Nasscom, India’s tech industry body, reacted to US President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown after the administration suspended several firms, including Microsoft , from a programme that allows companies to apply for green cards for foreign workers, accusing it of abusing the system.
In its reaction to the suspension, India’s tech industry body National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said immigration and skilled talent mobility were two separate issues and should not be seen through the same lens.
The industry body also said that Indian technology companies operate in more than 80 countries and have consistently demonstrated their commitment to complying with local laws and regulatory requirements. “We believe in the strength and talent of the American workforce. That is why the vast majority of Microsoft employees in the US are Americans.
We look forward to providing the administration with additional information,” it said. Microsoft said that out of the nearly 6,000 H-1B visa applications it submitted in the last fiscal year, a total of 80 per cent of them were to “extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees”. Defending its H-1B filings, Microsoft said that it files the petitions for the people who “meet the rigorous standards of this visa category”.
