Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee hike may backfire, hurting US more than India: GTRI

US President Donald Trump’s move to increase H-1B visa fees to USD 100,000 per applicant could end up harming the United States more than India, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

The think tank said that Indian IT companies already employ a significant share of Americans in the US, with locals making up 50–80 per cent of their workforce, amounting to around 100,000 employees.

“This step will not generate many new jobs. Instead, it will make bringing Indian professionals to the US more expensive than hiring American workers,” GTRI stated.

Giving a comparison, it explained that an IT manager with five years of experience earns between USD 120,000 and 150,000 in the US, while the cost is about 40 per cent lower through the H-1B route and 80 per cent cheaper in India.

”Faced with this huge fee, firms will accelerate offshoring, doing more work remotely from India. That means fewer H-1B petitions, less local hiring, higher project costs for US clients, and slower innovation,” GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.

He added that India must plan to benefit from fee hikes by using the returning talent to build domestic capacity in software, cloud, and cybersecurity — turning a US protectionist step into a long-term boost for India’s digital ”Swaraj Mission”.

”President Trump’s September 19 decision to raise H-1B visa fees is likely to hurt the US more than India,” he said.

President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation raising the fee on the visas used by companies to hire workers, including from India, to live and work in the US.

The H-1B visa fee of USD 100,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, a White House official clarified on Saturday.

With inputs from agencies