US Immigration Reform Bill a step in right direction: Nayyar

The proposed US Immigration Reform Bill will be a step in the right direction, Tech Mahindra's executive vice-chairman Vineet Nayyar said today.

"I think it is a move in the right direction because... Look at Unilever in India. How many foreigners they have? Not even two per cent... If you want to be an international company why should we confine to only Indian employees. So, change is going to come. Otherwise, we will become irrelevant," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

He said the proposed US Bill may impact the Indian IT Industry, but didn't expalin further.

In July, the US Senate passed an Immigration Bill that changed rules governing H-1B and L-1 employment visas intended for high-skilled workers.

Indian IT industry body Nasscom is, however, confident that the bill may not be adopted in the current format, as it will now be sent to the US House of Representatives, which is working on a similar Bill, minus the negative provisions.

"It is quite clear that the bill as proposed is going to be watered down. To what extent it is going to be watered down we don't know. But Indian Industry too will be to change. We will have to increasingly employ the national of the country we are in," Mr. Nayyar said.