Trump’s H-1B Visa Shock: As New Delhi Studies ‘Full Implications’, Can India-US Ties Withstand Fee Hike?
Trump’s second term as the President of the United States is proving nothing less than a tumult, as he keeps throwing one googly after the other. After reciprocal tariffs, the 47th US President has come out with yet another shocker, leaving the foreign workers, especially the Indians in the country, confused.
On Friday (September 19, 2025), Trump signed a proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers”, justifying the measure as a crackdown on what he called the exploitation of the H-1B system. The new fee, taking effect September 21, 2025, represents a staggering leap from the current $2,000–5,000 range.
The White House has defended the move, claiming it will generate over $100 billion for the US Treasury and ensure entry only for the “extraordinary people at the very top.”
Trump H-1B visa fee hike: How Indian govt reacted?
The Indian government on Saturday (September 20, 2025) voiced “serious concern” over Trump’s decision to raise the annual H-1B visa fee to $100,000 (nearly Rs 9 lakh), warning that the move could severely disrupt skilled Indian professionals and their families.
An official statement said policymakers were examining the full implications while stressing that the issue affects both innovation and humanitarian considerations. “Industry in both India and the US has a stake in creativity and competitiveness,” the spokesperson said, adding that strong people-to-people ties should guide future steps.
How Trump’s H-1B visa executive order impacts Indian professionals?
Indian IT firms are among the largest H-1B recipients, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) securing 5,505 approvals in 2025, second only to Amazon. Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra Americas also depend heavily on these visas.
With the new annual fee, companies face unprecedented financial burdens, and families risk being stranded abroad if they miss the deadline to return before 12:01 am on September 21. Immigration attorneys have already cautioned that many may not make it back in time.
What are US lawmakers and experts saying?
While White House officials branded H-1B “one of the most abused visa systems,” critics in Washington pushed back. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi called the fee hike a “reckless attempt” to cut America off from the very talent that built its industries. Former Biden advisor Ajay Bhutoria warned of a loss to America’s technology edge, while attorney Cyrus Mehta noted that families caught outside the US are in immediate jeopardy.
Will Silicon Valley pay the H-1B visa price?
Microsoft has already issued an internal advisory urging H-1B employees not to travel abroad. Experts say the steep fee could push skilled workers to other innovation hubs, weakening Silicon Valley’s global dominance.
The irony is stark: while the US introduces a ‘Gold Card’ program allowing the wealthy to buy expedited visas for up to $2 million, Indian professionals, who powered America’s tech economy for decades, now face crippling costs and uncertainty.
Can India and the US find common ground?
India insists that talent mobility has been the backbone of bilateral ties, fueling economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness. By highlighting the humanitarian disruption to families and the potential dent to technology sectors in both countries, New Delhi is hoping for course correction. But with Trump framing the move as a nationalist economic agenda, the episode risks becoming another flashpoint in already fragile India–US relations.
