Allaying fears of the IT sector on the proposed curbs on U.S. visas, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the number of H-1B visas for Indian IT professionals would not come down.
"No need to get panicky on the visa front. The lottery process is something I suppose they (the U.S.) wanted to do a correction on. The numbers are not something they are changing... the numbers will not come down... the number of H-1B visas that we have got, we will continue to get that," Ms. Sitharaman said.
On changes in the selection process for H-1B visa (non-immigrant, short-term work visas), she said,"Where the high skill set is required, they (U.S.) would look for that, rather than for first time graduates," adding that though the selection for such visas is getting selective, the "numbers are not changing."
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Earlier, Ms. Sitharaman had said the Indian government was in talks with the U.S. government on the issue. However, she added that the discussions are not regarding any Indian companies, but on the broader issue of the U.S. law governing H-1B visas and the commitment made by the U.S. on the number of such visas.
"We are not questioning any country's sovereign right to issue visas, but the number (of H-1B visas) and the process," she had said. When a bi-partisan delegation of 26 members of the U.S. Congress jointly called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, he had urged the U.S. to develop a “reflective, balanced and farsighted perspective on movement of skilled professionals.” Mr. Modi also shared his perspective on areas where both countries can work even more closely, including in facilitating greater people-to-people linkages that have over the years helped contribute to each other’s prosperity. The PM referred to the role of skilled Indian talent in enriching the American economy and society, an official statement had said.