H1B reform Bill seeks to expand annual quota; move may hurt Indian IT firms

Experts say higher salary norm, brain drain could hurt Indian IT firms

A new piece of legislation introduced in the US Senate, backed by technology giants like Microsoft and Facebook, has sought to increase the annual H1B visa quota to encourage the migration of talented engineers to the United States.

The Immigration Innovation (I-Squared) Act-2018, introduced by Republican Senators Orrin Hatch and Jeff Flake on Thursday night, advocates increasing the number of base H1B visas from 65,000 to 85,000 a year and create a plan that allows the issuance of these visas based on market demand.  

The H1B is a common work visa granted to high-skilled foreigners to work at companies