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While the Donald Trump administration has accused Indian IT companies of taking the lion’s share of H-1B visas, recent data shows that American companies use the majority of these visas for foreign professionals.
Of the top 30 companies -- which accounted for 35,120 visas from the total of 65,000 approved application in 2015 – almost 19 were based in US, nine in India and two in France, as per data available with US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the National Foundation for American Policy.
The 19 US-based companies claimed nearly 18,904 visas, as per a report in the Financial Express. In 2015, Indian companies had grabbed only 15,136 visas. According to the media report, visas taken by the Indian
companies were even lower in 2016.
In last 2-3 months, US has been targeting Indian IT companies – Infosys and TCS in particular – for grabbing a large chunk of H-1B visas and unfairly taking jobs from the local people.
Indian companies are already looking at alternatives to tide over the H-1B debate. Infosys, on Tuesday, said it will hire 10,000 US workers in the next two years.
However, the company's Chief Operation Officer UB Pravin Rao said that there is shortage of experienced talent in the US. In an interview to Hindu Business Line, Rao said that the company will need to train people on newer technologies.
On the issue of low salaries to employees on H-1B, Rao said: “We don’t differentiate between the Americans and the Indians. Our salaries are competitive and meet regulatory and compliance requirements. It entirely depends on the geographies and the skill sets. This is not about cost savings but having a much more global mix in your talent pool.”
US government has said that H-1B holders are paid much less than their counterparts. However, a Nasscom survey says that average salary of H-1B holders was at USD 82,000 in 2015, 35 percent higher than prescribed minimum wages of USD 60,000.
The IT industry body also said that TCS and Infosys accounted for only 7,504 -- 8.8 percent -- of visas in 2014-15.
The visa debate comes at a time when the gap between demand and supply of computer science engineers, especially in new technologies like cloud and mobile computing is widening, says the media report.
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