Congress may push India's IT firms to Mexico with H-1B crackdown

[Newsjock]

Source: Computerworld

As Indian firms fight the threat of H-1B restrictions, IT services companies might not leave their fate to politics. In an effort to reduce their need for visas, they may look to increase their presence south of the border.

Indian IT firms have boosted operations in Mexico in recent years to serve Latin American and U.S. customers. One advantage to doing so involves the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which enables Mexican and Canadian professionals to work in the U.S. without an H-1B visa.

In other words, Indian firms could send employees to Mexico, and then move some of their Mexican workers to the U.S. under the auspices of the treaty. The Mexican workers would not need an H-1B visa to work in the U.S., though they would need what's called a TN visa. That visa is available to Mexican and Canadian nationals who qualify under a number of professional categories and meet specific education and experience requirements.

... The NAFTA benefit -- essentially allowing Indian companies to move relatively lower cost workers in and out of the U.S. without the H-1B visa -- was cited this week by Phaneesh Murthy, president and CEO of IT services firm iGate Corp., in Fremont Calif. IGate has the majority of its 6,500-plus workforce in India.

Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9135883/Congress_may_push_India_s_IT_firms_to_Mexico_with_H_1B_crackdown

[yourout]

1. NAFTA...the gift that just keeps giving.

I wish Thom Hartman was President Obama's trade advisor.

[OhioChick]

12. No shit. n/t

[jody]

2. NAFTA opponents made that point before it was ratified by the Senate. China/India can easily

dominate Mexico's economy with it's cheap labor, free trade with the U.S. and an eventual NAFTA Super Highway.

[sharp_stick]

7. Newsmax link??

should be outlawed or at the very least pointed out in the post.

If it can't be supported by something other than that POS site I'm calling it a lie.

[jody]

9. LOL, google NAFTA Superhighway and you'll find 60k links including the two below.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14229

http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/15/big-box-revenge-business-energy-oil.html

I'm delighted I could help educate you. :hi:

[sharp_stick]

10. Google chemtrails

and you get 977000, just cause they're googleable doens't mean they're valid or even real.

If you think a link is important enough to link to it I can only judge you feel that link is the most valid available, it aint my job to do your research.

[jody]

11. And it's not my job to think for you. Have a blissful day. n/t

[UndertheOcean]

3. Wasn't Bill Clinton prez at the time.

[theophilus]

4. I think there should be strong incentives for U.S. companies to create jobs for Americans. That

said, if we are going to ship jobs out of country I believe it should be to the Americas. If we are providing benefits for non-U.S. workers those benefits should at least be for our neighbors. That is just my opinion, of course.

[sharp_stick]

5. Would these Indians

become Mexican citizens then? IIRC you need to be a citizen of the US, Canada or Mexico to take part in the NAFTA TN Visa. This VISA also has to be renewed each year, although at a much lower cost than the H1.

[sharp_stick]

6. I've never really understood

why Indian companies would set up operations in a foreign country and then do everything in their power to hire only or mostly Indian nationals to work in that foreign company. Why bother setting up at all. It's an industry that can be run almost anywhere unless it involves physical services like running cable or watching server farms.

At the very least it's a practice that should be stripped from the H1B, it's nothing to do with the reasoning for having the H1B VISA. We over the last several years have been having a tough time recruiting because these Indian companies hoard all the damned VISA's and we lose out on some great additions.

[high density]

8. That's the thing, the offshoring companies do need some onsite workers

Whether it is simply a physical demand for the work or perhaps a stipulation in a client contract that demands some local bodies. The Indian companies want these people as cheap as possible, hence the import of Indian labor.

[ChromeFoundry]

13. And corporate USA will do everything in...

its power to keep it this way.