Trump in White House may open the door for skilled Indian techies, students: Experts
During his previous term as president in June 2020, Trump had suspended all H-1B work visas, including for Indians
Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House may open doors for skilled Indian tech workers and students despite his tough immigration stance, according to experts.
During his previous term as president in June 2020, Trump had suspended all H-1B work visas, including for Indians.
Education and visa consultants now believe Trump’s focus on economic revival could create opportunities for India’s technology workforce and students in STEM courses, even as he promises more jobs for American citizens and stricter immigration controls.
“The US economy needs skilled (immigrant) workforce and India may have a better standing versus China in addressing this,” said Narayanan Ramaswamy, partner and head–education and skill development practice, KPMG in India. He added that the “real impact will play out in few years” depending on how the US economy shapes up.
The development is particularly significant for Indian IT services companies, for whom the US is the largest market. These firms regularly send employees on temporary work visas to service clients.
Indian students, who form the largest group of international students in the US, will also be watching closely.
More than 260,000 Indian students went to American universities in the 2022-2023 academic session, marking a 35% increase over the previous year, according to a Mint report in April. This surge comes as other popular destinations like Canada and Australia have restricted international student intake.
“On immigration, Trump 2.0 has already shown incredible clarity—more welcome ruling on international students that brings dollar and fixes talent gap, strong rhetoric on the growing illegal path-crossing on borders,” said Akshay Chaturvedi, founder and CEO of education consultancy Leverage.biz.
The US offers 85,000 H-1B visas annually - 60,000-65,000 through lottery and the rest for highly qualified employees. These visas allow US companies to hire foreign nationals temporarily. Companies can also use L1 visas for onshore transfers.
Madhur Gujar, co-founder and chief business officer at study abroad platform Amber, said Trump’s proposals for automatic green cards and merit-based immigration would benefit Indian students.
“This focus on retaining high-skilled graduates could be beneficial in maintaining the flow of talented students from India, which is the largest source of international students in the US, surpassing China last year for the first time since 2009/10,” Gujar said, adding that no major policy changes were expected soon.
