This Article is From Aug 14, 2010

New US visa bill to hit Indian IT industry

New US visa bill to hit Indian IT industry
New York: Even as the Empire State building was lit up in the colors of the Indian flag to celebrate India's Independence Day, in Washington US President Barack Obama signed a Border Security Bill that will increase the application cost of H1B and L1 visas.

News, that has been disheartening for 27-year-old MBA graduate Vijay Yadav - one of the hundreds of Indians struggling to get an HIB visa to work in the US.

"Last year, nine investment banks which took TARP funding were stopped from hiring H1Bs, they used to hire students and now students are dependent on smaller companies. But now they have increased the fee to $2000 dollars, it is getting tougher and tougher," said Vijay Yadav, H1B visa seeker.

According to this new bill, companies where foreign workers constitute more than 50 per cent of the work force will have to pay $2000 dollars for an H1B visa up from the current fee of $320.

Border Security Bill
Steep hike H-1B and L-1 visa fees
New Visa fees up to $2000

As the US economy struggles with a high unemployment rate in a global economic downturn perhaps a wave of protectionism was only to be expected. But the irony is that while the administration is hoping to crack down on illegal immigration from across the border in Mexico, this bill will also curtail legal immigration of young students who contribute to the US economy.

"Companies are going to stay away from processing the H1 because of the cost issues," said Meghna Dixit, Former Certified Public Accountant.

H1B and L-1 visas are commonly used by technology companies to bring highly skilled tech workers into the US temporarily. Indian companies like Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services, top the list of firms receiving the largest number of these coveted work permits.

In a letter to US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, India's Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said the bill is discriminatory and estimated it would cost Indian firms an extra $200 million a year.

However, the Obama Administration has come out strongly in support of the Border Security Bill.

"I think this administration has a very close relationship with India, and we know and hope to sustain it as such," said Janet Napolitano, US Homeland Security Secretary.

While Indo-US relations are a top priority for the Obama administration, illegal immigration is a hot button issue in the upcoming mid-term elections just three months away and finding a politician to speak out against the Border Security Bill will be difficult.
.