At a time when the Indian IT industry is grappling with immigration and visa-related pangs, Tata Consultancy Services has strengthened its upper deck by hiring a top official from industry lobby group Nasscom.

The country’s largest IT outsourcer has brought on board Ameet Nivsarkar, who was at the forefront of Nasscom’s efforts against the US’ restrictive Immigration Bill. He was the head of Nasscom’s international practice till last week.

Nivsarkar has joined as a Vice-President, according to sources close to the development, while a TCS spokesperson said the company does not discuss individual hiring.

In his role as Nasscom’s Vice-President, Nivsarkar has been lobbying with US senators, policymakers and think-tanks against the restrictive provisions of the Bill. The US Immigration Bill threatens to fundamentally alter how software companies conduct their business in the world’s largest IT market.

The Bill, which is yet to be passed by the US House of Representatives, would ensures that an H-1B application (which is for temporary work visa) filed by an employer that has 50 or more US workers will not be accepted unless the employer attests that less than 50 per cent of the employer’s workforce comprises H-1B and L visa holders.

This affects Indian technology companies such as TCS and Infosys, which send their workforce to client sites to design, implement and maintain software.

According to a May 2013 report by Emkay Research, TCS would be impacted the most if the proposed Bill becomes a law, given the company’s high dependence on employees with US visas.

Moreover, its onsite salaries are lower compared with peers such as Infosys and Wipro, Emkay had said.

Prior to joining Nasscom, Nivsarkar had held senior management positions in the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services (now part of Tech Mahindra) and n-Logue Communications.

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