India, US to hold talks on hike in H1B visa fee

India took the U.S. to the WTO's dispute settlement body, claiming that an increased fee would negatively impact Indian IT professionals.

India will hold a consultation with the U.S. on Wednesday and Thursday under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the issue of the visa fee hike imposed by the Obama administration.

The WTO had on March 3 said that India notified the WTO Secretariat that it has initiated a WTO dispute proceeding against the U.S. regarding measures imposing increased fees on certain applicants for two categories of non-immigrant temporary working visas into the US, and measures relating to numerical commitments for some visas.

According to India, the measures appear to be inconsistent with U.S. commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the WTO said.

The H-1B and L-1 categories of non-immigrants, for which there has been a significant fee hike, correspond with the categories of specialists and intra-corporate transferees, a commerce ministry statement said.

“India hopes that the US will constructively engage with India to address its concerns regarding the recent US measures (imposing the visa fee hike) which impair the ability of both US based Indian companies and Indian professionals to supply services in the US,” the ministry added.

The move is “discriminatory” against Indian firms as these (H1B and L1) are also the same categories that are most extensively used by Indian service suppliers, especially in the IT sector, supplying services in the US, according to the Indian government.“

The US fee hike measures for the H1B and L1 categories are not only adversely affecting the competitiveness of India’s services industry engaged in the US market, but also creating uncertainties for Indian service suppliers. They also run counter to the basic principles of a transparent and predictable trading environment, which lies at the very heart of the WTO agreements,” the commerce ministry said.

It added that India is hopeful that deliberations during the WTO consultations shall be constructive and it would result in removal of these trade restrictive measures.

The ministry said the US accounts for close to 60 per cent of software exports from India, adding that Indian IT professionals have had a positive role in contributing to the competitiveness of the US economy.

It said the increasing volume of services trade has contributed to significant economic growth as well as creation of employment opportunities within the US, and emphasised on a win-win relationship for both nations.

According to the WTO, if, after 60 days, consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a (WTO) panel.