By IANS
New Delhi : Replying to two US senators who have queried nine Indian IT firms on allegations of misuse of H-1B visa facility, a leading Indian IT lobby Wednesday said such visas are "beneficial" for the growth of both American and Indian companies.
National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) was replying to US senators Chuck Grassley and Richard Durbin on behalf of the nine Indian IT companies.
"H-1B visas are beneficial to both, US and Indian companies, and also to the US economy," Nasscom said in a letter to the US senators, according to its statement.
The letter pointed out that the visa programme is not limited only to the IT sector or Indians. In 2006, almost 14,000 visas were granted to American educational institutions.
It also highlights the increasing two-way trade between the two countries with India buying a wide range of US-made goods ranging from aircrafts, garments to wheat.
Besides, the IT industry as well as other sectors in India use computers and software that are produced in the US and American companies have bagged some of India's large-scale outsourcing contracts, Nasscom said.
In the education sector, Indian students form the biggest group of foreign nationals in the US, and they spend almost $3 billion a year.
The Nasscom letter said a large number of H-1B visa holders have often contributed to the US' innovation and entrepreneurship process, resulting in the creation of job opportunities.
It says the visa holders pay taxes, social security and have made significant contributions to the US economy.
The body has also offered to meet and deliberate over the issue with the senators at a convenient time.
Earlier this month, Republican Grassley and Democratic Durbin, both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees, asked the nine Indian firms, including Infosys, Wipro and Satyam, to explain their use of the H-1B visa programme.
"More and more it appears that companies are using H-1B visas to displace qualified American workers," they said in letters sent to the nine firms, which used nearly 20,000 of the available visas, seeking details about their workforce by May 29.