TCS to apply for 1,500 H1-B visas

India’s largest IT services provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will apply for 1,500 H1-B visas for 2011-12, clearly indicating robust growth in the US.

“Last year I had said that we would be filing for 700 H1-B visas but ended up applying for 1,500. This year too, we will apply for 1,500 H1-B visas,” said Ajoy Mukherjee, Vice President, Head-Global Human Resources of TCS.

The hike in H1-B visas also indicates that the company is winning new deals, for which projects initially need employees onsite. It also shows the need to have higher provision of visas due to change in regulatory norms.

“We had to deal with a lot of regulatory changes. For instance, when visa regulations changed in Canada, we too changed our compensation structure from March 1, 2011. There was also the border security issue in the US that resulted in a fee hike, both in case of H1 and L visas. As per the new UK visa norms, it is mandatory for employees coming on work permit to stay in the country for a period of 12 months. Any one staying beyond this will mean change in the compensation structure. “We were more or less in line with the changes. We used to send employees earlier for a period of 18 months. This in a way is good, as it helps in rotation,” he added.

But does this not impact business as clients prefer to have people onsite for a period of atleast 24 months? “Customers are not much impacted as they are aware of the people who work on their projects offshore,” said Mukherjee.