Software firms to gain as H1-B salary floor goes
By siliconindia staff writer   |   Monday, 17 November 2003, 20:30 IST
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MUMBAI: Large Indian software companies may face lower costs on their onsite operations as the minimum salary requirement for H1-B visa holders in the United States no longer exists. Industry sources and senior company officials said the reduction in the number of H1-B visas to 65,000 from 1,95,000 a few months ago had removed the restriction on companies to pay H1-B visa holders a minimum salary of $60,000 per annum or equivalent wages. Since the two were linked, the reduction in the number of H1-B visas automatically removes any minimum salary requirement. “The waiver has already been put into effect ever since the number of visas issued per year were reduced from 1,95,000 to 65,000, all conditions attached to the earlier visa limit therefore are gone,” said a Wipro official. Officials at domestic software service companies told The Economic Times, an Indian daily, that companies now have a free hand in the payment of employee salaries under the H1-B regime. According to industry sources, when the US imposed a restriction relating to minimum salary in 2001, many companies opted for a L1 visa which allowed them to circumvent the rule. (Source: Economic Times)

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