Washington: A special $2,000 fee could return on H-1B and L-1 visas for Indian IT companies to fund a 9/11 healthcare act in the US with a group of Congressmen quietly mounting fresh efforts to reimpose it.
Such a move has been made part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which funds health screenings and treatments for 9/11 first responders.
The bill, named after Detective James Zadroga who died of a respiratory illness in 2006, expired on October 1. Lawmakers are seeking to permanently extend the bill and want to generate necessary funds by imposing a $2,000 additional fee on H-1B visas.
The bill has been written in such a way that it would impact only Indian companies.
According to NASSCOM, Indian companies had paid between $70 to 80 million per annum between 2010 and 2015.
The "extra fee applies to companies with at least 50% of their employees on H-1B visa or L-1 visas, and is in addition to the other fees paid by employers," Computerworld reported.
Because of its 50% threshold, it mostly hits the large Indian IT services firms, the leading users of the H-1B visa, the report said.
