Bill that could kill H-1B visas

Article from rediff

Nearly two months after its introduction sparked a furore both in India and in America, the controversial Durbin-Grassley visa reform bill has again been brought before the United States Senate.

Its fate holds major ramifications for Indian individuals and Indian IT companies seeking US work visas, with some claiming that its passage could result in the decimation of the business model for Indian outsourcing firms like Wipro Technologies, Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services.

According to the Senate's web site, the bill has officially been logged as:
S. 887 - A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform and reduce fraud and abuse in certain visa programmes for aliens working temporarily in the United States and for other purposes.

It was introduced by US Senators Dick Durbin (Democrat-Illinois) and Charles Grassley (Republican-Iowa), and contains new stipulations that companies must follow to acquire temporary US work visas, commonly known as H-1Bs and L-1s.

The most controversial of these stipulations, the so-called '50/50' provision, would prohibit companies with more than 50 US employees from obtaining any additional work visas if more than 50% of their entire US workforce is made up of H-1B or L-1 visa holders. The provision would essentially prevent companies like Wipro and Infosys from hiring more Indian workers to work in the US.

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