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'US Immigration Bill will benefit Indian IT's H1, L1 seekers'

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Chokkapan
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BANGALORE, INDIA: The U.S. Senate house has passed the Immigration Bill, though it still needs sanction from the Congress. Immigration reforms need to be looked at in a holistic manner; it has large implications on non-skilled immigrants rather than skilled immigrants and it will potentially shape America's demographic and political future, Zinnov Management Consulting has stated.

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Although the bill is designed to incentivize the U.S. IT hiring, there are three dimensions to look at, according to Sundararaman Viswanathan, manager of Zinnov, which is keeping a close watch on the reform.

"Firstly, MNCs need skilled talent in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), specially from the Bay area. They will not be stifled by rising visa costs, as they get naturally excluded from all the regulations. The bill will also enable free talent movement between centers in India and U.S."

Then, Viswanathan points out that it is also a gain for the Indian IT service providers, who leverage H1 and L1 programs heavily. "Importantly, Indian IT service providers should look at hiring 'foreign' students, who graduate out of US universities thereby expanding their pool in terms of H1."

Finally, with these immigration reforms, the supply will increase significantly and over the next five years, wage increases will get flattened out, just like how it happened with IT sector in the U.S. where the IT wages have been nearly flat for the last 12 years with the flow of guest worker talent, he adds.

"With proposals and provisions for guaranteed 'unlimited' green cards for masters, doctoral and post-doctoral programs, it augurs well for Indian students. The increase in the visa caps from 20,000 to 25,000 will also benefit them. With the clamor for H1 in the non-student quota increasing, they can look forward to better campus placements from Indian companies as well. The other two perspectives are Indian IT service providers who leverage H1 and L1 programs heavily and the students who go from India to U.S. to pursue graduate programs."

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