H-1 B visa woes will dog IT cos in 2008 too
The IT industry faces an acute talent shortage in the US and hence, the constraints due to the cap are felt more severely by this industry. NRIs: Away but united
By Deepshikha Monga, TNN |
NEW DELHI: As the application process for the temporary H-1 B visas begins on April 1, IT services companies are set to vie for the limited number of visas that would be decided through a lottery system in the likely event of demand exceeding supply.
Even as the issue has served as fodder for the anti-outsourcing camp in the US, Indian companies call it a challenge to do more work on-site, especially as business grows.
���It hinders our ability to do work on-site but you can���t work around it. You have to comply with the regulations,��� says Infosys HR chief TV Mohandas Pai. Others say they tackle the challenge by convincing clients to move work offshore.
���These are ongoing challenges. As companies grow, it does act as a barrier. However, we work with a select number of people in the US and we talk to our customers about working remotely. The visa issue slows down things in one dimension but it forces other models to work better,��� says Satyam Computer Services HR head SV Krishnan.
Even as the issue has served as fodder for the anti-outsourcing camp in the US, Indian companies call it a challenge to do more work on-site, especially as business grows.
���It hinders our ability to do work on-site but you can���t work around it. You have to comply with the regulations,��� says Infosys HR chief TV Mohandas Pai. Others say they tackle the challenge by convincing clients to move work offshore.
���These are ongoing challenges. As companies grow, it does act as a barrier. However, we work with a select number of people in the US and we talk to our customers about working remotely. The visa issue slows down things in one dimension but it forces other models to work better,��� says Satyam Computer Services HR head SV Krishnan.
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Last year, the US government received 124,000 applications for H-1 B visas, nearly double the cap of 65,000, so the visas were awarded by lottery. It���s expected that this year too, the visa approvals will happen through lottery.
The IT industry faces an acute talent shortage in the US and hence, the constraints due to the cap are felt more severely by this industry. There are about 300,000-400 ,000 IT job positions in the US that are not filled.
���Putting an artificial constraint isn���t healthy in a global economy. Companies may have to refuse projects or move people from one project to another and these are industry issues, as valid for an Infosys as an IBM,��� said Nasscom VP Ameet Nivsarkar.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates recently urged the US Congress to increase the visa cap, citing his own company���s inability to hire as many foreign workers as it wanted to.
���Last year, for example, Microsoft was unable to obtain H-1 B visas for one-third of the highly qualified foreign-born job candidates that we wanted to hire,��� he said.
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American politicians remain divided on the issue. While some like senators Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin ask for a clampdown on visa abuse, others like Gabrielle Giffords and Lamar Smith have introduced separate bills to increase the visa cap to 130,000 and 195,000, respectively.Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
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