PREMIUM

From partner to target: How Trump’s policies are squeezing India’s best and brightest

New H-1B visa fees and tariffs threaten a decades-long strategic and economic relationship

Last updated:
Swati Chaturvedi, Special to Gulf News
4 MIN READ
Indian tech workers make up nearly 80 percent of those on the H-1B visa system, so the latest crackdown affected them disproportionately.
Indian tech workers make up nearly 80 percent of those on the H-1B visa system, so the latest crackdown affected them disproportionately.
IANS

Urgent messages from giant technology companies warning employees on H-1B and H-4 dependent visas not to leave the United States caused near-panic on aircraft as the Trump administration changed the rules, imposing a $100,000 fee (first per year and then in total). The move created total chaos.

While every country in the world is free to change its visa rules, it seemed cruel to do it as a televised spectacle designed for Trump without even a 24-hour delay or lead notice. The initial announcement, later clarified, caused the travel confusion but could have come with a three-month notice.

Swati Chaturvedi
Swati ChaturvediSpecial to Gulf News
Swati Chaturvedi is an award-winning journalist and author of ‘I Am a Troll: Inside the Secret World of the BJP’s Digital Army’.
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