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Impact Project slams Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee: ‘Advancing xenophobic agenda'
The organisation said that the “chaotic” rollout sparked panic and chaos, particularly for those who were abroad at that time.
Terming the $100,000 fee on H-1B visa petitions a “reckless” move, the Indian American Impact strongly condemned the new rule imposed by President Donald Trump-led US administration. Indian American Impact, a leading community organisation, said the H-1B visa fee is about “weaponising” immigration policy to advance a “xenophobic agenda.”
The organisation said that the “chaotic” rollout sparked panic and chaos, particularly for those who were abroad at that time.
The proclamation “is not about protecting American jobs; it is about weaponising immigration policy to advance a xenophobic agenda. By targeting H-1B holders, Trump is both sabotaging our economic future and fuelling discrimination against Indian Americans and all immigrant communities across the country,” executive director of Indian American Impact Chintan Patel said on Monday.
Patel added that Trump’s $100,000 fee on H-1B visas is a “direct attack" on the very workers and communities who fuel America’s economy and innovation.
On Friday, the Trump administration announced a one-time USD 1,00,000 fee on H-1B visas.
Founded in 2016, Indian American Impact is a political advocacy group which works to build power for Indian and South Asian Americans by mobilising, engaging and electing members of these communities across the US. The group said that the “devastating” policy threatens America’s global leadership, undermines the high-skilled workforce that drives US competitiveness, and places an unbearable burden on families and businesses alike.
“The consequences will be immediate and devastating: families separated, careers derailed, and communities destabilised. Immigrants have always been America’s greatest strength, building prosperity, breakthroughs, and communities that enrich us all. Instead of embracing that strength, Trump is clamping down on every form of immigration, tearing families apart, destabilising businesses, and weakening our economy,” he said adding that the America “we believe in welcomes talent, keeps families together, and builds shared prosperity.”
With over 1.5 million engineering graduates annually and the world’s largest pool of English-speaking technical professionals, India has become the global talent factory, Attorney Navneet Chugh told PTI.
He said that Indian workers, who makeup for over 70% of H-1B visa-holders, make the backbone of f America’s strategy to address talent shortages in critical STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields.
“These workers fill gaps in research, engineering, computer programming, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing—areas where domestic talent supply consistently falls short of demand,” Chugh added.
