H1B visas fall, India Inc says that’s OK

The number of H1B visas issued to workers in the technology industry in the US fell on Wednesday to 65,000 from 1.95 lakh and the Indian sof...

The number of H1B visas issued to workers in the technology industry in the US fell on Wednesday to 65,000 from 1.95 lakh and the Indian software industry, which has been a major benefactor of the visa, saw marginal impact of the reduction.

‘‘Lowering the cap on the H1B visas has little immediate impact as the visas (already used) are valid for three years and are extendable by three more. We do not foresee this as a major issue in the long-term either, as the mix of the onsite-offshore business has undergone a change with offshoring already accounting for more than half of the total software and services exports,’’ Kiran Karnik, president, NASSCOM said.

In the short run, however, a low cap will tend to override market forces and create a psychology of shortage. This, in our view is not good for the US economy, customers and companies in the US or for Indian companies, he said.

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‘‘A reduction of 65,000 will have at most a marginal impact on the total revenue or business deals and it is business as usual for the Indian IT companies,’’ Karnik added.

The H1B visa programme earlier had a ceiling of 65,000 per year. With increased IT demand in 2000, this was increased to 1.15 lakh and subsequently to 1.95 lakh for a period of three years.

This increase ends on September 30, and the H1B cap reverses to the original 65,000 per year from October 1, 2003.

The number of H1B visas dropped by 75 per cent from 2001 to 2002, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.