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IT firms raise concern over U.S. Border Security Bill
Tuesday, 10 August 2010, 18:46 IST
Bangalore: Leading IT firms today termed as "discriminatory" the U.S. Border Security Bill which seeks to hike in H1B and L1 visa fees to fund border security and expressed apprehensions over the impact of the hike on competitiveness of Indian firms.
"While the full impact of the Bill is yet to be assessed, we think it goes against the notion of free trade and is discriminatory in nature", Wipro said in a statement.
It said the current US administration has been a vocal supporter of globalization. "However, this move puts barriers to trade and would also adversely impact talent flow to the US, which we think may have greater economic repercussions", it said.
Jeya Kumar, CEO, Patni, said the visa fee hikes would further erode cost arbitrage and cause change in the operational model of Indian offshore providers. "On the positive side, the US still recognizes it needs talent. The bigger issue is that if 50-50 rule comes into effect, then that will be a double whammy."
A Religare Indian IT Services research report said visa charges account for almost 0.4% of revenue of Infosys. "Should the bill become law, margins impact could be almost 25-30bps.
For TCS, the proportion of US exposure is slightly lower."
Source: PTI
Source: PTI
