While the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) welcomes the positive assurances given by US Secretary of State John Kerry on the contentious Immigration Bill, it will continue to engage with legislators and administration to highlight its concerns on the proposed legislation.
Talking to FE, Nasscom president R Chandrashekar said, ?The statements are good and positive but we will not be complacent and continue to observe the situation very closely.? He felt that the real impact will be known only when any sort of legislation is passed in the US.
Nasscom has engaged lobbying bodies in the US to create awareness among legislators about its concerns. Companies like Wipro and Infosys are putting in their own efforts.
The proposed Immigration Bill in the US, which has already been passed by the US Senate and awaits nod from the House of Representatives, has certain clauses that could be very detrimental to the operations of Indian IT services companies.
Chandrashekar said Nasscom has impressed upon the US legislators that what is detrimental for Indian IT is equally bad for the US economy.
The key concerns of the Indian IT industry are: the outplacement clause, which prohibits Indian IT companies from deploying professionals on H-1B visas at customer locations in US; stringent conditions on placing Indian IT employees in American companies, which could possibly displace US workers; the increased cost of visa charges; and the clause on putting up the list of H-1B employees on US Department of Labour website. According to the Nasscom president, the bill is unlikely to be passed during the current calendar year due to forthcoming mid-term elections in the US.
