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The newly proposed Immigration Bill in the US needs to be reviewed and aspects related to visa procedures need to be simplified and speeded up, said Wipro Chairman Azim Premji.
The ‘Gang of 8’ Senators are working on a new immigration Bill that is aimed at eliminating fraud and abuse of the H-1B visa programme, but its provisions will make it tougher for companies to get visas.
“It would impact both Indian and multinationals and will work with the US Congress to ensure that we have a system that is fair, efficient and consistent,” said Premji, adding that Wipro is in the process of reviewing the 800-page document. While the new immigration Bill is being debated, visa applications for the 2014 fiscal have started being filed from April 1.
The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2013 ensures that an H-1B application filed by an employer who employs 50 or more US workers will not be accepted unless the employer attests that less than 50 per cent of the employer’s workforce are H-1B and L-1 visa holders. The legislation, introduced by Senator Chuck Grassley, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, makes reforms to increase enforcement, modify wage requirements and ensure protection for visa holders and American workers.
However, all this increases compliance costs and time, which affects IT companies’ ability to deploy people in client locations in the US. The US issues around 65,000 visas annually and companies incur a cost of around $12,600 per visa, according to industry watchers. According to the last set of data available, Infosys had filed only 2,000 H-1B visas for FY12 and incurred $42 million in expenses in 2011. For FY11, Wipro had filed for 3,242 visas and it is estimated that it has 7,000 employees holding H-1B visas in FY11.
When asked about the total number of H-1B visas that Wipro has applied in FY13, company officials declined to comment but added that it was comfortable with the visas it holds. “It is too early to make an impact on the cost front,” said Executive Director and CFO Suresh Senapathy.
> venkatesh.ganesh@thehindu.co.in
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