Will Indian IT Firms Expand in Canada and Mexico to Overcome US Visa Restrictions?

Indian IT services providers are reportedly mulling setting up additional operational outposts in Mexico and Canada in order to guard against the potential disruption that the suspension of H1B visa processing could bring to their US operations.

“The pandemic has prompted companies to look at worker clusters away from land sites but close enough to collaborate on projects,” according to Indian news daily Mint.

The report seems more or less speculation, as no Indian IT provider has confirmed that they were deploying more employees in the countries close to the United States.

In addition, a large majority of Indian IT outsourcing firms have a significant presence in both Mexico and Canada.

However, analysts in the Indian software city of Bangalore say setting up outputs is a “strong possibility,” pointing to Canada’s invitation to Indian tech talent.

Shortly after the US suspended H1B visa processing, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said his country was eager to welcome high-skilled workers.

“We have a plan in place that looks to leverage the best and the brightest from around the world. We’ve got pathways like the Express Entry program, and the Global Talent Stream, which will help to bring entrepreneurs, engineers, and innovators,” Mendicino said, according to Times of India.

Under the Canadian government’s global skill strategy, IT companies can obtain a visa for their employees within 2 weeks. Moreover, Indians make up a majority among the new immigrants who arrived in the North American country in the past two years.

Now that remote working has become a new trend, IT workers in Canada can work alongside their American colleagues, taking advantage of the time zone alignment.

In the meantime, stock investors seem to have ignored the visa suspension and its potential impact on the operations of Indian IT providers. The shares in Infosys and TCS have rallied nearly 10% so far this week.