US H1-B hike to 600,000 can be big software export boost

Business Line
Oct 8, 2000
New Delhi: Indian software exports to the United States would touch $ 3.7 billion during 2000-01 against $ 2 billion in the previous year if Washington approves the proposal to hike the H1-B visa limit to nearly 600,000 people for next three years. "If the proposal to hike the H1-B visa limit to nearly 600,000 people over the next three yeas is approved, software exports to the US would touch $ 3.7 billion of the total $ 6.3 billion software export during 2000-01" Dewang Mehta, President, National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said, addressing a seminar at India Chem 2000 here. The US Congress had recently approved and sent to the White House a proposal to allow nearly 600,000 H1-B visas, mostly for hi-tech workers, over three years.