Donald Trump’s Administration increased a fee for new H-1B visa requests from $ 1,000 to $ 100,000 last week and used a classic approach with shock and AW. Subsequent clarification that this is a one -time fee and not an annual fee alleviated some concerns.
This new entrance barrier reflects a wider anti-immigration sentiment that is cooked in several western countries, into which the Indians traditionally plunged into work and emigration. These countries historically relied on countries such as India and China to fill the lack of work and manage economic growth. In recent years, however, there has been a shift in a public sentiment with the requirements for prioritizing the country’s own citizens to foreign workers.
Close the door
The US decision to increase the H-1B Visa fees shocked India, and the undulating effects were expected in the Information Technology (IT) sector relying on US foreign workers. While Trump began to tighten the rules from the beginning of his second term, a steep hike came as an impact.
But the US is not alone. Several other countries have also adapted to their immigration policy to discourage qualified foreign workers, while intervening illegal and low qualified workers.
The United Kingdom and Sweden have already increased the threshold of the minimum salary for work permit and limited the fund to a small set of highly qualified workers. Canada and Australia, other highest destinations for the Indians, are also planning to issue fewer students and work permits to reduce migration.
Data from the Indian Ministry of Outside show that the US is the largest goal, with 5.4 million foreign Indians, or 15.3% of the total, since 2024. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Switzerland are almost 17% together.
Talent tax
For at least a quarter of a century, foreign workers in the US have offered their skills, innovation and leadership to US companies. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella and Tesla and SpaceX Head Elon Musk were H-1B visa at one point.
While Trump’s decision applies to every country, the Indians will be disproportionately affected, because more than 70% of H-1B visa holders are Indian citizens.
This visa is also not limited to the technological sector. “There is a misconception that H-1B visas for technical staff. A huge range of industries such as health care, non-profit organizations, research institutions and architectural companies will be heavily affected,” said Karin Wolman, lawyer in New York. The $ 100,000 fee also builds H-1B out of reach for small businesses and schools at all educational levels, ”said Karin Wolman, a New York immigration lawyer.
The one -time visa fee is higher than the annual salaries of most workers and almost double the costs of a visa sponsor, at least for the first year. The data show that the disadvantage of Visa’s salary will be even higher for women.
Falling trend
Even before us, intensive interference against legal and illegal immigrants began, the work permits were pressed, which reflected years of dissatisfaction due to economic slowdown and lack of prospects for employment in Western countries. Pandemie Covid-19 and the escalating crisis for living costs further stimulated this sentiment of immigration. Work visa analysis approved by the US, Great Britain and Australia shows a decline between 2023 and 2024.
The number of working visas issued to the Indians fell by 27% in the US in FY24 (October-September), 50% in the UK in 2024 and 36% in Australia in FY24 (July-red). The current squeezing from foreign workers by these countries leaves Indians with a small space to explore. “There is currently a worldwide trend against foreigners coming to the country. But if businesses cannot find work in their own aging population countries, they will have to rely on migrants,” said Cyrus Mehta, founder of Immigration Law firm in New York Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners.
The impact of income
Indians, especially highly qualified and highly educated, have motivation to move abroad. According to a World Bank report called “Migrants, Refugees and Companies”, Indians who migrate abroad often see their income more than double and earn salaries that would take more than 20 years to achieve in India. While the standard of living and expenditure is higher, the savings they send to India through remittances offer a huge advantage. Mint analysis shows that the revenue of Indian origin workers abroad may be 1.5 to 2 times higher than the income of the citizens of this country.
Since Indians who legally migrate to other countries are usually highly educated and well, they have a chance to earn more than the citizens of the country where they work. This income gap has become a source of growing dissatisfaction among Western countries.
(Tagstotranslate) H-1B Visa Feal Hike (T) Anti-Imigration Sentiment (T) American Immigration Policy
