During SelectUSA Investment Summit being held at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor where 2500+ who-is-who of global business leaders from 70 countries and 1300 companies were present, US President said, “So the bottom line is this: America is proudly open for business, and we want to make it as simple and as attractive for you to set up shop here as is possible.”
He added, “My administration is going to reform the L-1B visa category, which allows corporations to temporarily move workers from a foreign office to a US office in a faster, simpler way.”
About L-1B Visa
L-1B is a non-immigrant visa issued by US government which allows companies to transfer employees certain with specific skill sets. The company should be registered in India (or any other country) as well as in USA. Using L-1B visa, a company can transfer employees’ upto 5 years duration.
In the past, Indian IT companies have faced huge number of rejections in obtaining L-1 visa for working in the USA. During 2012-14, total of 25,296 Indians applied for L-1B visa, out of which 14,104 faced rejection which is 56%, highest in the world. Compared to India, L-1B visa applicants from China and Mexico received rejection rate of 22% and 21%
Due to this, several of employees who reached USA faced harassment from the US Government and it deterred some of the biggest IT companies such as Infosys and TCS to expand further in US.
With easing of rules, it is now expected that more IT companies will open offices in USA, and transfer Indian employees for better business operations.
In the year 2013, US Govt. received 1546 applications for Green Card from L1 visa holders, and average salary of such an applicant was $106,397. Top three IT companies which apply for H1B and L1 visas are: Infosys, TCS and Wipro.
About SelectUSA Event
SelectUSA Investment Summit was started in 2011 to help investors connect with US businessmen and to promote more trade and commerce opportunities in the country. In the last 4 years, this single event has generated more than $20 billion of investments in the USA. Some of the dignitaries which are present in this event: Secretary of State John Kerry, Google Inc. Chairman Eric Schmidt, BMW North America Chief Executive Officer Ludwig Willisch and Michelin North America Inc. President Pete Selleck, Iconic investor Warren Buffet.
The two day event will hold talks and meetings on several issues such as cyber security, trade, immigration, tax policy and infrastructure.
USA Government wants more companies to set up base in their country, which will lead to more jobs and more commerce. Although USA added 30 lakh new jobs in 2014, as unemployment rate dropped 5.5% in the last 12 months, the country is still reeling from $21 trillion of debt, which can only be removed by greater economic push and more income.