Visa authorities have laid down certain mandatory things and proper training of workers in the IT sector, and proprietary tools of the IT companies will need to be handed over to the system before applying for U.S visa, say the experts.
Fakhoury Law Group, PC of the U.S., an employment-based law firm dealing with immigration, provides large Indian corporates with global immigration services, and they get Indian employees placement abroad, especially in U.S. This firm reports that there has been a sudden increase in rejection of L-1A/B visas. These visas are actually handed out to specialized knowledge professionals, but they are being denied nowadays. The conclusion stands that the Indian IT companies need to be spruce up and take up valid corrective measures or they will face the adverse impact of this economic set back.
Rami D Fakhoury, Managing Director, of the Fakhoury Law Group, PC, spoke about the sudden denials in L-1B visas saying, “These days getting L-1B category visa has become extremely difficult as there is lot of scrutiny by United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) authorities. Visa denials have increased due to the inability of the petitioning employers to demonstrate the ‘Specialized Knowledge’ position of the workers. The standards are very high so Indian IT companies should provide their proprietary tools. If companies do not demonstrate this, then it would be difficult to exhibit the Specialized Knowledge.”
Confirming that there has been a sharp increase in the L-1B category visa Matthew C Morse, Partner, at the Fakhoury Law Group, PC stated “We started noticing more rejections from 2010 onwards and now rejections have gone up by 60 to 70 per cent and it is more in case of IT companies.”
He feared that the IT sector is a major part of the economy in India and these rejects would mean a shaky ground for the Indian economy. This has prompted the Indian IT companies to spread their wings further and look at other avenues besides US for their IT business. Overseas assignments demand proper training and the IT players are now focusing to impart the proper training necessary for specific projects. The tough visa procedures are definitely going to be a source of tension for the Indian IT companies.
Mr. Fakhoury “The employee should work on his current employer’s tool otherwise it may be a reason for denial. The employer should show that the employee will work on their own tool for the end client and she/he is specialized in the same.”
Indian companies now need innovative products that set them apart from other competitors to make sure that their workers are kept in the U.S. Mr. Fakhoury also claimed that there are a lot of opportunities in ITES, IT, pharmaceuticals, engineering services, financial sectors and health care industries in different countries. India is slowly setting up technological bases in China, Japan, to support technological advancement
