments in the US and reducing their dependence on H-1B. He assured that these companies comply with all H-1B procedures in the US, give prevalent salary, contribute to the local economy and also share innovation with education and startups.