'H-1B Rules Designed To...': Indian Workers, Employers On Trump's Visa Fee Hike

'The cost of hiring H1-Bs is already high. Now every company is feeling the heat,' a US-based recruiter said.

In his latest move, Trump imposed a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applicants through an executive order to curb “abuse” of the employment visa.

(Photo: The Quint)

“It’s disappointing to go through this… I plan to restart my career in London now,” said Hari Renganathan, a data scientist at Take Two Interactive, a gaming company headquartered in New York.

Soon after the 25-year-old graduated from Columbia University around three years ago, he landed the job with his temporary student work visa (OPT or optional practical training). He has applied for the H-1B lottery thrice—but to no avail.

From Silicon Valley to Wall Street, Indians have fueled America’s tech industry for decades, making up more than 70 percent of all H-1B visa holders as per the last fiscal year. But now, the American dream has turned its back on them. In his latest move, US President Donald Trump imposed a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applicants through an executive order to curb “abuse” of the employment visa.

Like Renganathan, the fee hike has left thousands of skilled tech workers unsure of what their future holds in the US, with some scouring alternative visa categories and others planning to leave the country altogether.

As for Renganathan, he wishes to rid himself of the uncertainty of the H-1B visa and move to London, which he calls a "more welcoming" place. He chose London because the UK allows recent graduates of a globally recognised top-ranked university like Columbia to live and work in the UK without needing a job offer or a sponsor.

Immigrants Considering Moving Out of US

Renganathan is not alone in his worry about his future in the US.

In 2023-24, approximately 200,000 Indians enrolled in graduate programmes in the US. After graduating, they usually obtain their one- to three-year OPT work visa, and then look for an employer to sponsor their H-1B visa.

The H-1B visa programme is a legal immigration pathway that lets US companies bring in highly skilled foreign workers on a temporary basis, filling specialty roles in healthcare, technology, finance, and other fields.

The registration until now had cost around $1,000 to $4,500, based on whether the visa was expedited. Trump’s move significantly raises the cost for employers as they petition for an employee’s H-1B through the current lottery system.

This fall, about 40 percent fewer international students are expected on college campuses in the US, according to the non-profit NAFSA Association of International Educators.

Visa experts are also witnessing a decline in interest among Indians to come to America for education or employment.

“It seems that life on H-1B is being made more unsustainable, so that people themselves make the decision of giving up and moving out of the country,” said Aditi Paul, a visa coach based in New Jersey.

While the White House later clarified that the order only applies to new visa applicants, veteran tech professionals, too, can’t help but feel restless. Swagata Ashwani, 32, has been a data scientist in the US for eight years. Yet, she is finding the H-1B reapplication process “nerve-wracking.”

“H-1B is very hard while staying in the country itself, so outside of the country, I can’t imagine,” she noted, “Instead of applying for H-1B, I would say work for a company for a few years and try the L1 route (a visa for employees transferring from a company’s foreign branch to a related office in the US temporarily).”

Workers & Employers, Both Bear the Brunt

Nidhi Bagri, a tech recruiter in New York with a decade of experience, said with the $100,000 fee, companies might avoid hiring "costly" candidates—basically, those who would require a sponsorship.

“The cost of hiring H1-Bs is already significantly high. Now, in every company, in every industry, they are feeling the heat, and it’s a struggle,” says Bagri, who was earlier a recruiter for Tata Consultancy Services and later a 'Technical Sourcer' for Google on a contractual basis.

Trump’s proclamation was part of an agenda to secure more jobs for American workers. In another order on the same day, he introduced a “gold card” for fast-tracking immigrant visas at $1 million.

However, there are many who have been part of past US administrations who are not content with Trump's move.

Doug Rand, a former official with the Department of Homeland Security, is disappointed by the drastic change—and hopes the order gets quashed in court soon. “I’m very confident, having been on the inside and now observing on the outside, that this change is actually not necessary. But this is an administration that really, really doesn’t believe in the obvious fact that immigrants contribute to America,” Rand said.

The IT workforce in the US accounts for 65 percent of all H-1B visa holders, with a majority being from India. Following Trump’s order, India sharply responded that this would have “humanitarian consequences”—and that the US was “afraid of our talent.”

No matter what the outcome of these changes and the possible court challenges are, for Indians, the American dream could come crashing down.