Capping H1B visas will hit tech outsourcing industry, global firms: Experts

Even though there’s no official word yet on the United States’ (US’) plans to cap H1B visas for countries that ask foreign companies to store data locally, the proposed move, if implemented, could have a far-fetching impact on the technology outsourcing industry as well as global firms who are heavily dependent on Indian talent.

Quoting senior Indian government officials, Reuters on Wednesday had reported that the US government is planning to cap H1B visas issued each year for different countries and the proposed annual quota for Indian companies could be between 10 and 15 per cent. Currently, there are no country-specific limits on H1B allotment.

India has, over the last year, been stressing on data localisation, or storing personal data of Indian citizens in servers placed in the country.