» Indian IT hit by US visa bill

Headwinds from US continue to blow southwards for the Indian IT industry. The US Senate has passed a bill to raise the H1B visa fees. The H1B visa (work visa for US) fees have been nearly doubled from US$ 2,000 to US$ 4,500. The Indian IT industry derives nearly 45-50% of its revenues from its onsite work resources. As per NASSCOM, this will increase the annual visa cost for the Indian IT industry by US$ 200-250 m annually. This will reduce the cost arbitrage that India offers to its clients in US. However, Indian IT firms cannot afford to miss the US markets. It is after all worth almost US$ 30 bn. But it will certainly impact their costs. Interestingly, India's working in the US already pay over US$ 1 bn annually in social security for which we do not get any benefits.