The US today imposed a $100,000 annual fee on H1B visas. Under the new order, American employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers must now pay $100,000 per visa annually, a drastic rise from previous costs. The US government says it did this to encourage US firms to hire more American workers.
The move sent ripples in India. India accounts for over 70% of all H1B visas issued, so it could impact hundreds of thousands of current H1B visa holders, and also millions of Indians who had planned to move to the US on a H1B visa.
Kunal Bahl, who had been famously denied a H1B visa and had come back to India to found Snapdeal and eventually become a billionaire, urged Indians to look at the bright side of the decision. “In 2007, sitting at my desk in Microsoft I got an email that my H1B visa was rejected. It was crushing and numbing at that moment, but life-changing eventually when I moved back to India. To those impacted today, be positive. There is something much bigger & better in store for you,” he posted on X.
“Because of the new H1B rules, a tremendous number of talented individuals are going to be headed back to India. It will no doubt be tough in the beginning to move base, but will work out for them given the tremendous opportunities in India. The talent density in India is going to skyrocket,” he added.
Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma spoke of the Trump Golden Visas that had been earlier announced with a $1 million price tag. “H1B visa gets a $100k price tag! Also on offer: $1Mn: Golden visa $5Mn: Platinum visa Which one will be your master card ?” he posted on X.
Hemant Mohapatra, Partner at Lightspeed India, reacted strongly to the proposed $100,000 annual H1B visa fee, noting that during his 15 years on H1B in the U.S., such costs would have totaled $1.5M—an impossible burden given his sub-$100k salary while working in critical semiconductor research. He argued that this move would disproportionately benefit big tech by consolidating talent and power, while pushing many highly skilled immigrants—especially PhDs in fields like semiconductors, biotech, space, and robotics—either back to their home countries or to alternative destinations like the UK and Australia. Mohapatra warned of increased outsourcing of research to countries such as India (where a significant share of semiconductor talent already resides), and a likely drop in U.S.-bound student applications, with only the most confident candidates still pursuing the H1B path. He emphasized that these second- and third-order effects could have deep, complex consequences for innovation and global talent flows.
Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that the move would spur Indian innovation. “Donald Trump’s 100,000 H-1B fee will choke U.S. innovation, and turbocharge India’s. By slamming the door on global talent, America pushes the next wave of labs, patents, innovation and startups to Bangalore and Hyderabad, Pune and Gurgaon . India’s finest Doctors, engineers, scientists, innovators have an opportunity to contribute to India’s growth & progress towards #ViksitBharat. America’s loss will be India’s gain,” he posted on X.
CapitalMind’s CEO Deepak Shenoy also said that the move would help India long-term. “The way the H1B thing is written, it seems like every H1B currently outside the US will have to see his company 100,000 USD a year before s/he returns. This in the longer term will help India grow both talent and investment. Not unhappy to see that indentured labour visa end,” he said.