The biggest hit would come in the form of increased restrictions on temporary work visas, such as the H-1B, which Indian and U.S.-based IT services firms use to bring offshore workers on-site stateside. During his campaign, Trump called for raising the minimum salary for H-1B holders to $100,000 per year, from the current threshold of $60,000 per year.
“Any Trump-inspired reform of the U.S. immigration laws will likely make it harder to move employees into the U.S. market,” says Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of outsourcing research firm Everest Group. “This will likely take the form of fewer H-1Bs, higher costs for visas, and caps on the number of visas the firms can utilize. That would likely result in IT services firms having to hire more U.S.-based resources, raising operating costs and reducing the labor cost advantages of offshore outsourcing.
The hundreds of thousands of workers currently holding temporary work visas and residing in the U.S. could also come under greater scrutiny if Trump upholds one of his signature campaign promises to strengthen the enforcement of immigration regulations. That would threaten not just new IT service deals but existing engagements, says Phil Fersht, CEO of outsourcing research firm HfS Research.
In addition, Senator Chuck Schumer, one of the most active opponents of the use of temporary work visas by IT services firms, has been appointed Senate Minority Leader. “With Trump's aggressive stance on protecting U.S. jobs, massively raising the H1B minimum wage, combined with the determination of Schumer leading the Democrat Party faction, this does not bode well for the future of the offshore business for at least the next four years,” Fersht says.
