Sigh of relief for Indian IT sector! Trump is not pushing for legislative changes in H1-B visa programme

In the latest executive order, US President Donald Trump is not going forward with the drastic legislative changes in the H1-B visa programme. Instead, he has asked his department to suggest reforms to ensure H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid beneficiaries.

The Indian IT sector was getting sleepless nights over the H-1B visas row and this news comes as a breather for the industry.

Trump is pushing for 'Buy American, Hire American' in which he directed the US secretary of state, attorney general, secretary of labor and secretary of homeland security "to suggest reforms.

"Nothing is being proposed that would impact or change the fiscal 2018 H-1B lottery that is currently underway. The proposed changes are forward-looking and non-specific," said National Association of Software and Services Companies.

What Trump has done is he has directed the American bureaucracy to make some legislative changes and weed out draconian measures.

The US has recently accused the Indian IT companies of misusing the H-1B visa regime.

“As long as it is fair and even, a level playing field for everyone, we are committed to stay compliant. We have said that our dependence on visas will progressively reduce as our size and scale increases... We are shifting to a less-visa-dependent model," Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO of Tata Consultancy Services told ET.

Meanwhile, the Indian government is in talks with the US and Australian authorities on visa policies.