'Staffing firms cornered 30-40% of H-1B visas'

With Donald Trump all set to take over for a second term as US President, MUKESH AGHI, president and chief executive officer of Washington-headquartered US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, which has top companies from both the countries as its members, talks about the challenges and opportunities in business between the two nations in a video interview with Surajeet Das Gupta. Edited excerpts:

- Mukesh Aghi

There is a big battle brewing between Trump and his advisor Elon Musk, who support H-1B visas, and the MAGA (Make America Great Again) group that wants jobs to go to Americans. Will this mean that the visa programme will be adversely impacted?

The whole H-1B visa was set up to bridge the gap between supply and demand of tech workers for US companies, that is highly skilled workers who could come in and be productive from day one. But as time went by, a substantial number of staffing companies started abusing the system by bringing in low-skilled workers and cornering permits. That sent a wrong message to local workers as, in some cases, they were laid off in lieu of H-1B workers, mainly due to cost. However, this has given ammunition to those who are opposed to illegal immigration and that has made it difficult for tech companies which want to be competitive.

How serious is the issue?

We reckon that as much as 30-40 per cent of the H-1B visas go to these staffing companies. And, on average, they offer salaries ranging from $80,000 to $100,000 per annum compared to global tech companies which offer wages from $120,000 to $150,000 per annum. So, the gaming has made it challenging for us to justify more and more legal immigration.

But it is also true that most H-1B visa workers want to stay back and apply for green cards. Is that an area for concern for the MAGA group?