Trump's H1B Visa Fee Surge May Turbocharge GCC Operations In India, Say Industry Stakeholders
India's GCCs are emerging as alternatives that combine a strong base of global skills with domestic leadership.
US companies will transfer critical work to India, giving rise to the rapid expansion of Global Capability Centers (GCCs), industry insiders feel. These GCCs are in-house hubs that manage everything from finance to cutting-edge research and development. India is already home to 1,700 GCCs which is over half the global total. It has evolved past its roots as a tech support provider to become a powerhouse of innovation, handling high-value tasks like designing luxury car dashboards and pharmaceutical drug discovery.
The combination of rising artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and increasing visa restrictions is forcing US firms to rethink their staffing strategies. India's GCCs are emerging as alternatives, that combine a strong base of global skills with domestic leadership.
Rohan Lobo, a partner at Deloitte India who leads the GCC industry group, spoke to news agency Reuters and said, "GCCs are uniquely positioned for this moment. They serve as a ready in-house engine." He confirms that several US companies are already re-evaluating their workforce needs, with plans for a shift "already underway," particularly in financial services, tech, and among firms with US federal contracts.
"Plans are already underway" for such a shift, he added.
US President Trump raised the cost of new H-1B visa applications this month to $100,000, from an existing range of $2,000 to $5,000 which has added pressure on US firms that relied on skilled foreign workers to bridge critical talent gaps. Furthermore, US senators recently reintroduced a bill to tighten the H-1B and L-1 worker visa programs, specifically targeting what they call loopholes and abuse.
If these visa curbs remain in place, industry insiders expect US firms to shift high-end work, including AI, product development, cybersecurity, and analytics to their Indian GCCs, preferring to keep these functions in-house rather than outsourcing, reported news agency Reuters.
Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, a former managing director of Cognizant India told Reuters that this could lead to "extreme offshoring" in certain sectors, stating that the COVID-19 pandemic proved that key technical tasks can be successfully performed remotely.
Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Google, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart which are all major sponsors of H-1B visas, have substantial operations in India. While they declined to comment on the politically sensitive issue, their reliance on this talent pipeline is clear.
However, the shift won't be limited to India. "Either more roles will move to India, or corporations will near-shore them to Mexico or Colombia. Canada could also take advantage," the Indian head of a retail GCC told news agency Reuters.
