Increased US visa fees won't affect margins, says Indian firm
September 01 2010 by Liam Clifford
US Visas - American flag
Infosys Technologies, an Indian firm with large operations in the US, says it is unlikely to suffer a major dent in its margins as a result of the increase in US visa fees.
The firm was expected to be among the worst-affected by the US immigration department's decision to increase fees for skilled work visas and the visas used to transfer staff from abroad to work in the US. However, Subhash Dhar, Executive Council and Group Head of Sales & Marketing at the firm, stated, "It will not make a big dent in our margins. I don't think it will have any material impact on our financials."
Despite this positive outlook, Dhar did add that the costs may be passed on to US customers. He added that this move could result in increased pressure to offshore much of the work the firm currently does in the US, which could, in turn, lead to a reduction of jobs in the US.
Infosys usually applies for between 7,000 and 8,000 US work visas each year. As a result of the increased fee levied on these applications, the firm is expected to pay an extra $15 million annually.
The fee for each visa is increasing to $4,500 from just $2,000.
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