Two days ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit, Information Technology (IT) industry body Nasscom has fired a letter to the US ambassador in India, Timothy Roemer, flagging concerns about rejection of business visas for Indian IT companies.
There have been concerns in the industry over an increasing number of visa applications by Indian IT companies being rejected. Nasscom President Som Mittal said the software industry body has raised the issue with the US administration, but declined to give details on the contents of the letter.
Some also claim there is greater aggression among immigration personnel at US airports towards Indians who arrive with valid business visas, with many professionals ending up deported. This assumes significance in the wake of the impending visit of Obama to India next week. Whether this issue will come up for discussion remains to be seen.
Earlier this year, the US government had raised fees for H1-B and L1 visas, under which skilled workers get a temporary work permit. This, it was feared, would hit the bottomline of the $50-billion Indian IT industry that sends many highly-skilled Indians to work there. The Indian IT sector earns more than half of its annual revenues from foreign markets.
The visa fee rise was followed by Ohio, a US state, banning outsourcing of government IT projects, further irked the Indian companies. Both moves coincided with a fragile recovery in the US economy, coupled with high unemployment levels. Obama has also suggested in the past that tax breaks for companies outsourcing work overseas could be ended.
Minister of State for IT and Telecom, Sachin Pilot, said the Indian IT companies are ‘not a problem’ and suggested they be made a part of the solution. “They (Indian IT firms) are adding value. They are creating jobs for the local people whether in the US or Europe,” he said.
According to the data available with Nasscom, the top six Indian IT firms have created about 35,000 to 40,000 jobs in the US market alone.