CII urges rethink on increased visa fees as part of Omnibus Spending Bill

Confederation of Indian Industry strongly urges US Congressional leaders and the US administration to rethink the discriminatory supplemental visa fees for provisions in the Omnibus spending bill that specifically targets the Indian IT companies and their business model in the United States.

U.S. President Barack Obama on December 18, 2015 signed into law a USD 1.8 trillion spending package which among other things introduces a hefty USD 4,000 fee for H-1B visa and USD 4,500 for L1 visa. This fee is applicable for both new visas as well as renewal/extension of the visa.

The law is highly discriminatory and punitive and is specifically geared towards India and Indian-centric technology companies. Companies having more than 50 employees and having more than 50 per cent of their US employees on H-1B and L1 visas would have to pay the new fee when the next visa application session kicks off on April 1, 2016. The fee, in addition to the documentation process involving premium processing fees, Lawyers, Social security, Medicare add a huge financial burden on these companies.

This move could also have a very negative effect on American businesses that include the Fortune 500 companies and their access to highly-skilled IT talent that Indian companies provide. The net effect of increased fees will lead to more work going offshore and will undercut efforts to build a US tech workforce, while at the same time will hinder US companies' ability to innovate.

Visa fees should be applied in a non-discriminatory, non-protectionist manner to all companies that use the visa programs.

CII and its member companies hope that given the burgeoning bilateral ties between India and the United States, this move will be reconsidered since it will have a very detrimental effect on the two way trade and commercial partnership.

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