Govt, US lawmakers begin discussions on H1-B visa

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NEW DELHI: The Indian software services companies will breathe a sigh of relief as the Indian ministries, authorities and industry lobby had a dialogue with a visiting eight-member US delegation headed by Congressman Bob GoodLatte, on the ongoing concerns of H1-B visa holders.

After the meeting with IT minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, GoodLatte, the chairman of house judiciary committee that plays an important role in drawing policies around immigration and intellectual property, said that it was up to President Donald Trump to reassess the situation on the immigration policy.

To put things in perspective, the Trump government has started a clampdown on H1-B visa holders, who he believes take away American jobs. The Indian IT industry has thrived over the “offshore” business model.

America accounts for 65% of $155 billion Indian IT revenue.

However, according to a senior government official who had knowledge of the meeting said that things looked positive.

“US-India has a good relationship historically. India and US compliment and supplement each other in several areas especially with Indian talent adding value to US firms and the biggest examples are Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai,” he said.

The source, who is highly placed in the government, added nearly 75% of all Fortune500 companies are serviced by Indian IT firms, and that some of the top IT firms doing business in India, are of American origin, such as Cisco, Google and Amazon.

Meanwhile, Nirmala Sitharaman, minister of commerce and industry, said “the issue” had been discussed in details with the US Congressmen. “Business always flourishes in an environment of certainty and transparency. So even this visa issue is an issue on which we would want to have an air of certainty and also transparency,” she said.

Sitharaman added the US Congress is waiting for the new administration to settle down, and once that happens, the Congressmen will play an important role in framing the rules.

BOB GOODLATTE , chairman, US house judiciary committee