Shares prices of all major IT companies fell soon after news broke that a legislation to double the minimum annual salary of H1B visa holders to USD 130,000 was introduced on Tuesday in the US House of Representatives.
All major IT companies like Infosys, TCS, HCL etc fell by 4 to 10 per cent, Mint reported. Infosys fell 4.5%, which was its steepest fall in six months; TCS fell 5.5%, its biggest fall in 27 months; while Tech Mahindra fell 9.7%, the most in 20 months.
HCL also suffered a fall of 6.3%, its worst slump in 15 months and Wipro Ltd also saw a slump of 4.1%, its worst in nine months, reported Mint.
The BSE IT index went down by 4% to 9,498, Economic Times reported.
"Every 10 per cent hike in H1B can hurt earnings by nearly 10 to 12 per cent of IT companies," Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.
"HCL Tech, TCS are expected to be less impacted, but Infosys and Tech Mahindra will be more impacted."
The Bill comes in the wake of immigration policy changes in the US, days after President Trump took over. For Indian IT giants like Infosys, HCL etc, this move could escalate costs, and lead to massive losses of revenue.
According to IANS, US issued more than a million visas to Indians in 2016, which also accounts for 72 percent of all H1B visas issued worldwide.
Not just IT employees in the U.S, the new rules will also affect their spouses, who will not allowed to work on the visa anymore.
(With IANS inputs)