'No Need To Get Panicky': Government On H-1B Visa Concerns

New Delhi: Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought to calm frayed nerves on the contentious visa issue, saying the number of H-1B visas for Indian IT professionals would not come down. The minister asked the industry not to panic. "No need to get panicky on the visa front. The lottery process is something I suppose they (the US) wanted to do a correction on. The numbers are not something they are changing... the numbers will not come down," Ms Sitharaman told reporters here on Saturday.

Over the past few weeks, there is a growing sentiment of protectionism across various developed economies, including the United States, seeking to safeguard jobs for locals and raise the bar for foreign workers.

In the US, the Trump administration wants to replace the current lottery system with a more merit-based immigration policy.

A mere 17 per cent of total US visas go to Indian companies and a number of American firms benefit from services provided by Indian firms, she noted.

The Indian government has time and again expressed hope that the review of H-1B visa process will take into consideration the positive relationship between the two countries.

Any change in visa norms can affect the movement of labour as well as spike operational costs for IT players.

In response to the proposed tightening of the visa regime, Indian IT firms have been ramping up hiring of locals in the US, a market that accounts for almost 60 per cent of the India's technology export revenues.

On changes in the selection process for H-1B visa, the minister hoped that "where the high skill set is required, they (US) would look for that, rather than for first time graduates".

The selection for such visas is getting selective, but the "numbers are not changing".

"No need of getting panicky... because the number of H-1B visas that we have got, we will continue to get that," she promised.

US President Donald Trump had in April signed an executive order for tightening the H-1B visa programme to stop its "abuse" and ensure the visas are given to the "most-skilled or highest paid" petitioners, a decision that is seen to impact India's $150 billion IT industry.

The Indian IT industry expressed serious concern over the issue as these visas were mainly used for short-term work in the US.

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields. Indian technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year for their US operations.

The US market accounts for about 60 per cent of the revenue of Indian IT.

Reforming the H-1B visa system was one of the major election promises from Mr Trump. As per several US reports, a majority of the H-1B visas every year are grabbed by Indian IT professionals.

India accounts for the highest pool of qualified IT professionals, whose services go a long way in making American companies globally competitive.