US rebuts report on H-1B visa cap over data localization |
The United States has no plans to cap H-1B visas, the state department said.Reuters news agency had reported earlier that the United States is considering caps on the H-1B visa programme for countries that force foreign companies to store their data locally, a move that is being seriously considered by India, with a legislation to codify it on the anvil. Shares in Indian IT firms had dropped in early trading because of the report, as reported by Reuters. Wipro Ltd fell nearly 4% and Infosys and TCS fell more than 2% each. “The broader Nifty IT index`s 1.8% fall was its biggest intraday percentage decline in over five weeks,” Reuters had reported. The news report had, thus, raised major concerns in New Delhi and Washington DC, coming as it did just days before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo`s visit, which was in danger, as a consequence, of being dominated by hostile reactions from the Indian government and businesses. “The US has no plans to place caps on H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally,” a state department spokesperson said in a statement to Hindustan Times, addressing the Reuters` report`s central contention that the Trump administration was considering the move as a punishment for India in an ongoing trade war.
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