A Costly Twist in America’s Visa Game, Why Indians Are the Real Target?

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) – A silent storm is brewing in Washington. The Trump administration has quietly approved a massive hike in H-1B visa fees — now set at $100,000 (around ₹80 lakh). What seems like a policy update on paper could, in reality, reshape the future of thousands of Indian tech professionals who dream of working in America.

According to reports, nearly 70% of H-1B visa holders are Indians, most employed in IT, software, and engineering roles. For them, this fee hike feels like a hidden wall — an indirect way to curb foreign talent under the guise of administrative reform.

But that’s not all. Sources reveal that further rule changes are in the pipeline, aimed at redefining which companies and individuals qualify for the visa. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has proposed new conditions that could make it harder for Indian firms and professionals to secure H-1B approvals.

Introduced under the 1990 U.S. Immigration Act, the H-1B visa allows American employers to hire skilled workers from abroad. Each year, only 65,000 visas are issued, with an additional 20,000 slots for master’s graduates from U.S. universities.

A Pew Research Center study reveals that three out of four H-1B recipients in 2023 were Indians, with 60% of them working in the IT sector. For India’s booming tech industry, this new visa cost could become a multi-million-dollar setback, raising the question — is this just a policy move, or a quiet attempt to keep Indian talent out? The answers, for now, remain behind closed doors in Washington.