To H-1B, or not to H-1B was never really a choice for Indian IT services companies through the 1990s and the 2000s; nor was it so for American companies hiring Indians, directly or through staffing services companies, in the two decades. That second number is much larger than the first. In the 2000s, for instance, roughly 600,000 Indians were issued H-1B visas, with only around 100,000 of these to those working for Indian IT firms. Clearly, American industry leveraged the
To H-1B, or not to H-1B was never really a choice for Indian IT services companies through the 1990s and the 2000s; nor was it so for American companies hiring Indians, directly or through staffing services companies, in the two decades. That second number is much larger than the first. In the 2000s, for instance, roughly 600,000 Indians were issued H-1B visas, with only around 100,000 of these to those working for Indian IT firms. Clearly, American industry leveraged the visas to its benefit a lot more than Indian software companies.
For many Indians looking to build careers and lives in the US, H-1Bs were the golden ticket. Their children, born in the US, automatically became citizens — this is one of the provisions of birthright citizenship that the Trump administration sought to change in January, a move that has since been blocked by the courts. They themselves could become citizens by joining the green card queue (although, given the backlog, most of those who went to the US from India on H-1B visas in the 1990s and 2000s are still likely to be in queue).
The Donald Trump administration has targeted H-1B visas for some time, because it sees these as part of the problem (as defined by the MAGAverse) with immigration into the US. While the earlier, prohibitive visa fees of $100,000 for H-1B applicants has been blocked by the courts, the new $103,265 fee, similarly questioned by experts, comes with a vengeance. Touted as a filing fee for every cap-subject H-1B visa application at the time of submission, it doesn’t exempt Indians already living in the US for education.
Trump’s supporters are divided on the H-1B squeeze: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy favour liberalising the visa regime to benefit American industry, while many prominent MAGA Republicans want it tightened further in the name of protecting American workers. Trump’s visa policy not only narrows entry for workers from abroad but has also impacted admissions at US universities. For a country built by immigrants, it’s not an insignificant turn of events. And, as for India, the visa squeeze should prompt a search for an alternative vision for harnessing the country’s homegrown talent.
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