H-1B bill gets US House panel nod

WASHINGTON: A committee of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a legislation for avoteby thelargerbody, proposing rules to toughen the H-1B visa regime that could potentially affect Indian IT companies in the United States.

The bill, moved by Republican law maker Darell Issa, proposes a string of measures that strike at the root of the business model followed by Indian IT companies that are premised on wage differentials between amounts paid to foreigners on H-1B and locals.

However, the bill, which Issa has claimed has the backing of US President Donald Trump, has a long way to go before it becomes the law of the land. It must first pass the House and then go through the same process in the Senate— passed by a committee before it is put to a vote before the full upper chamber. Then it goes to the President for his signature.

The bill seeks to make it more difficult for H -1 B dependent companies, defined as companies withmorethan15% ofemployees on H- 1B, which practically account for most of Indian IT organisations in the US. The bill aims to raise this to 20%.

The bill also proposes a 50% salary hike from the current base of $60,000 to $90,000, arguing that the minimum rate was fixed decades ago.

Other clauses that could hit Indian companies include one that requires some H -1 B employers to give an undertaking that they will not displace a US worker during their entire employment, and not just 90 days before and after the filing of an H -1 B petition and allow the department of labour to conduct at least five random investigations of H -1 B dependent employers annually. The US allows American companies to hire 65,000 highly skilled foreign workers abroad and 20,000 from among foreign students enrolled in American schools and colleges. A large number of these visas goto Indian IT companies who are accused of using them to replace American workers.

Issa’ s bill is among several that have been moved in recent months given Trump’s avowed commitment to bring back businesses and jobs to the US.

THE BILL PROPOSES A STRING OF MEASURES THAT STRIKE AT THE ROOT OF THE BUSINESS MODEL OF INDIAN IT COMPANIES