US didn’t inform about cap on H-1B visas: India

New Delhi: Even as United States secretary of state Michael R. Pompeo is to begin a three-day visit to India on June 25, India — in response to media queries on a Reuters report — said it had not heard anything officially from the US on reports that it was planning to impose a certain cap on Indians getting the H-1B visa.

While the Reuters report claimed that the US has told India it (the US) is considering caps on H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally, sources in New Delhi said the Indian Government too is factoring in an assessment in interactions with Indian industry on various possible scenarios including one where a cap on H-1B visas may be imposed on Indians by the US Government.

India is among the countries in favour of data-localisation which, in the Indian context, refers to storage of data on Indian servers.

Mr Pompeo’s visit is crucial, given that it will come ahead of an expected bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting at Osaka in Japan at the end of June.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in  speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields.

The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year.

According to some estimates, the US issues 85,000 H1-B visas every year out of which Indians reportedly get about 60,000 visas. Therefore, a cap of a possible 10 to 15 per cent on H-1B visas for Indians could have a crippling effect on Indian industry especially the IT sector.

Asked about the issue of data localisation, Minis-try of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said what India has “articulated” on the matter “is in line with best practices globally”.

He added that India is in touch with the US and is “seeking to dispel and misconception” that the US side may have regarding India’s stand.

Meanwhile, Mr Pompeo, during his three-day visit, will hold talks with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on several contentious issues rocking the Indo-US trade relationship including retaliatory imposition of tariffs.