US move to hike visa fee 'discriminatory': Nasscom

New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) India's software industry body
Nasscom Friday said the US Border Security Bill, which has
been passed by the Senate, has logical flaws and is
discriminatory in nature.

"From India's perspective, I think it has been done ahead
of November Congressional elections. It is based on flawed
logic and is discriminatory in nature. But it did clarify that
it is not targeting any particular nation...
"It (this Bill) shows the fact that Indian IT industry is
posing significant competition to the US companies," Nasscom
President Som Mittal said in a media conference call.
The Bill seeks to increase application fee for H-1B and L
visas by at least USD 2,000 for the next five years. The move
is aimed at raising funds for the USD 600 million spending
plan to boost security at the porous US-Mexico border.
The US President, Barack Obama, will sign the bill into
law on Friday.
The fee hike would help in mopping up about USD 550
million of the total amount. Further, the increase would be
applicable only for companies with more than 50 employees and
for whom the majority of their workforce are visa-holding
foreign workers.
"We are in talks with the US authorities to make separate
visa categories for the services sector," Mittal added.
Indian software firms, including IT biggies like TCS,
Infosys, Wipro and others, avail H-1B and L-1 visas to fly
their employees to the US for working at their clients'
locations as on-site engineers.
The USD 50-billion Indian IT export industry earns over
50 per cent of its revenue from the US market.
When asked about the immediate impact of the Bill on
Indian IT companies, Mittal said that these entities would
have to change their business models.
"The US is our largest IT market and will remain our
largest market. The US trade bodies are very supportive. In
terms of revenues, their would be no huge impact," Mittal
noted.
IT companies from countries such as China and the
Philippines would also be impacted by the Bill.
As per Nasscom's estimates, Indian companies (mostly IT)
apply for 50,000 visas every year, including H-1B and L1
visas, besides renewal of old visas. PTI AKH
MYR