India conveys to US its concern about Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill

The Government has conveyed to the United States its strong concerns at the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill that was signed into law by US President Barack Obama on August 13.

The Bill aims to raise $ 600 million for augmenting US Border Security by increasing fees to $ 2250 for applicants that employ 50 or more employees in the US if more than 50 % of the applicants’ employees are non-immigrants admitted on H1B visas or L visas and by increasing the filing fee for such applications to $ 2000 for such applicants.

This provision, while not country specific, would affect Indian software companies adversely as a large number of H1B and L visas are availed by them, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question yesterday.

He said that India had made it clear to the US that such steps by Washington would adversely affect the Indian software industry's interests in the US and impact the broader bilateral economic relationship.

Mr Krishna said that, even while the legislation was under process, the Embassy of India in Washington had immediately taken up the matter with the US Administration and key lawmakers at various levels.

He said the matter had also been taken up by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma with his US counterpart and by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao with US Ambassador in Delhi Timothy J Roemer.

"It has been conveyed that the legislation would primarily impact companies of Indian origin and is seen as a discriminatory and protectionist measure," the Minister added.

NNN