Indian government to hold talks on H1B visa issue with NASSCOM

The Indian government on 6 February, saying that it was concerned over the recent bill of the United States to amend H-1B visas, an issue which may hurt the IT sector and tech workers of India, stated that it was constantly interacting with the American authorities and added that it would hold a discussion with NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies)¸ Indian IT sector’s trade body, on the same issue after the present Parliament Session concludes. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union minister of state for commerce and industry, addressing the media in New Delhi, declared that the legislation tabled in the US House of Representative was bound to affect India financially as it mooted hiking the minimum wages of skilled workers. She was quoted by the Asian News International as saying that they would wait until it is approved by US Congress. Sitharaman said that it was not right for her to react as many things were involved in it, which made it very complex. She added that they were keeping a close watch on the developments along with the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs). The Union Minister acknowledged that Donald Trump’s administration’s initiatives would impact the Indian IT sector. Sitharaman said that she would talk to the MEA and discuss how they could take this issue forward. Meanwhile, Vikas Swarup, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, had said earlier that concerns of India about the H-1B visa policy of the US under the new President have been conveyed to its senior leaders. H1-B visa has become contentious after a new legislation, introduced by Congressman Zoe Lofgren, was introduced in the US House of Representatives, which mandated that the minimum salary of these work visa holders should be hiked to $130,000 from the earlier ceiling of $60,000. If you are looking to travel to the US, contact Y-Axis, India’s leading immigration consultancy firm, to apply for a visa from one of its several offices operating from several cities across the country.