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Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that the suffering of Telugu techies will be unimaginable following United States President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas from September 21. CM Revanth asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar to resolve the issue “on a war footing”, in the interest of Indian tech employees “who have served America for so long”.
“The executive orders of the President of America came as a shocker to all. This is totally unacceptable in the historical context of Indo-American relationships,” CM Revanth said.
On September 20, Trump signed a proclamation raising the H-1B visa fee from USD 215 to USD 100,000, sparking panic. The visa is issued to non-immigrant workers in speciality occupations, with Indians in the tech industry holding the highest share. Among these, the Telugu diaspora alone holds approximately 70% of all H-1B visas.
A day after the announcement, amid confusion among current visa holders, the White House clarified that the USD 100,000 fee is only for new applicants and not current H-1B visa holders or those seeking renewals.
President Trump’s announcement was made with the purported aim of ensuring that US companies hire more American talent and, according to the US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, “sending less valuable talent back to their home countries”.
Calling the H-1B visa programme a “national security threat”, Trump alleged “systemic abuse” of the visa system particularly by IT outsourcing firms. “Further, the abuse of the H-1B visa programme has made it even more challenging for college graduates trying to find IT jobs, allowing employers to hire foreign workers at a significant discount to American workers,” his proclamation read.
On September 20, India said that the fallout of the US administration’s decision to impose a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas is likely to have humanitarian consequences, which it hoped would be addressed suitably by the US authorities.
"The government has seen reports related to the proposed restrictions on the US H-1B visa programme. The full implications of the measure are being studied by all concerned, including by Indian industry, which has already put out an initial analysis clarifying some perceptions related to the H1B programme," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
The spokesperson asserted that industry in both India and the US has a stake in innovation and creativity and can be expected to consult on the best path forward.
"Skilled talent mobility and exchanges have contributed enormously to technology development, innovation, economic growth, competitiveness, and wealth creation in the United States and India. Policy makers will therefore assess recent steps taking into account mutual benefits, which include strong people-to-people ties between the two countries. This measure is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families. The government hopes that these disruptions can be addressed suitably by the US authorities," the statement added.
With IANS inputs