‘Don’t Shut Out Indian Talent’: Congressmen Urge Trump to Protect H-1B Pathway
US lawmakers urge Trump to rethink H-1B curbs, stressing Indian talent fuels America’s tech leadership.
A bipartisan coalition of U.S. lawmakers has pressed President Donald Trump to reverse his recent H-1B visa restrictions, warning that the measures could undermine American innovation and strain ties with India, the top source of skilled tech talent. In a letter sent on October 31, 2025, Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Ami Bera (D-CA), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), and Julie Johnson (D-TX) called for suspending the September 19 proclamation "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," which mandates a $100,000 one-time fee for new H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025, for applicants outside the U.S.
The group, returning from a recent congressional delegation to India, described the programme as a "cornerstone" of U.S. competitiveness in STEM fields, emphasising that 71% of H-1B recipients in fiscal year 2024 were Indian nationals—totalling over 283,000 approvals out of 399,395. This advocacy highlights growing bipartisan concern amid Trump's second-term immigration push, as tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft, which sponsored over 10,000 H-1Bs in 2024, face hiring disruptions.
The proclamation, effective for 12 months unless extended, aims to curb programme "abuses" by deterring outsourcing firms from flooding the 85,000 annual cap with lower-wage workers, thereby protecting American jobs. It exempts renewals, current visa holders, and pre-September 21 petitions but requires the fee for new entries, including the 2026 lottery, with exemptions possible if deemed in the national interest by Homeland Security. White House clarifications stress it won't affect travel for existing H-1B holders or U.S.-based extensions, but critics argue the fee—equivalent to a mid-level engineer's annual salary—will price out startups and small firms, favouring only deep-pocketed corporations. Legal challenges mounted swiftly, with a coalition lawsuit filed on October 3 alleging executive overreach and violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, while states like Florida banned H-1B hires at public universities on October 30.
Lawmakers underscored the programme's economic ripple effects, citing research from the National Bureau of Economic Research and Harvard Business School showing H-1B workers boost patenting by 25-30% in dependent firms and cities, particularly among Indian and Chinese inventors, without displacing natives. They highlighted founders like Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella—both H-1B alumni—as drivers of job creation, with studies indicating each visa generates 1.8-2.5 additional U.S. jobs through innovation spillovers. Panetta, in a statement, noted the fee's timing is "needed now more than ever" amid AI's surge, warning it could cede ground to China's "K-type" talent visas or Canada's streamlined programmes, where Indian applications rose 40% in 2024. The letter also ties H-1B access to Indo-Pacific security, arguing talent attraction reinforces the U.S.-India iCET pact on semiconductors and quantum tech.
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This plea echoes earlier bipartisan efforts, including an October 21 letter from seven lawmakers—Democrats and Republicans—urging collaboration on reforms like visa portability and outsourcing curbs, and a larger 19-member House group on October 8 decrying geopolitical fallout. Tech lobbies, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, estimate the fee could slash applications by 20-30%, exacerbating a 2025 backlog of 442,000 petitions. Indian IT firms like Infosys and TCS, which secured 20% of 2024 approvals despite scrutiny over local hiring, face indirect hits, though U.S. employers now dominate sponsorships. As Congress eyes legislative fixes—potentially via the Senate Judiciary Committee—the push signals rare unity against hardline policies, with Trump aides like Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defending the fee as anti-exploitation.
The debate unfolds against Trump's waffling on H-1B—praising it in 2019 before restrictions—amid a booming Indian diaspora of 4.5 million, contributing $300 billion annually to the economy. With AI projected to add $15 trillion globally by 2030, per PwC, easing curbs could sustain U.S. leadership, but failure risks talent flight to rivals. No White House response has emerged, but the letter's timing—post-midterms—pressures action before the 2026 cap opens in March.
