NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared with U.S. President Barack Obama the concerns of Indian IT industry and professionals on the proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress relating to popular H-1B and L-1 visas.
PM Modi conveyed the concern to Obama when the U.S. President made a telephone call to him to thank for his leadership and India's "critical role" ensuring the climate change summit in Paris.
Indian IT companies in the US may end up paying a special $4,500 fee on the popular H-1B and L-1 visas to fund a 9/11 healthcare act, with a group of Congressmen quietly mounting fresh efforts to reimpose it.
Such a move has been made part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which funds health screenings and treatments for 9/11 first responders.
The bill has been written in such a way that it would impact only Indian companies.
According to the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), Indian companies had paid between $70 to 80 million per annum between 2010 and 2015.
The "extra fee applies to companies with at least 50 per cent of their employees on H-1B visa or L-1 visas, and is in addition to the other fees paid by employers," Computerworld reported.
Because of its 50 per cent threshold, it mostly hits the large Indian IT services firms, the leading users of the H-1B visa, the report said.
Last week, two American Senators introduced legislation in the Senate proposing to cut the number of popular H-1B visas by 15,000 and that such a visa is given to highest wage earner first.
The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields.
Read More: 6 Key Decisions by Supreme Court to Check Delhi's Pollution
100 Railway Stations to Go Live With Wi-Fi by 2016-End: Google CEO Sundar Pichai
Magazine : 
.jpg "December Spotlight")
