The US Immigration Modernization Act 2013 - What Is It?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US is likely to cover the issues of American visa regulations that mainly center around the US Bill - Border Security Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act 2013.

What is this Bill all about and how does it impact the multi-billion dollar Indian IT industry?

• The Bill will prohibit outplacement of H1B visa holders if they are more than 15% of the firm’s US workforce
• October 2016 onwards the Bill is likely to limit the number of H-1B and L-1 visa workers that can be employed by a firm
• Companies cannot employ additional H-1B or L-1 employees if the number of employees exceeds 50% of the total workforce in a company
• Indian firms that transfer a large number of specialized skill workers to work on client locations in the US cannot do so and will now have to employ US nationals which is likely to create a huge dent in their expenses related to wages and benefits
• Indian firms may also be forced to shell-out higher visa fees and wages for H-1B visa holders.

The Bill -- Border Security Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernisation Act 2013 -- proposes that firms dilute their visa dependent workforce over the next few years, a move that could force Indian firms to hire local talent.

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