New US bill with H1B visa curbs to hurt IT firms The United States is set to pass a bill on immigration with major implications for the $146-billion Indian IT sector and its employees. The bill seeks to prohibit companies based in the US from hiring H-1B employees if they employ more than 50 people, of which more than 50% are H-1B and L-1 visa holders. Donald Trump has sounded death knell for the H-1B visas by proposing to raise the minimum wage. NEW DELHI: The number of H-1B visas issued to Indians remains high and it constitutes 70% of the total H-1B visas issued worldwide by Washington , said visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Michele Bond in what would indicate Obama administration's willingness to continue with the existing policy.Bond who was in India to hold fifth annual Consular dialogue with her counterpart in MEA told a select group of media here on Tuesday that 11,0000 Indian citizens were issued H1-b visas between October 2014 and September 2015. This makes it almost 70 per cent of total H1-b visas issued worldwide by the USA.

Source: Times of India August 24, 2016 04:42 UTC