UPDATE - Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee could disrupt Indian IT services: Trade body

UPDATE WITH INDIAN TRADE MINISTER'S VISIT TO US

By Anadolu staff

A new visa fee of $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas announced by the US will impact India's technology services companies, warned a leading trade body in the South Asian nation on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump signed on Friday a proclamation demanding that companies pay $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas.

"We need workers. We need great workers. And this pretty much ensures that that's what's going to happen," Trump said in the Oval Office while signing the proclamation.

India’s IT industry body Nasscom on Saturday said the new order will also impact Indian nationals who are on H-1B visas working for global and Indian companies.

“India's technology services companies will also be impacted as business continuity will be disrupted for onshore projects which may require adjustments. Companies will work closely with clients to adapt and manage transitions,” it said, also expressing concern over the “timeline for implementation,” of the new proclamation.

Meanwhile, the Indian External Affairs Ministry said the new measure "is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families."

"Government hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities," it said.

"Industry in both India and the US has a stake in innovation and creativity and can be expected to consult on the best path forward," the ministry added.

The US administration said the overhaul is intended to curb what the administration describes as widespread abuse of the visa system, particularly companies using it to replace US tech workers with lower-cost foreign labor.

"The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security," according to the proclamation released by the White House.

A majority of approvals for H-1B workers every year since 2010 have gone to workers born in India, according to Pew Research Center.

- Indian trade minister to visit US

The US and India are also engaged in negotiations for a trade deal.

The two sides held trade talks earlier this week in New Delhi amid the Donald Trump administration’s 50% tariffs on imports of Indian goods.

And now Indian Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal will head to the US to hold trade talks with US officials from Monday, according to a Commerce Ministry statement.

“The delegation plans to take forward the discussions with a view to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement,” it said.