New Delhi/Washington – India has warned that the Trump administration’s decision to impose a $100,000 annual fee on new H-1B visas could severely disrupt families and upend the country’s $283 billion IT industry, with analysts cautioning that the impact may extend beyond India to the wider South Asian region.
In a statement on Saturday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the sudden rollout of the fee could have “humanitarian consequences,” adding that the government is still studying the policy’s implications.
The H-1B programme – which allows US companies to hire foreign workers with specialized skills – has long been a lifeline for Indian engineers, scientists, and IT professionals. India accounts for 71% of H-1B approvals, making it the single largest source of skilled migrants to the US.
“This fee threatens to destabilize thousands of Indian families who are already embedded in American communities,” said an Indian government official familiar with the discussions.
Industry backlash
The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), India’s top IT trade body, said the one-day timeline for implementing the fee was a matter of “grave concern.” It warned that abrupt changes would disrupt ongoing projects for Indian tech services firms and complicate workforce planning for global clients.
“A one-day deadline creates considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals, and students across the world,” Nasscom said in a statement.
US-based investment bank Goldman Sachs advised employees on H-1B visas to avoid international travel until further notice. Tech giants Microsoft, JPMorgan, and Amazon issued similar advisories, reflecting unease within corporate America over the policy’s reach.
Wider South Asian impact
While India will be hardest hit, the new fee is expected to affect South Asia more broadly. Pakistani and Bangladeshi tech workers, though smaller in number, rely on the US market for both employment and remittances. South Korea – which ranks behind India and China in H-1B allocations – has already pledged to “comprehensively assess” the risks for its companies and workers.
Analysts warn the measure may accelerate the offshoring of high-value work back to South Asia, as companies balk at the cost of bringing employees to the US. That shift could undercut Washington’s ambitions to stay ahead in artificial intelligence and advanced computing – fields where India and China already supply much of the global talent.
“Trump’s policy risks hollowing out America’s tech edge while inadvertently strengthening South Asia’s outsourcing economies,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Strategic fallout
The fee hike also comes at a delicate moment for US-India ties, which have been tested by trade disputes, visa restrictions, and differing views on global conflicts. New Delhi’s measured criticism reflects its need to balance domestic outrage with its strategic relationship with Washington.
Still, observers say the move may play into Beijing’s hands by encouraging South Asian governments to deepen technological partnerships with China if the US becomes less accessible.
“South Asia’s tech corridor has been anchored in Silicon Valley for decades. If that door closes, new alignments – possibly with China – are bound to emerge,” said Aparna Pande, a South Asia scholar at the Hudson Institute.
The H-1B system, created in 1990, issues 85,000 visas annually through a lottery. The Trump administration says the new fee will ensure that only the “most critical and rare skill sets” are brought in. Critics, however, describe it as a “pay-to-play” system that effectively shuts out middle-class families and emerging market professionals.
For now, uncertainty hangs over thousands of Indian families preparing to move to the US – and over a South Asian technology industry caught in the crossfire of Washington’s immigration politics.
