Talent in Transit! I address them like that. At a time when we are exploring opportunities amidst the crisis and challenges thrown at us to survive out of the coronavirus pandemic, there is one more to be tapped. The case here is of the large number of H1B and J1 visa seekers in the queue to get one, but are stranded and are just short of taking off to pursue their “Big American Dreams”. Can the waiting talent pool comprising mostly techies, scientists and researchers be utilised as a “dedicated band in the nation building process”?’
In addition, you also have thousands others waiting in Green Card queues for years and may have to abandon the “American Dream and return to India” if the US immigration policies have the way it wants. Sure, they are assets to be tapped, but it will require quick thinking and accommodating the “in-transit talent” at par with “virtual American work cultures”, including payments in US dollar mode for some and high incentives. The villain for many to jolt them out of their “American Dream” sleep is the new presidential proclamation issued on 22 June by President Donald Trump, putting an indefinite ban on issuing of H1 visa. Many see this as “temporary” and may get suspended before year end or finally with America sending the new President to the White House in January 2021. But some have turned harsh critics of Trump’s proclamation.
One of them is Frank Islam, whose own American Dream’ story is most read and widely heard as he became an epitome of an immigrant making it big in America by minting millions from just $5,000 he had to start with. “The legality of such regulations is unclear… I expect there will be legal challenges to the presidential proclamation. Having said that, I think it is a bad move on the part of the Trump administration to temporarily restrict these work visas. Despite the massive job losses, there are still vacancies in the US tech industry and the country needs to fill in those vacancies to move its economy forward. I firmly believe new Trump H1 visa restrictions will harm US companies,” he said.
Islam added, “The biggest damage the new decision has done is the hostile signal it sends to highly skilled workers in India and other parts of the world, who are considering moving to the United Sates to pursue their professional careers.”
For the time being it is not going the American Dreamers’ way, but we can’t be wasting more time as we need to use them for the skills they have and for what they have been selected to work in the US. We have nearly eight months to one year at hand before things become clear on the issue.
Islam said, “Already, hundreds of thousands of Indian nationals on H-1B and L1 are waiting for their green cards. For some of these workers, it will take decades to get their permanent resident cards. If a significant percentage of these H-1B holders return to India, no doubt, the country will benefit from their arrival. They will be coming back with the skills and experience acquired during their stay in the United States… Obviously, a vast majority of these visa holders are in the information technology industry. The Indian industry, with the way it is growing, can absorb them easily and benefit immensely.”
Nishith Desai, an advocate and founder of India-centric law firm dealing worldwide, said: “Old traditional skills would be done by robots in the future so new skills are to be learnt and that is where this ‘stranded talent pool’ should be harnessed for maximum output in terms of sharing the knowledge and information to many about new age skills in the areas of quantum computing and AI and machine learning, drones and flying cars, bio-engineering.”
Desai, hailing from Mumbai but has his offices worldwide, sees an opportunity for India in this current “temporary visa restrictions from the US side”. He said, “Of course, there is an opportunity. India is about 70% service economy. Most of the services can be performed without travelling to the US — pandemic has proved it. Our tourism industry may not have developed much but AR/VR can replace travel and movie making, telemedicine along with use of IOT in healthcare can avoid the need for travel to the US and yet do the job. Even simple services such as shoe polish chains or hair cutting saloons are not organised in India.”
And if the impasse over H1B visa continues, the next in line should already start learning entrepreneurial skills so that they are not dependent on jobs in the US. Build India through your skills, enterprise and innovative. In return, the Indian government and companies should match the talent with best remuneration possible.
China, for example, had only lifted the best talent from the US and Europe by paying even more than what they were getting back home. No wonder, it became the global hub for AI and robotics. Can India do the same with the “gene pool of talent available”?
According to Desai, the minds available in India can be used to focus on innovations to solve the problems of the poor and work in social businesses and impact investors. “While the talent is available in India, it’s time to make the most of it,” he said. “Currently research and ideation happen in Silicon Valley, while development happens in India. The situation is forcing us to change our mindset. New we are compelled to do research and ideation here in India. From Make in India, move to Innovate in India. Most of the software are not patented. Once you innovate products, patents would follow, but today we are more secure in cost plus model, so no need to take risks.” Many like Desai strongly feel that “although a great concept, but with all the good intentions, Make in India is still some years away”.
Desai, cautioned against what’s ahead for Indians. “India needs to remain confident that US immigration restrictions would not bring long-term benefits to them. In the next three years, negative results will be seen and the reversal movement will begin.” But is India ready to give the best to accommodate this talent, like China started doing about 15 years ago to earn the tag of “Asian Giant”.
Sean Languedoc is the CEO of Code in Canada and Global Talent Accelerator and someone who is making the most from President Trump’s order to restrict H1B visas by diverting the talented workforce to Canada. And he sees this as a big opportunity for India to cash in on “reverse migration and talent optimisation”.
Languedoc said, “The acceptance of remote work is now prolific thanks to Covid-19. This alone represents the biggest opportunity for India and other countries to keep their best talent at home and while increasing GDP from international clients who want to employ them.” Languedoc elaborated, “For years, working for US companies, especially in Silicon Valley, offered an important and prestigious experience for Indian tech workers. But it’s 2020, and Silicon Valley is no longer the only place to get that experience and culture. You can thank Trump for restricting access and forcing expats with temporary work visas to return to India because they are bringing their edge, and education, home. Now India’s tech clusters in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai are the envy of San Jose (south Silicon Valley). The presence of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital offices in these cities is proof that India is already competing with the US for tech leadership.”
Islam added, “The US tech sector has been consistently saying for years that the country doesn’t produce enough skilled workers and the industry will suffer without the intake of manpower through H1B and L1 visa programmes. If it becomes more difficult for tech companies to hire foreign workers, more and more jobs will be outsourced to foreign destinations. In information technology, the country that’s best-placed to be that destination is India. The country should do well to plan for such a scenario.’’
Are the Indian government and India Inc listening and ready to act?
