The Centre on Wednesday said it was in touch with the governments of the United States and Australia after both countries tightened their visa rules in ways that were likely to affect thousands of Indians. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said India was making “full assessment” of the impact of the changes in visa rules in consultation with the stakeholders.
“Senior Australian officials have conveyed to us that the impact of the changes will be negligible on Indian workers, most of whom fall into high skill category,” the MEA said in a statement. Baglay also clarified that the 65,000 cap for H-1B visas has remained so since December 2004.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said he might take up the matter of H-1B visas with authorities from the Donald Trump government when he visits America. “Once I do discuss and get an opportunity, I will let you know,” he said.
Jaitley is expected to reach Washington on Thursday to attend the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and attend the deliberations of G20 nations. During his five day visit, he is expected to meet several US authorities, including the US treasury secretary, PTI reported.
The National Association of Software and Services Companies downplayed the impact of the changes in H-1B visas this year, however it warned the move could have “unintended consequences”, PTI reported. It added that using “salary levels as the metric” may not be the best move to benefit the US economy.
Industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce of India said the country’s information technology companies will face disruptions due to higher costs and some may even be forced to lay off. IT company Infosys said it will continue to hire top talent, including American. “Bringing education and training to our clients to shrink the skills gap in the US, and working with policymakers to foster innovation,” Infosys said in a statement.
Trump on Tuesday had signed an executive order introducing changes to the H-1B temporary visa scheme used by companies to hire foreigners for high-skilled jobs. “We’re going to defend our workers, protect our jobs and finally put America first,” the US president had said while signing the order which is being dubbed as “Buy American, Hire American” order. He also promised to either modify or do away with the lottery-based selection process for H-1B visa.
Australia, on the same day. abolished its 457 visa programme to tackle what it said was an unemployment problem in the country. Indians account for 26.8% of the foreign workers in Australia under the 457 visa programme, the highest among all ethnic groups.
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