The decision by the IT giant, Infosys, to hire 10,000 Americans in the next two years, was welcomed by the Trump administration today.
“It was a result of the US government’s “pro-growth economic agenda,” said the Trump administration. On Tuesday, the IT giant had made an announcement that it would hire 10,000 Americans in the next two years. Additionally, Infosys also stated that, it would open four new centres in the US, as part of its efforts to reduce the impact of the H1-B visa restraints. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the first of the four innovation centres for new technologies, are likely to open in August in Indiana, which is the home State of the Vice President of US, Mike Pence.
The White House, in a statement, to the Washington Post, referred the announcement by the Bangalore-based Tech firm, as a political victory for the Trump administration. The Trump administration has severely accused outsourcing firms, on several occasions, of unfairly taking away the jobs from the US. The IT firm’s decision was further evident that, companies are restoring investment in the US, as a result of the Trump administration’s “pro-growth economic agenda.”
A White House spokesman, Ninio Fetalvo in a statement said, “We’re glad to see companies like Infosys see opportunity in the American economy again.” Acquisitions had been made by the US on Infosys, and its larger rival, Tata Consultancy Services. The US said these two firms have unfairly gained the lion’s share of the H1-B work visas, by putting extra tickets in the lottery system. The US every year grants, 65,000 H1-B visas, while another 20,000 are kept aside for those with advanced degrees. An official of the Trump administration, at the White House briefing last month, said, a small number of big outsourcing firms, rush the system with their applications, which naturally increases their success rate in the lottery system.
The H1-B visa, is a non-immigrant visa, that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations, and these occupations in turn require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields. The Indian IT firms, depend on the H1 B visas, to hire 10000’s of its employees, every year for their US operations.
The US President Donald Trump’s major election promise, was to reform the H1-B visa system. The US President signed an executive order, last month. The order seeks to make changes to a H1-B visa programme, and bring in highly skilled foreign workers. The executive order will make it difficult for the tech firms, to replace, American workers, with cheap foreign labor. It will also toughen the rules, barring foreign contractors from bidding on government projects.
SUPRAJA
