As per the new rules, there will be a $1,00,000 payment to accompany or supplement a H-1B petitions for new applications. The US state department could deny the application on account of non-payment.
The higher visa costs could effectively end the H-1B program in its current form as costs would end up becoming unsustainable.Although analysts believe that this will be a significant hurdle, but not an existential threat for Indian IT. It must be noted that there is no immediate impact or cost for the current H-1B holders who are already within the US.
North America is the most important market for Indian IT companies, with them deriving at least one-thirds to two-thirds of their revenue from that geography.
The India-listed shares of Infosys, TCS, Wipro, and their other largecap and Midcap peers will react to this development on Monday. The Nifty IT index had a good week, with stocks gaining between 1% to 3%.
(With Inputs From Reema Tendulkar.)
