Modi's Veiled Dig Amid Trump's H1B Visa Bombshell |"Trump's Massive Own Goal" | What's Next?| Barkha

Just last month, the Trump administration introduced a sweeping reform to H-1B visa program which includes a new $100,000 fee for each applicant. The change to the H-1B visa program is expected to affect at least 30,000-40,000 Indian professional visa aspirants. More than 70% of H-1B visas were received by Indian professionals in FY2017. The policy is to restrict entrance to the U.S. only to “highly valuable” workers,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik says.

When it seemed like relations between India and the US were warming, Trump’s new H1B visa policy shook things up. Barkha Dutt took a discussion with an amazing panel of experts—including Gurcharan Tas, Chitra Subramanyam, Prasad Dvuri, and Ambassador Mijie Puri - to analyze the potential impact of a $100,000 annual H1B fee on Indian professionals and global talent dynamics.

Indian Leaders Respond:

Prime Minister Modi made the comments as an indirect reference, saying India should wean itself off reliance on other countries and instead adopt “self-reliance” as a creed.

Rahul Gandhi hit out at Modi over the announcement, dubbing him a “weak Prime Minister”.

Expert Panel Perspectives:

1. Ambassador Mjrie Puri: Sees it as a short-term problem for Indian students and professionals seeking opportunities in the United States, but emphasizes the long-term political and economic consequences.

2. Gurcharan Tas: The policy could stand as a potential inflection point for India, encouraging brain gain, innovations, and making India’s domestic IT ecosystem stronger.

3. Chitra Subramanyam: Recommends using the opportunity to develop India's infrastructure, manufacturing, and medium/small-scale segment further, while exploring alternative opportunities in Europe.

4. Prasad Dvuri (former H-1B recipient): There’s short-term pain, but long-term opportunity—skills will be useful elsewhere, and India has a chance to keep talent at home while creating less linear professional paths across the world.

Consensus Points:

The policy will present short-term disruptions for Indian professionals and families who are apparently headed to the U.S. In the longer term, it could be good for India by reducing brain drain and promoting innovation and growth in IT at home as well as manufacturing.

Other destinations such as Europe, the UK, and the UAE may emerge more attractive to Indian professionals who were earlier vying for the U.S., thereby generating new global opportunities.

This could backfire for the U.S., because American companies, unable to source top talent within their borders, will find themselves with a mismatch between policies and economic reality.

Bottom Line:

Though the H1B fee hike is a massive setback for Indian aspirants in the short term, experts see it as an opportunity for India to invest in self-reliance, innovation, and talent retention and look at other global markets where its skilled force can work.