India has been one of the largest beneficiaries of H-1B visas, accounting for 71% of approved visas in 2024
India has hit back at Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers in the US, sparking warnings by the Indian government that it would have “humanitarian consequences” and one minister claiming they were “afraid of our talent”.
On Friday, the US president announced new rules around the visas, which allows companies to hire foreign workers in skilled occupations like IT, healthcare and engineering, to work in the US for up to six years.
The H-1B visas are designed to allow US companies to hire skilled foreign workers in areas where there have been shortages in the domestic work market. India had become by far the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas, accounting for 71% of approved visas in 2024.
However, the White House said the visas were being “abused” to undercut American wages and outsource IT jobs, claiming companies were laying off thousands of US workers, only to hire cheaper foreign labour from countries such as India through the scheme. Those on H-1B visas now account for 65% of the IT workforce in the US.
