IT firms worldwide will continue to hire Indians, despite visa restrictions, says Nasscom chief

Visa restrictions notwithstanding, IT firms worldwide would be keen to recruit Indian skilled workers in the US owing to a paucity of skills in that part of the world, said R Chandrashekhar, President of Nasscom, Indian IT trade body, on 27 December.

Firms from all over the world will continue to find Indians worthy for skilled positions in America, which has a severe shortage of skills, and this will happen in spite of strict rules for issuing H-1B visas to foreign employees, Chandrashekhar, in an interview, was quoted as telling BTVi.

As the US visa process is becoming more stringent, it was becoming tough for companies to send Indian workers to the US; and with the recent tax amendments, it had become more expensive to outsource work from America, he added.

A common visa path, the H-1B is given to skilled foreign workers to seek work at the US companies.

Indo Asian News Service quoted Chandrashekhar as saying that though hurdles may be there for companies operating outside India, this country’s IT sector’s value will remain strong.

With Indians making up for 70 percent of all the H-1B visa holders, this visa programme is sought after by most Indian techies.

The Nasscom President said that after withdrawing a rule enforced during Obama-era, which allows spouses of the H-B visa holders to work in the US, this programme’s popularity has shrunk with employees having working wives/husbands.

Though the arduous conditions pertaining to visas had made it difficult for IT workers, especially Indians, to work in the US, this country’s skilled workers are sought after globally, said Chandrashekhar.

He said that though the effect of these measures on Indian IT workforce could not be quantified, skill shortages will continue to remain in the US, and global companies will continue to come to India to hire workers from the pool of talent available here.

According to him, the Indian IT industry, which is worth $150-billion, had also been instrumental in helping many companies embrace digital transformation.

Chandrashekhar concluded by saying that the IT industry of India would be in a position to take confidence from the fact that they will enable clients to carry out the digital transformation.

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