New Delhi : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said if the US puts restrictions on H-1B visas, immigration or business outsourcing, it will not just hurt Indians but will be bad for the US too.
“We are not just talking with the US authorities (on H-1B visas and related issues), we are talking with logic and concrete statistics,” Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour.
“This is a mutually beneficial partnership, and we have told them (the US) that if you snap these ties, it will not hurt us alone, it will also hurt you,” she said.
She said that the Indian information technology (IT) companies operating in the US are generating jobs there and contributing to the US exchequer.
“We have told them that it is not true that Indians are stealing their jobs. On the contrary, Indian companies in US are generating employment for the Americans. So far, Indian companies have given direct employment to 1.56 lakh Americans and supportive jobs to 4.11 lakh,” she said. She added that between 2011 and 2015, the Indian companies have made an investment of $2 billion, paid taxes worth $20 billion and Indian workers have contributed $7 billion to the social security scheme.
Besides, she added, the American companies in India are earning $27.5 billion annually.
Swaraj said that the Trump administration has so far not announced any comprehensive policy changes impacting non-immigrant work visa programmes.
H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the US which allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. It was first introduced in 1990 and since then the policy has seen a lot of flip-flop.–IANS
