Indian student in aerospace genius Sudhanva Kashyap thought that he had mapped everything to go to the United States, to ensure that his plans are strengthened by the sudden and expensive change of Washington in qualified workers.
Friday changes to the precious H-1B visas, which included new costs of $ 100,000, rocked the technological industry and let the American companies rush to determine the implications.
The hasty clarifications of the White House according to which the new charge would be a single payment rather than the annual costs announced by the US Secretary of Commerce Howard Litnick on Friday only added to uncertainty.
The change in fees shaken students like Kashyap, who hoped to enter an American university and from there the American job market.
Kashyap, a 21 -year -old from the technological center of southern Bengaluru, imagined himself by going to a high -level American university, with Stanford his goal.
“At the time when the costs were lower, it was always something that you could pin, it would be easier to convert the student visa to H-1B,” Kashyap told AFP.
“I am very disappointed … My main dream is derailed when it comes to things,” he said.
H -1B visas allow companies to sponsor foreign workers with specialized skills – such as scientists, engineers and IT programmers – to work in the United States, initially for three years but extensible to six.
The United States grants 85,000 H-1B visas per year on a lottery system, India representing approximately three-quarters of the beneficiaries.
Lutnick detailed the new measure as he was standing next to Donald Trump at the Oval Office, where the American president also presented a “gold card” residence program of $ 1 million he had previewed months earlier.
Several leading companies quickly advised their employees to hold H-1B visas so as not to leave the country while they determined the implications. Some who had already set up planes have landed for fear that they will not be allowed to return.
The American dream
The data published by the American Department of Internal Security showed that there were 422,335 Indian students in the United States in 2024, an increase of 11.8% compared to the previous year.
The Indian Association of the IT industry Nasscom said shortly after the initial announcement on Friday that it was concerned about the new visa measures.
He said that “continuity of activities” in technological companies would be disrupted and did not emphasize you quickly how Indian IT companies contributed to the American economy and were “in no way” a threat of security.
Shashwath vs, a 20 -year -old chemical engineering student in Bengaluru, said new costs were too high for companies to reflect on a foreign candidate.
“I will now explore other countries … Going to the United States was a priority for me, but no longer,” said Shashwath.
He said that many like him could try to find places elsewhere, such as Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The Indians, he said, “contribute considerably to the American economy-whether it is the students who go there or the people who work there”.
“So they (the United States) will also be affected, in one way or another.”
Immigration repression
Trump has the H-1B program in sight since his first mandate, and the current visa iteration has become the last decision of a major immigration repression during his second term.
Silicon Valley companies are counting on Indian workers who move to the United States or come and come between the two countries.
The vast industry of externalization of India also depends on the work permits for decades, even if it softens in recent years.
The head of the Tata Consultancy Services industry was approved alone for more than 5,000 H-1B visas in the first half for the 2025 financial year.
Sahil, a 37-year-old senior executive, in a consulting company based in India, returned from the United States last year after having lived on an H-1B visa for almost seven years.
“I can say that every second or third person in the IT sector dreams of settling in the United States or visiting work,” he said.
“We will see fewer Indians migrate to the United States in the future. It may mean that these people will now start to look at other countries. ”
