New Delhi, India — Meghna Gupta had meticulously charted her path: a master’s degree by age 23, a few years of experience in India, then a move to the United States before turning 30, with the ultimate goal of settling there. With endless hours spent at the Hyderabad office of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT firm, she envisioned her future on California’s West Coast.
Now 29, Gupta’s aspirations have been shattered by the sweeping changes introduced by the Trump administration to the H-1B visa program, a vital route for skilled workers seeking opportunities in the U.S. Trump’s decision to hike the visa application fee from around $2,000 to as much as $100,000 has drastically increased the financial burden on companies that sponsor these applications. While the required base salary for H-1B employees stands at $60,000, the total cost for employers now exceeds $160,000, leading many to reconsider hiring foreign talent in favor of local candidates who can be compensated at lower rates.
This policy shift aligns with the Trump administration’s broader anti-immigration stance, which aims to prioritize American workers. However, for countless young individuals around the world, especially in India, this move feels like a devastating blow to their dreams of a better life in the U.S. India, the world’s most populous nation, continues to face an exodus of its skilled youth despite a rapidly growing economy.
For decades, Indian IT firms were the leading sponsors of H-1B visas, facilitating the migration of skilled workers to the U.S. for contractual work. In 2014, seven of the top ten companies receiving the most H-1B visas were Indian or founded in India; by 2024, this number had dropped to four. In the first half of 2025, only TCS remained in the top ten, overshadowed by tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple.
Despite this shift, Indian nationals still accounted for over 70 percent of all H-1B visas granted in 2024, spanning various sectors from technology to healthcare. However, the recent changes have left many, including Gupta, fearing that their pathway to the U.S. is closing fast.
“It’s left me heartbroken,” Gupta shared, reflecting on the impact of the fee hike. “All my life, I’ve planned for this; everything revolved around my goal to move to the U.S.” Born and raised in Bageshwar, a small town in Uttarakhand, she now sees the “American Dream” as a cruel joke.
Gupta’s plight underscores a larger contradiction in India today. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration frequently touts the nation’s status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy, the reality is that job creation lags significantly behind the influx of young workers entering the labor market each year. Major cities in India are grappling with inadequate infrastructure, traffic congestion, and growing income inequality, exacerbating the desire for a better life abroad.
Over the past five years, India has witnessed an alarming rise in the outflow of skilled professionals, particularly in STEM fields, migrating to countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Government data reveals that the number of Indians seeking opportunities abroad surged from 94,145 in 2020 to 348,629 by 2024 — a staggering 270 percent increase.
The new visa regime threatens to close this crucial pipeline for skilled workers to the U.S., coinciding with a period of strained relations between the two nations. India is also facing a steep 50 percent tariff on its exports to the U.S., complicating the economic landscape further.
Ajay Srivastava, a former trade officer and founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, predicts that the sectors most affected will be those where Indian professionals predominantly work, such as mid-level IT services, software development, and healthcare support. The new fee structure renders sponsorship economically unfeasible for many smaller firms, pushing them to seek local talent and reserve H-1B visas for only the most specialized roles.
“The market has already priced in this pivot,” Srivastava explained, noting a downturn in Indian stock markets following the announcement, as investors brace for reduced hiring from U.S. firms. He emphasized that Indian STEM graduates must now reconsider their career plans in the U.S.
Sudhanshu Kaushik, founder of the North American Association of Indian Students, suggested that the administration’s intentions are to instill fear among H-1B holders and immigrants at large, reminding them of their precarious status. “They want to make people feel that they don’t belong,” he said, highlighting the anxiety among students currently navigating their education and career paths in the U.S.
With the new academic year underway, many international students, particularly those from India, have begun classes with hopes of staying in the U.S. post-graduation. However, Kaushik reported a flood of inquiries from concerned students unsure of their futures, many already feeling “in the hole” due to their substantial educational investments.
The current landscape in the U.S. offers fewer opportunities, heightened competition, and shrinking returns for international students, according to Srivastava. NASSCOM, India’s apex IT trade body, has warned that the abrupt policy changes could disrupt families and the continuity of ongoing projects for Indian technology firms.
Ansh, a senior software engineer at Meta, shared his experience as a current beneficiary of the H-1B visa, grappling with uncertainty following the announcement. After graduating from one of India’s prestigious institutes, he secured a job in Silicon Valley, yet the recent changes have caused him to question his future in the U.S.
While the Trump administration later clarified that the new fees would not affect existing visas or renewals, Ansh remained unsettled. “This sort of instability triggers people to consider moving back to India,” he noted, reflecting on the potential disconnect it creates for families who have built lives in the U.S.
Ansh believes the new visa policy could have detrimental effects on the U.S. economy, arguing that the country’s success is deeply intertwined with the contributions of immigrants. “Once talent is lost, innovation suffers,” he warned, recognizing the long-term implications for visa holders and their families.
In response to the visa policy changes, Prime Minister Modi’s principal secretary has encouraged Indians abroad to consider returning home. While some experts suggest this could halt the brain drain, the reality is more complex. Srivastava pointed out that U.S. companies may now rely more heavily on local hiring or offshore job opportunities, raising concerns about data security and operational efficiency.
India’s tech sector may be able to accommodate some returning professionals, but the job market remains tight, particularly with emerging opportunities clustered in AI, cloud computing, and data science. Many aspiring H-1B visa holders are now looking beyond the U.S. to countries that offer more favorable immigration policies.
Ansh echoed this sentiment, noting that while the U.S. remains a hub for cutting-edge technology, India’s ecosystem still lags in terms of innovation. “The Indian market is not at the pace where you innovate the next big thing in the world,” he lamented, calling attention to the challenges facing those who wish to remain on the leading edge of technology. As the American Dream dims for many, the future remains uncertain for countless aspirants from India.
