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Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has raised strong concerns about the sharp increase in the US’s non-immigrant visa fees and the fresh curbs on movement of professionals being considered by that country.
In a telephonic conversation with US Trade Representative Michael Froman on Thursday, Sitharaman pointed out that restrictions on non-immigrant visas hurt both the Indian IT industry in the US and the American businesses it served and also went against the rules governing multilateral trade.
“On the visa front, the Minister discussed with Froman the sharp increase in non-immigrant visa fees, which is adversely affecting Indian IT businesses. It was also indicated to the USTR that no proposals for fresh curbs on flow of professionals should be entertained by the US government,” a government official told BusinessLine .
The H1B and L1 Visa Reform Act of 2016 was introduced by a Democrat and a Republican in the US House of Representatives earlier this month seeking to prohibit companies from hiring H1B employees if they employ more than 50 people and more than 50 per cent are H1B and L1 visa holders. The Bill, however, has to go a long way before becoming law and is not an immediate threat.
“What is currently hurting the Indian IT industry is the introduction of a $4,000 fee for H-1B visas and $4,500 for L1 visas for companies that employ more than 50 non-American workers or if more than 50 per cent of their employees are H1B and L1 visa holders,” the official said.
Case before WTO New Delhi has already dragged the US to the World Trade Organization on the matter as such a visa fee hike seems to be targeted at the Indian IT industry, which depends on mostly H1B and L1 visas to take employees from India to the US.
“The Minister’s discussion with the USTR was also an attempt to see if the visa fee hike issue could be resolved bilaterally without establishment of a dispute settlement panel to rule on the matter. However, the response from the USTR was not very positive,” the official said.
The two sides also discussed ways to increase American investments in the manufacturing sector in India, with USTR Froman pointing out the need for India to bring about speedy reforms in its intellectual property regime.
India’s IT exports are valued at $100 billion.
According to industry body Nasscom, India-based IT companies invested over $2 billion in the US in the 2011-2013 period, paid $22.5 billion in taxes to the US Treasury in those years and provided jobs to 300,000 US citizens and permanent residents.
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