The U.S. restrictions on temporary work visas has resulted in a surge of demand for software engineers south of the border, with several foreign IT outsourcing firms announcing plans to expand operations in Mexico.

With the talent shortage worsening in the United States, technology outsourcers from India, Europe, and the U.S. are exploring the possibility of serving American clients from Mexico. These multinationals are taking advantage of same time zone, easy border crossing, good technology, and English language skills, according to British daily the Financial Times.

For example, Tech Mahindra, one of India’s largest IT service companies, is considering nearly doubling the size of its 110-strong office in Mexico.

“We’ve been having several conversations that we want to ramp up the operations in [Latin] America,” according to Arvind Malhotra, Tech Mahindra’s senior executive in South America.

The Mexican IT services sector is already worth US$20 billion and is set to outpace the growth of the sector in India, according to HfS Research.

Swiss outsourcer Luxoft is also talking of doubling the size of its Mexican operations. Furthermore, ITexico, an Austin-headquartered company headed by India-born Anurag Kumar, has recently opened a new office in Aguascalientes.

ArkusNexus, another software nearshorer, is gearing up to build a new 1,000 square-foot facility in Tijuana, a Mexican border town that U.S. employees can reach by road in minutes.

While some large U.S. tech brands are expanding in Canada, IT services companies are focusing on Mexico as demand for “nearshore” services soars, the FT reported.