H-1B bill to toughen rules gets US House panel nod

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

: A committee of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a legislation for a vote by the larger body, 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 lawmaker 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-1B dependent companies, defined as companies with more than 15% of employees 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-1B 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-1B petition. And allow the department of labour to conduct at least five random investigations of H-1B 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 go to 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.