Laws to hike H-1B cap introduced in US

It could be the year that the H-1B aspirants get lucky. A number of legislations, each calling for an increase in the annual cap for highly skilled worker (H-1B) visa, have been introduced in the US Congress.

The SKIL Bill, Securing Knowledge, Innovation, and Leadership Act of 2007 or the SKIL Act of 2007 has been reintroduced by Senator John Cornyn while Senator Chuck Hagel has introduced The High-Tech Worker Relief Act of 2007. Both legislations propose increasing the number of H-1B visas from 65,000 to 195,000. The renewed effort to increase the number of H-1B visas comes at a time when the annual quota of H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2008 has been exhausted.

H-1B visas allow highly skilled foreign workers to work in the US for up to three years. Congress has imposed an annual cap on the number of H-1B visas at 65,000. However, this cap does not meet the demand. Immigration expert Arun Vakil said, “This is the first time since the launch of H-1B visa that a lottery system is being introduced.

This could lead to a situation where the most deserving IT professional from India may not get the visa, which will affect the American employer and the Indian applicant who may have to wait till April 1, 2008, to apply for 2009 quota.

Looking ahead, the pro-H-1B lobby in the US will become more active to press for increase in H-1B quota to save the US from losing its competitive edge in world technological leadership.” The Hagel Bill exempts all students who earn a master’s degrees from the cap.

It also exempts advanced degree graduates that have three years of working experience. All family members of H-1B visa holders can come to the US and they can work in the US during their stay.

Foreign physicians can get exempt visas as long as they agree to work in areas that are designated as an area with a shortage of doctors. More on..............

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Make your overseas salary less 'taxing'

Sameer, a software engineer is being deputed to the US for two years. His company has given him certain options for payment of salary during his overseas deputation and Sameer needs help in making the right choice.

His employer has offered him the following alternatives which are typical in the case of Indian employees being deputed overseas: Salary net of hypo tax with taxes borne by the employer: This arrangement, where the employee receives salary after reduction of hypo tax is popularly known as Tax Equalisation. The hypo tax would be equal to the Indian taxes that Sameer would have paid had he continued to remain in India.

The entire overseas tax liability would be borne by Sameer’s employer. Guaranteed net salary with taxes borne by the employer: Under such an arrangement, the employer agrees to pay a guaranteed net salary and bears the entire overseas tax liability. Any risk of increase or decrease in overseas taxes would be borne by the employer.

Gross salary: The employer pays a gross salary and withholds the relevant taxes as applicable to the overseas country. In such cases, the risks and benefits attached to increase or reduction in tax liability would be to the employee’s account.

Existing salary plus additional allowances for the overseas deputation: This is a structure usually followed in case of short-term deputations (six months to one year) with the deputed employee continuing to get his Indian salary plus an additional net of tax daily allowance (per diem) during his stay abroad. Sameer’s perspective, the safest option would be to go for a guaranteed net salary with taxes to be borne by the employer (the employer needs to be a foreign entity in such cases).

Sameer would be insulated from fluctuations in tax rates and interpretations by the US and Indian tax authorities. The concept of hypo tax is gaining popularity even though under this structure, the employee is not insulated from fluctuations in Indian tax rates. The employee’s decision should also factor in key aspects like employer entity (usually a foreign entity), continuity of retirement benefits, and assurance of continued employment at an appropriate level on eventual return to India.

Once the overseas deputation commences, there are various overseas tax compliances that the employee must be aware of. While an employer would typically organise for assistance on the above aspects, these compliances are the personal obligation of the employee.

Further, Indian tax filing obligations, Indian taxes, if any, payable on salary received when overseas and availability of tax credit are matters that need consideration. So, if you are all set to go overseas, you know the questions to ask to ensure that your deputation is less taxing!

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Learning via cellphones for exams

If you were tired or bored of studying books for Common Admission Test (CAT) for IIMs or GRE for admission to colleges in US, you can now use your handset for studies.

EnableM, a wireless applications developer and IMS, the management entrance training institute, will launch a learning vertical for MBA aspirants on cell phones. Starting May 2007, this service would be available on the mobile phones through Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), SMS, voice or data.

The duo although, refused to disclose the cellular service operators which will launch the service, but it will be initially launched by three national players followed by all others.

Charged at Rs 100 to 150 per month on a subscription basis, the companies expects to get 35% market share of test takers within the first quarter.

The service will work as a supplementary learning aid and will allow to take quick tests on specific subjects, access wordlists/ flashcards, quick tips on math and logic etc.

The interactive nature of the medium will enable quick and personalized feedback from the faculty of IMS. Further a student will also get help to figure out eligibility across institutes and universities in and outside the country, with tips on group discussions and personal interviews along with . Eventually, this service will also facilitate greater interaction within the student community.

Amit Zaveri, COO, EnableM says, “Learning through mobile is still at its nascent stage and with the growing usage of mobile phones, we thought this would be the most opportune period to tap this market. We think that mobile can be used to enrich one’s quality of life .”

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IT companies outlook grim on increased wages, MAT

The IT industry performance for the 2006-07 may well be in line with expectations or even better but the outlook for the current fiscal won’t be anything to cheer about. It’s not just the strengthening of the rupee, which is at an eight-year high, that will impact the outlook but also increase in wages and the minimum alternate tax (MAT) that could cumulatively take a toll on the IT industry.

Another worrisome aspect is the continued dependence of the IT companies on the routine applications development and maintenance (ADM) tasks and their inability to scale up significantly to the higher billing and more complex tasks in areas like logistics, retail, automobiles and aerospace.

Says Sid Pai, partner TPI International (a global advisory firm), ``sustaining topline growth will be a challenge.’’ Adds Kiran Karnik, president, Nasscom ,``margins will be down 1% to 2%. M&A activity will also be impacted with valuations coming down.’’ On topline growth, while there is no worry on the demand side, the IT companies particularly the top tier ones will have to evaluate how much can they grow in the ADM space. Explains Pai, ``the market share numbers are a cause for concern.

The Indian IT companies have at least a 26% market share of the $50 million plus contracts in the ADM space. Some studies estimate the share of Indian players to be 50%. While demand is there, the fact is that there is a limit to how much you can grow with routine services.

Adding to the problems is the fact that billing rates are flat and companies do not have the capability to deliver the much talked about high value tasks.’’ While there is lot of room for the IT companies to grow which in effect could ensure topline grows at rates witnessed in the past, that is upwards of 30%, it is the large players who will have to evaluate their options. Says Karnik, ``I don’t see a reason why topline could be impacted.

Though there could be constraints in managing the growth. For instance, the industry could find it difficult to get the right kind of talent.’’ Apart from the shortage of skilled manpower, another issue is the increase in wages which will impact profitability. Says Vikram Bapat, associate director, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), ``wages have been increasing at about 12-15% a year.

I see a combination of factors including wages, minimum alternate tax, fringe benefit tax on ESOPs, sluggishness in the US economy and the strengthening rupee together denting operating margins.’’ Typically, for every 1% fluctuation in foreign currency against the Rupee there is a 0.4% impact on operating margins. Says a CFO of an IT major, ``companies usually take forward cover for one or two quarters to take care of currency fluctuations. Though if the rupee continues to remain strong, as is anticipated, there will be a squeeze on margins.’’ A large exposure to the US market makes the companies more vulnerable to currency fluctuations. To overcome the hurdles on the growth path companies now have little choice but to accelerate growth in new markets and new services. ..... More

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H-1B visas hit 65,000 ceiling for FY08 on Day 1

This is not a bad April Fool’s joke, but a harsh reality. In a record of sorts, the 65,000 cap for H-1B visas for the financial year 2008 was reached on the very first day when the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) started accepting applications — on April 2.

The USCIS has now announced that it has received enough H-1B petitions to meet the Congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2008 and has, in effect, extended the deadline by a day to April 3, even though more than 65,000 applications were received on the very first day.

A random selection process will be used for all cap-subject H1B visa filings received on April 2 and April 3. USCIS will reject and return along with filing fees all petitions received on those days that are not randomly selected. So petitioners who are eliminated through the random selection process will now have to wait for a year till April 1, 2008 to re-submit their applications when H-1B visas become available for FY 2009.

The USCIS has set April 2 & 3 as the final receipt dates and has devised a special computer-generated random selection procedure to cope with the unprecedented rush.

All H1B applications received on or after April 4 will be automatically rejected. Till late on April 2 (Monday), USCIS had received more than 150,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions.

Considering the large number filings, the random selection process too is likely to take time and may run into several weeks.

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