H-1B ban next? India-US ties frosty due to Trump comments, MAGA talks of ban on H-1B Visa

India Today

2 days ago

The H-1B Visa, long considered an ideal route for Indian IT engineers to pursue careers in the United States, is facing renewed hostility. At a time when the US President Donald Trump is gunning for India with his steep tariffs, and there is a strain in the Indo-American relations, his support base in the US has started a campaign against Indians already working in the US. As part of the talk, the MAGA (Make America Great Again) crowd is taking an aim at H-1B Visa programme that allows thousands of skilled Indian IT engineers to go to the US every year for work. advertisementThe development comes at a delicate phase in India-US relations, with Donald Trump's allies openly questioning why American firms continue to rely on foreign workers even as large-scale layoffs grip the technology sector.While whispers against H-1B Visa from American Right Wing and conservatives are not new, there is an increase in intensity in the last few weeks, particularly after Trump slapped tariffs and accused India of helping Russians in their war against Ukraine.
One of the most prominent voices to again start an online campaign against H-1B Visa is politician Marjorie Taylor Greene. Quoting Trump as he announced tariffs against India, Greene wrote on her X account on August 4: 'End Indian H1-B Visas replacing American jobs instead and stop funding and sending weapons to the Obama/Biden/Neocon Ukraine Russia war.'
It is as if tariffs against India have given a fresh impetus to MAGA crowd on this subject. The Right Wing influencers in the US are now increasingly and openly talking against Indian IT engineers. They are demanding that H-1B Visa should be either modified to stop Indians or should be scrapped altogether. One such person, Peter St Onge, recently wrote: 'The H1B program was sold as bringing geniuses from Tokyo and Munich. Instead, we got millions of discount coders while Americans who *did* learn to code can't find a job.'Another account — Right Angle News network — wrote on August 14 after someone created a website where Americans can check vacancies marked for H-1B workers and then apply there. The account noted, 'A website has been created that lets American citizens see job listings only H-1B workers were meant to see, and every time an American applies, it blocks a foreigner from getting the job. Do some damage.'These are just a few examples of thousands of similar messages that have come online in the last 20 days against the H-1B Visa programme. The conversation is also fuelled by certain measures that the Trump administration is already considering for limiting scope of H-1B Visa. Lottery out, wages in?advertisementEarlier this month US officials revealed details of a proposal. Drafted by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the proposal suggests replacing the current lottery system with a wage-based selection process for H-1B applicants. The change would mean preference for higher-paying positions, potentially shutting out fresh graduates and entry-level professionals, many of whom come from India on relatively modest packages.The proposal comes in middle of a conversation that MAGA crowd is pushing, which is America is for Americans first. Steve Bannon, an influential podcaster and former advisor of Trump, recently said, "I don't think you should have any foreign students in the country right now. No H1B visas. Instead of stapling a green card to their diploma, staple an exit visa. You get 30 days to hang out with classmates, do alumni stuff, then leave."US Vice President JD Vance too has weighed in on the issue. Last month he accused Microsoft of misleading Americans over the availability of talent. "We want the very best and the brightest to make America their home. But I don't want companies to fire 9,000 American workers and then to go and say, 'We can't find workers here in America.' That's a bulls**t story," he reportedly said.advertisementRegulators too have seemingly stepped in. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently warned companies against favouring foreign workers over American citizens. Acting chair Andrea Lucas was categorical: "Unlawful bias against American workers, in violation of Title VII, is a large-scale problem in multiple industries nationwide. The law applies to you, and you are not above the law."For India, the stakes could hardly be higher. Nearly 207,000 H-1B visas went to Indian nationals in FY 2024, showing the dependence of the country's tech workforce on the program. Any change in rules or worse, a ban could upend career prospects for thousands and strain the very foundation of India-US cooperation in the technology sector.- Ends