WASHINGTON: The changes in the visa programme by US president Donal Trump can be beneficial to Indian IT professionals according to a US expert.
According to a report by NDTV, Ignatius Chithelen, founder and managing partner of Banyan Tree Capital Management in an op-ed at the Wharton website said that the new changes will increase the cost of labours in IT as well as in the business outsourcing companies.
“These extra costs are estimated to be about 2.6 billion dollars in a year. The assumption is that the visa holders will be paid 100,000 dollars in annual wages, around the average at major companies based on online job postings, while the number of visas issued remains the same,” he said.
He also said that new policy about visa would be announced in November. The visas could go to applicants with the highest wages and skills, and there will be a shrinkage in the number of H-1B visas issued since the focus is to “hire Americans”.
“If starting in 2018, H-1B visas are issued to those with the highest wages and skills, Indian professionals could benefit. Indians graduating with advanced degrees in the US and highly skilled professionals in India applying for H-1B jobs should then be able to find jobs with higher wages and better working conditions,” he further claimed.
Around two-thirds of companies with more than 50 developers said they believe the current H-1B visa program has helped businesses successfully access highly skilled IT talent, a survey released by Harvey Nash Pulse reported.
However, in an op-ed, Republican Congressman Dave Brat told, H-1B visa program does not put America First.
“Too often, companies capitalise on the loopholes in our immigration system to displace high-skilled American workers in search of cheap labour,” said Brat, who is one of the co- authors of a bill proposing changes to the H-1B visa program.
Trump has passed an order that seeks to make changes to an H-1B visa programme that brings in highly skilled overseas employees.