India changes stance on rise in US visa fee

Says rise in fee discriminatory disputes on steel, poultry trade intensify

To strengthen its case against the US, India has changed its stance on the issue of rise in visa fees, saying the higher professional visa fees were targeted only towards Indian technology firms, not those from other countries.

India would now officially seek consultation with the US by sending a notification by the end of this week. A couple of months earlier, it had moved the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on this issue, but could not firm up the case due to its “technical and complex nature”, a senior official in the commerce ministry told Business Standard.

 

India has said the US was using a particular law, Public Law 111-230 (Border Security Act), which substantially enhances fees relating to applications for L1 and H1B visas for companies (with at least 50 employees) for whom non-immigrants account for more than half their US workforce. As a result, Indian information technology (IT) giants like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, Infosys and Mahindra Satyam have come under the net.

The Bill nearly doubles the fees for skilled-worker H-1B and L1 visas to $4,500 per applicant (from about $2,320), for such companies.

“This is a complex and highly technical case. So, we are fine-tuning our consultation case. We are going to challenge that this 50-50 rule is a discriminatory move only against India, as it accounts for the major share of the IT and ITeS (information technology-enabled services) sectors in the US. This is not affecting any other country. We are going to send an official notification to the US on this soon,” the official said, on condition of anonymity.

On May 31 and June 1, both India and the US are going to fight yet another dispute over the US’ imposition of countervailing duties on steel imports from India. Both sides would sit for consultations in Geneva. The US, which believes the prices of steel products made by Essar Steel are doctored, has already been served a notice on this issue.

India also plans to consult WTO on the James Zadroga Act, under which US authorities have the right to impose two per cent tax on goods imported from non-government procurement countries. India is still not a party to the WTO’s government procurement agreement, but the Indian government says imposition of this additional tax is a violation of the National Treatment Policy exercised under WTO trade laws.

India and the US, which have a trade relationship worth $100 billion, are also engaged in a bitter clash over poultry imports. The consultations on this case were wrapped up last month. However, it ended in a bad note and US has now notified the WTO DSB to set up a panel, which would be in place by June. If this process fails to find an amicable solution, the case would reach the WTO’s appellate body.