Indian IT companies will pay extra due to US immigration bill

BANGALORE: The formal release of the US Comprehensive Immigration Bill has been delayed on account of the Boston blasts, but elements of it that have emerged in various media indicate that Indian IT companies may have to bear significant new costs.

The Indian entities are likely to be compelled to hire many more people locally. Some say it could change the outsourcing model in important ways.

While the bill increases the quota of H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers from 65,000 to 110,000, most of the benefit of that will likely go to US technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, Apple and Intel.

Most Indian IT companies have more than 50% of their local employees on H-1B visas, and the bill increases costs for them and places restrictions on these companies' ability to increase the H-1B numbers.

"It's a regressive move for Indian IT firms, pushing up their costs substantially and making it unattractive to send Indian talent overseas," says Rakesh Prabhu, partner-immigration practice in ALMT Legal.

The online publication 'Politico' says companies that get 30% or more of their workforce from H-1B visa holders will have to pay new fees.