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The United States' decision to impose a steep increase in H-1B visa fees has triggered concerns across Indian industries.
But banking and market expert Ajay Bagga has a different view. Speaking with ANI, Bagga said that the USD 1,00,000 fee for the H1B visa will check the brain drain from India. "Brain drain will reduce, and India will have to find other avenues or productively use these people. This will be an objective for the govt too," he said. "There are approximately 16,000 Indian-origin doctors working in rural areas in the US. Wide regions in the US are benefiting from H-1B visas," Bagga noted. He added that in the IT sector, major companies employ between 5,000 and 10,000 workers on H-1B visas. "They will try to outsource those works," he said, pointing to likely shifts in business models. Bagga also noted that the impact will not be limited to the information technology (IT) sector alone. "There is an impact. Not only in the IT sector, there are also healthcare, doctors, nurses and other financial services companies," he said, pointing to the wide base of sectors that depend on foreign skilled workers. US President Donald Trump, on Friday, announced a proclamation imposing a USD 100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications. Bagga underlined the economic burden such a fee would impose if the policy continues at its announced pace. "If from next year the run rate of granting H-1B visas is the same, then there are about 14 billion dollars of extra costs, which the profit pools might not be there for those companies," he said. The move, the US administration explained, is aimed at reducing what it sees as overuse of the programme and ensuring that only "highly skilled" workers are brought in from overseas. Officials believe the fee hike will create and protect jobs for American workers. "Beneficiaries of this rule will be offshore centres like Vancouver and other nearby countries," Bagga noted, as firms look for cost-effective alternatives to manage their operations. Earlier, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had elaborated on the change during a press call, saying the measure was part of a strategy to discourage the use of the visa for positions considered to be training roles. The current costs for processing H-1B visas usually run into a few thousand dollars, meaning the sudden jump to USD 100,000 marks a significant shift. Companies will be required to pay this in addition to the existing vetting charges. (ANI)
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