Sanjeev Sanyal dismisses concerns over H-1B visas: 'Work can happen from anywhere, why move to US?'

Sanjeev Sanyal on Monday said that visas like H-1B benefit the host country more than the nations where the talent is sourced form, adding that India should not negotiate for long-term visas with any country.

Sanyal, who is the member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, was speaking at Network18's Reforms Reloaded summit in New Delhi.

Asked about his view on the recent hike in H-1B visa fee by US President Donald Trump, Sanyal said that such visas are used primarily by American companies, indicating that the decision will impact America more than anyone else.

"My views on H-1B and any other long term visa to any country has been the same for a long time. This is really a good thing for that country. Even today H-1B is primarily used by Amazon, Google and so on and not Indian companies. Anyway if they are IT companies, why do they need (people) to move to the US? You are in an industry in which work can happen from anywhere. Why do you need to move there?" he said.

Sanyal said he firmly believes India should not use the issue of visa as a negotiating point with any country.

"Indian negotiators with any country should not actually negotiate for long term visas ... why are we giving that up as a negotiating point. This is something they should ask us for," he said.

He added that visas like H-1B primarily benefit the recipient country, which is a long-held public view.

"Process reforms is a good thing to do for residents and we should accelerate them not just because of the H1-B visa issue and for potentially returning NRIs," he added.

Last week, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation raising the application fee on visas used by companies to hire workers, including from India, to live and work in the US. The new visa fees is set at $100,000.

In its immediate aftermath, the proclamation set off a frenzied response as nervous companies as well as jittery H-1B holders travelling outside US got worried about the deadline of September 21, leading to scenes of chaos at some airports.

The US government later clarified that the H-1B visa application fee hike applies only to new applicants and does not affect the existing visa holders or renewals.