Will Donald Trump Curb H-1B Visas?

Indian outsourcing firms are facing the wrath of President-elect Donald Trump with the soon-to-be 45th president forcing technology outsource companies to reconsider their hiring strategies in the U.S.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, citing Vishal Sikka, chief executive of Infosys, Sikka said depending on Trump’s policies, it could have an impact on how the companies work. Saying there is still a big shortage of tech workers in the U.S. with the right skills, Sikka said his company will still need to “train and hire more locally and work together with clients in figuring out how to balance that with the global talent that is outside, using more technology and so forth and use the visa as necessary and as permitted.”

The Wall Street Journal noted that demand for H-1B visas, which are designed to fill jobs when Americans don’t have the right skills to fill them, is high not only from outsourcing companies but also tech firms in America. In April, the WSJ noted the number of people applying for H-1B visas surpassed the 85,000 available visas within in five days of them coming available, which marks the fourth straight year in which demand outstripped supply. Two-thirds of the visas are reserved for the technology sector. Critics of the Indian outsourcing company say it gets high-skill visas for jobs people in the U.S. can do but for more money.

“We hope we can work together” with the Trump administration, said Shivendra Singh, who heads global trade development for India’s tech industry body Nasscom in an interview with the WSJ. Nasscom reduced its growth forecast for the outsourcing industry after Trump won the election.

“People mention visa abuse, low cost of labor, the replacement of American workers,” he said, noting that Indian outsources work with big companies in the U.S. and contribute to the economy.