Mixed reaction among Indian job-seekers to H-1B visa restrictions

BENGALURU/PUNE/HYDERABAD: Neha Gayal, an engineer seeking immigration opportunities to the US, is trying to look at the positive side of President Donald Trump’s executive order to restrict H-1B visas. A day after Trump’s move, Neha said the order will mostly impact students who pass out from poorly ranked engineering colleges.

“Many companies use to employ people passing out from mediocre engineering colleges on low wages and take them to US,” said the 22-year-old who graduated from a government college in Pune. “This will probably stop now, improving chances of others who have studied in renowned institutions.” Others were not so optimistic. I-T professional Mangesh Joshi feels the “buy American, hire American” order will adversely affect Indian job-seekers. “The order seeks highest skilled and paid labour to America. Under such circumstances, the US will block visa applications seeking low wages,” he said.

Thousands of Indian professionals are employed by American companies annually through these time-limited work permits meant for scientists, engineers and computer programmers sought by Silicon Valley.

The Trump administration says the order — which will need legislative approval — is aimed at “abuse” of the H1B visa programme and giving jobs back to Americans, one of his major campaign promises.

The United States offers 85,000 H-1B visas every year, most of which are snapped up by Indian outsourcers whose employees fill a skill gap in US engineering. Applications are vastly oversubscribed and are allocated via a lottery system. It is this lottery system which the Trump administration says is misused by Indian companies, a charge denied by industry body NASSCOM.

Reactions in India to the US move are mixed.

Akash Rathi, a fresh graduate from Pune, too said the new changes may actually help Indians. “While Indians have been the biggest beneficiaries of H-1B visas, the expected change of substantial increase in minimum salary level might force the IT companies to take away US jobs elsewhere to countries like India.”

But IT professional Darshan Srinivasan, who has visited the US and other countries for onsite projects, said the order has come as a blow to workers in the sector.

“Morale of employees has taken a visible hit,” he said in Bengaluru. Srinivasan said service-based companies were to blame for violations by companies using H-1B visas. “Productbased companies have to suffer as a result,” he said.

According to Kishore Kumar Kovuru, a software engineer who returned to India after working in the US for a decade, Indians who were getting extension of H-1B visa every two years might find it difficult now.

Many companies employed people passing out from mediocre engineering colleges on low wages and take them to US. This will probably stop now. NEHA GAYAL, engineer