Indian IT companies assessing EB-5 visa scheme to get foothold in US

Indian IT companies are evaluating the EB-5 visa scheme to offset the uncertainties dogging the H-1B work visa scheme to gain entry into the United States.

EB-5 visa scheme, which is highly expensive when compared to L-1 and H-1 B work visa schemes, was introduced to attract investments and also generate jobs for Americans.

With the EB-5 visa, permanent residency is offered to foreigners who invest a minimum of $500,000 in undertakings that will create a minimum of 10 full-time jobs in America.

The companies are said to be weighing the scheme very cautiously. The H-1B visa scheme, very popular with Indian IT firms that wanted to send their employees to work onsite, has run into rough weather after Donald Trump became the US President. The present US administration feels that H-1 B visa program is being misused to reduce American wages.

The US Senate saw a Bill being in January seeking to raise the ceiling for H-1B visas to 85,000 from the current figure of from 65,000. It is, however, looking to limit its usage by outsourcing companies. This has resulted in Indian firms hiring more local workers in the US and weigh options other than H-1B visa to send workers onsite.

The Times of India, in its report, said that India’s interest in EB-5 visas has increased in the recent past, with 354 petitions being filed in 2016-17, up from 239 in 2015-16. Most of these investments, however, are said to have come from Indian parents who want to send their children to study and settle in the US.

India files the third highest number of EB-5 petitions, with China and Vietnam taking the first and second places, respectively.

It remains to be seen whether IT companies would want to send their senior executives through this route.

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