H-1B visa crackdown to push US firms to shift operations in India: Report

Washington, Sep 30 Days after US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation to significantly curtail the H-1B visa programme and amend its rules, a report says the moves will “hasten US firms’ shift of critical work to India.”

An article argues that the Trump administration’s actions could lead to “turbocharging the growth of global capability centres (GCCs) that handle operations from finance to research and development.”

The report quotes Rohan Lobo, a partner and GCC industry leader at Deloitte India, as saying that “he knew of several US firms reassessing their workforce needs.”

"Plans are already underway for such a shift, pointing to greater activity in areas such as financial services and tech, and particularly among firms with exposure to U.S. federal contracts. GCCs are uniquely positioned for this moment. They serve as a ready in-house engine," it added.

The article further points out that if the new visa curbs are unchallenged, “industry experts expect US firms to shift high-end work tied to AI, product development, cybersecurity, and analytics to their India GCCs, choosing to keep strategic functions in-house over outsourcing.”

On September 19, Trump signed a proclamation cracking down on H-1B visas, announcing a $100,000 fee for each new application. He said there would be an "incentive to hire American workers.”

The proclamation caused immense confusion as it seemed to suggest that it would impact the current H-1B visa holders, who may face hurdles in returning to the United States.

The White House issued a clarification to IANS, saying that this is a “one-time fee” that applies only to new visas and not renewals or current visa holders.

Days later, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also proposed to “amend its regulations” governing the H-1B visa process.

The DHS plan seeks to scrap the existing lottery system and implement a weighted selection process that it says would favour the allocation of H-1B visas to higher-skilled workers.

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