How India will feel the bite of Trump’s H-1B visa fees

Shubra Singh’s Saturday evening dinner in a pittsburgh bar was ruined by the White House.

His eight Indian friends at the table, all the technicians on H-1B visas, were stuck to their phones when they were trying to obtain more information on the last decision of US President Donald Trump to increase the costs for H-1B visa requests.

Their families frantically sent “all kinds of articles on the H-1B situation,” said Singh, a professional in Indian biotechnology on work trips to the United States, adding that “anxiety was apparent”.

In the United States, around 71% and 11.7% of H-1B visa holders in the United States are Indian and Chinese nationals. The Trump proclamation to increase the H-1B visa costs to $ 100,000, the American job in uncertainty.

Relations between the United States and India have been deteriorating for a few months, because Washington has imposed an additional price for Indian exports in response to Russian oil purchases in New Delhi.

Back in India, the actions of Indian IT companies decreased on Monday after the United States announced that its work permit visa plans planned to bring new employees into the country.

This decision could make a massive blow for businesses – mainly in the technology and finance sectors – which depend strongly on highly qualified immigrants, in particular India and China.

If the visa fees of $ 100,000 for H-1B visa requests are implemented, “it will increase the cost of business manufacturing for IT services and end customers in the United States, which has an impact on margins for IT services companies,” said Citi Research in a note on Sunday.

He added that the margins of Indian IT companies are likely to increase, because the cost of business in the United States “may not be fully transmitted to customers”.

Investors reacted to the news by assuming actions of IT externalization companies, such as Infosys,, Tech Mahindra,, Wipro,, HCL Technologies And Tata consulting services.

Small and medium -sized enterprises also lost ground, with Persistent systems,, Co -formation,, Mphasis,, FIRSTSource solutions And Sake Actions between 1.7% and 4.2% at 6:30 a.m. in London (1h30 he).

Stock market measures indicate that investors expect the relative price of hiring workers on H1-B visas increases significantly.

Analysts suggest that IT companies are likely to modify their endowment strategies following new expenses, either by sending workers in “quasi-permis” centers such as Mexico or Canada, by replacing H-1 B recruits with American residents or citizens, or the relocation of more work for “global capacity centers”.

“Over the years, we have regularly reduced our dependence on visas thanks to an increase in local hiring, acquisitions and partnerships,” the MPHASIS coach in a statement to investors said. “We are fully equipped with personnel for all the requirements of existing customers and will operate in a business mode as usual.”

Toshi Jain de JPMorgan also predicted that the impact, although modest, will be felt far beyond the technological sector of India.

The economist said that a drop in the number of new H1-B visa holders would likely be reduced to the shipments of funds sent to India.

Jain also sees a drop in Indian students choosing to go to the United States in the coming years, as $ 100,000 visa costs could work as a new “tax” to find a job in the United States after education.