While the US aims to prioritise domestic workers, critics fear losing skilled professionals to other countries
Washington: Yale University scholar Gautam Mukunda has sharply criticised the United States government’s recent decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, warning that it risks pushing away world-class talent, especially graduates from India’s premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
“Every country in the world would kill to get the best IIT graduates,” Mukunda said, highlighting the unmatched talent emerging from India’s elite institutions. He lamented that the fee hike is “throwing this asset away for no reason,” calling the policy economically unsound and detrimental to US competitiveness in technology and innovation.
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The H-1B visa program, a critical pathway for skilled foreign workers, particularly in tech, engineering, and healthcare sectors, has been a key enabler for Indian professionals to work and innovate in the US. Indian-origin talent leads many of America’s top tech firms, including Google, Microsoft, and IBM, while accounting for nearly 6% of American doctors.
The Trump administration’s steep increase from about $2,000 to $100,000 per visa application aims to prioritise domestic workers but has faced backlash from tech leaders and economists alike. Many warn that this policy may harm US growth by discouraging high-calibre professionals from migrating.
IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti views the fee hike as a potential “blessing in disguise” for India, believing it could induce more of the country’s brightest minds to stay and drive domestic innovation and research.
Social media reactions underscore the dilemma: while some argue that top companies like Apple and Microsoft will still pay premiums to attract talent, others see the policy as a missed opportunity that may benefit rival economies eager to recruit skilled Indian graduates.
With the H-1B program under strain, experts urge reevaluation to maintain the US’s historic advantage in attracting and retaining global talent that fuels scientific and technological progress.
Published: 24 Sept 2025, 03:08 pm IST
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