H1-B drama: IT firms send Indian recruits back home, tech work outsourced

Outsourcers apply for fewer visas, bring employees home and try to accelerate automation

As US President Donald Trump tightens restrictions on immigration, Indian outsourcers are applying for fewer US work visas, bringing employees home and trying to automate much of what they do.

Trump last month said he wants to alter rules for accepting high-skilled foreign workers under the H-1B visa program, which he said is a victim of “widespread abuse,” signing an executive order calling for a governmentwide review aimed at stricter immigration enforcement and closing loopholes that undermine his “Buy American” initiatives.

The visas should only be granted to the “most-skilled and highest-paid applicants,” he said. Indian outsourcing companies