US may lose its competitive edge due to H-1B clampdown: Report

Agencies
August 8, 2017

Washington, Aug 8: Clampdown on H-1B visa programme will make it difficult for the US IT sector to attract open talent from countries like India and America might lose its competitive edge, a top American think-tank has said.

As the Trump administration is carrying out a review of the non-immigrant visas, the Center for Global Development (CGD) in a report said that H-1B visa, the most sought after by Indian IT professionals, is beneficial for both India and the US.

"It is really important to make sure that the I-T sectors from both countries are allowed to attract the right kind of people, because they really allow for innovation and growth in both the countries," Gaurav Khanna, fellow at the CGD and co-author of the research paper, said.

The report titled 'The IT Boom and Other Unintended Consequences of Chasing the American Dream' takes an in-depth look at how the H-1B visa programme affects both the US and Indian economies. "Both the economies have really benefited from the H-1B programme," he told PTI.

"What our paper is really trying to stress, is that on average the US is better off because of the H-1B programme. So clamping down on the H-1B programme will basically not allow the US IT sector to attract the open talent from places like India. The US might then lose its competitive edge in IT production," he warned, adding that IT companies might move to countries like Canada in the event of large scale clampdown on H-1B visas.

Khanna said the research has shown that India has been a beneficiary of brain-gain, rather than brain drain due to the visa programme.

"If you think about what happens in India, you know the prospect of migrating to the US and earning such a high wage ...it seemed they really encouraged certain students and workers to acquire skills that would be valued by the H-1B programme," he said.

The research, which examines the relationship between migration and the outsourcing of IT production to India since the early 2000s, found that US workers are on average, better off by about USD 431 million or USD 1,345 per additional migrant in 2010 because of the H-1B programme.

The study incorporates crucial mechanisms like innovation by businesses, trade with other countries, and the choices made by students and workers to become computer scientists.

While there are some negative impacts for a subset of the US workers, the overall gains outweigh the losses as the combined incomes of the US and India both rise under the H-1B programme by about USD 17.3 billion or 0.36 per cent. And total IT output from both nations rose steadily under the H-1B regime by about 0.45 per cent in 2010, the CGD research said.

It also found out that better technology, as a by-product of this immigration of tech workers, increased the overall productivity of other sectors as well, and consumers of computer-related goods enjoyed better software and lower prices.

The study found a one per cent decrease in price for US IT products and an 7.4 per cent fall in Indian IT products.

"The average worker in each country is better off because of immigration, and US native workers have made big gains because of the H-1B visa programme," Khanna said.

"Yes, there may be things that can be done to blunt distributional impacts that affect a subset of workers, but overall, this policy has been a net-positive for the US economy and workers," he asserted.

The research found out that those who migrated to the US acquired skills, technical know-how and established networks with US companies. Aftet their visas expired, they returned with these acquired human capital and technology and contributed to the growing tech-workforce in India.

"Together, the brain-gain to India under the H-1B programme outweighs any brain-drain," it said.

According to Khanna, the increase in IT sector productivity, because of the additional knowledge and skilled workers spurred by the H-1B visa programme, allowed India to eventually surpass the US in software exports. Over time, some IT production begins to be outsourced from the US to India.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields.

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News Network
April 14,2024

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New Delhi: A 24-year-old student from India was shot dead inside a car in Canada's South Vancouver, the local police have said. The Vancouver Police in a statement said Chirag Antil, 24, was found dead inside a vehicle in the area after neighbours reported hearing gunshots.

"Officers were called to East 55th Avenue and Main Street around 11 pm on April 12 after residents heard the sound of gunshots. Chirag Antil, 24, was found deceased inside a vehicle in the area. No arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing," the police said.

Chirag Antil's brother Ronit told reporters that Chirag seemed happy when they spoke on the phone in morning. Chirag later took out his Audi to go somewhere. That was when he was shot dead.

The Congress students' wing National Students' Union of India chief Varun Choudhary in a post on X tagging the Ministry of External Affairs requested for assistance to the student's family.

"Urgent attention regarding the murder of Chirag Antil, an Indian student in Vancouver, Canada. We urge the Ministry of External Affairs to closely monitor the progress of the investigation and ensure that justice is swiftly served," Mr Choudhary said.

"Additionally, we request the ministry to extend all necessary support and assistance to the family of the deceased during this difficult time," he said.

Chirag Antil's family is raising money through the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to repatriate his body to India, local media reported.

Haryana resident Romit Antil, the brother of Chirag Antil, told CityNews that he was a kind-hearted person.

"My brother and I had a great relationship. We used to talk every day, day and night. I spoke to him last before the accident happened. He was kind of happy, he never had any issues or fights with anyone, ever. He was an extremely polite person," Romit Antil told CityNews.

Chirag Antil came to Vancouver in September 2022. He just finished MBA at University Canada West, and recently got his work permit.

Here are 5 facts about Chirag Antil

1.    Chirag Antil was a resident of Sonipat, Haryana.
2.    He was the youngest son of Mahavir Antil, a retired employee of the Sugar Mill Department of the Haryana Government.
3.    Chirag moved to Vancouver in 2022 to pursue higher studies at the University Canada West (UCW), in British Columbia.
4.    After completing his MBA, he started working at a company in Canada after getting a work permit.
5.    Chirag's brother Ronit shared in an interview that his younger sibling was a "kind-hearted" person. "I spoke to him last before the accident happened," he said and added that Chirag sounded "happy".

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News Network
April 27,2024

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"I always wanted to be in a bar fight," said a US police official after pinning a Black man down on the ground and kneeling on his neck. The man later died at a hospital.

Ohio Police have come under intense scrutiny following the release of body camera footage showing officers pinning a Black man to the ground in a bar, reminiscent of the events that led to George Floyd's death in 2020.

The video, released by the Canton Police Department, captured the moments leading up to the death of Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old man suspected of leaving the scene of a single-car accident on April 18.

In the footage, officers are seen confronting Tyson inside a bar, where an altercation quickly ensues. Despite Tyson's pleas for help and his repeated cries of "I can't breathe," officers wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him, with one officer applying pressure to his back near his neck while saying, "You're fine." 

Tyson continues to plead for relief while lying on the floor. After several minutes, officers notice his lack of responsiveness and proceed to administer CPR. Paramedics arrive on the scene and transport Tyson to a local hospital, where he later dies.

In the body cam footage, one police officer can be heard bragging about how he always wanted to be in a "bar fight" with one of the patrons of the establishment. 

The circumstances surrounding Tyson's death draw chilling parallels to George Floyd's fatal encounter with Minneapolis Police in 2020 which sparked global outrage. 

The officers involved in Tyson's case, identified as Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. 

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News Network
April 28,2024

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Students in Paris blocked access to a campus building at a French university on Friday, as pro-Palestine demonstrations reach Europe.

The students occupied the central campus building of the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po, and dozens of others blocked its entrance, echoing protest action at American universities.

Students inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses in the United States blocked access to a campus building at the prestigious French university on Friday.

They blocked the entrance with trash cans, wooden platforms and other items.

The occupation of the Paris university campus came after police broke up a separate protest at the university’s amphitheater outside one of its Paris campuses.

Scores of student protesters gathered at the building’s windows, chanting slogans and holding placards reading “We are all Palestinians,” in defiance of administrators who students say called the police on their peers two days earlier.

Pro-Palestinian student protesters had occupied the amphitheater outside one of the university’s Paris campuses on Wednesday evening.

The US-style student protests, which began over the months-long Israeli regime’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, kicked off in the United States and have now spread to European capitals as well as Australia.

In the German capital Berlin, several people were arrested as police violently cleared a camp of Gaza war protesters at the German parliament.

Pro-Palestinian activists are demanding a permanent ceasefire, an end to the Israeli atrocities, and an arms embargo of the Tel Aviv regime.

The Israeli regime launched the war on Gaza on October 7 last year. The genocidal war has killed more than 34,356 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

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