Experts believe the provision of limiting the proportion of H1-B/L1 visa workers relative to total US employees to 50 per cent will make Indian companies increase their onsite presence.
The H1-B/L1 documents are non-immigrant visas that allow US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations.
According to a survey conducted by analyst research firm Offshore Insights, the possibility of large scale acquisitions, in the range of $200-$500 million (Rs 1,200-3,000 crore), is feasible as this will give Indian firms access to an employee base of 2,000-3,000.
“Acquisitions will allow Indian firms to solve several of their problems.
"They will not only be able to increase their local presence, but also acquire intellectual property, get access to a new client base and also think of getting into a shared service model,” says Sudin Apte, research director and chief excutive officer, Offshore Insights.
The Bill, which has recently been approved by the Senate and has to now come in the House of Representatives, proposes a complete overhaul of the US immigration law.
It proposes an additional $5,000 per visa as fees for firms with 30-50 per cent of their workforce on H1-B/L-1 visas and an additional $10,000 per visa for firms with over half of their employees on such visas.
Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of outsourcing advisory Everest Group, adds if the outplacement clause gets approved, Indian IT firms will have to hasten the process of getting locals on board.
“If the 15 per cent rule stays in (and it has in the Senate version of the Bill), it will mean that they (Indian companies) have to move very fast and won’t have time to get their act through changing their intake process alone and so many will look at acquisitions,” says Samuel.
“Over the last one to two years, Indian IT firms have been eyeing targets in the US that would have given them a sizeable local presence.
"But the immigration Bill, if passed, will hasten this process of acquisition.
"Most of our large clients are already looking for targets with significant onsite capability,” says Amit Singh, executive director, head technology and co-head outsourcing group, Avendus Capital.
“Firms are quite comfortable looking at targets greater than $100 million in revenues.” Singh adds earlier a deal would be shot down in the absence of a demonstrable
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