India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrived in the U.S. for a five-day visit Thursday, the future of the H-1B visa program is on his agenda of discussions.
India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrived in the U.S. for a five-day visit Thursday, the future of the H-1B visa program is on his agenda of discussions.
WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — India’s Finance Minister arrived in the U.S. Thursday for the beginning of a five-day trip, the topic of the future of the H-1B visa program is on Arun Jaitley’s itinerary of discussions.
Jaitley delivered the message during a news conference, saying the concerns of Indian technology companies will be shared with U.S. officials.
“These are matters of discussion with the appropriate authorities there. Once I do discuss and get an opportunity, I will let you know,” he said at the press conference.
Jaitley is scheduled to attend the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the G-20 nations. Jaitley has additionally requested meetings with the U.S. Treasury Secretary and other Trump administration officials during the trip. India’s IT titans have displayed deep concern after President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week, requesting the immediate review and audit of the H-1B program. Indian companies, such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra are heavily dependent on the program — figures indicate almost 86 percent of visas granted in the H-1B category for IT jobs are occupied by Indian tech workers.
India’s IT Secretary said Trump’s order on the matter will not have an immediate impact on the country’s workers, but the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) said once the review process is complete and more restrictions are imposed on the H-1B visa program, Indian IT companies will be the first to feel the bite.
“No new changes are being implemented immediately. Nothing is being proposed that would impact or change the FY18 H-1B lottery that is currently underway,” NASSCOM said in a press release.
