TCS, Infosys and Tech Mahindra come up with Solutions to tackle 'H1B Visa Ban'!

Ever since US President Donald Trump banned the entry of few categories of visa holders into US till the end of the year, many IT companies have raised concerns regarding the announcement. On one hand, few companies feel that the move would disrupt business, whereas on the other hand, many think it will not have much of an impact. 

Latest media reports indicate that companies are devising new strategies to tackle the issue. Indian IT companies might skip filing new H-1B petitions for FY21 and even delay filing extensions for employees this year. Varuni* an engineer told Moneycontrol that she was looking forward to a project in the US but the project has been dropped. “I was told that they would be applying it next year. But there is no guarantee. Who knows what will happen in the next year,” she said.

According to the US Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS), Indians benefit the most out of H-1B visa which is meant for skilled employees For FY21, almost 67% of registrants were from India. TCS, Infosys, Cognizant and Wipro are among the top Indian H-1B employers. 

How are companies planning to reduce their dependency on H-1B Visa Holders?

IT Major TCS highlighted in its annual report that it will be focusing on localisation in the US in order to cut down on cost and reduce visa dependency. Milind Lakkad, Chief Human Resources Officer of TCS states iin the annual report, with teams working from home, in-person interactions are now replaced with virtual collaboration and has made physical location irrelevant. This would mean that traveling to onsite locations, particularly for initial transitions and knowledge transfer, potentially reducing the visa dependency.”

“The Indian IT industry has prepared itself for immigration challenges in past as well, so in this context, we can say that India Inc has become a lot more ‘Aatmanirbhar’ or self-reliant,” CP Gurnani, MD and CEO of Tech Mahindra, told Quartz. 

Tech Mahindra is increasingly trying to “go local”. The company hired nearly 2,000 Americans in 2019 and is planning to bring more local talent on board.

“The impact on India and on the Indian companies will be minimal in the short-term, and even in the long run we expect the US to recognise that immigration has contributed to their economic success, and it is in their interest to utilise the technology prowess and talent that India can provide,” Gurnani added.

“The country’s largest IT company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is among the largest employers in the US. The second-largest player, Infosys has hired over 10,000 people in the US. Azim Premji-led Wipro began ramping up hiring in the country, recruiting and training students fresh from college campuses across Atlanta and Michigan,” Quartz cited in its report.

These companies have also been trying to shift their workforce to affordable centres that would enable them to reduce cost as well as deal with visa approvals. Latin America, for example, has emerged as a favourite centre for these IT companies. TCS, Wipro and Infosys are invested especially in Mexico. Melba Pria, called the city of Guadalajara “a technology hub with the presence of at least 10 major Indian IT companies,” in an interview she gave in 2017.

Hiring local talent, shifting centers and skipping fresh visa filings are few of the strategies employed by the top IT firms in the country. IT firms are expected to take more measures in the coming months.