FIIDS Warns of Innovation Backlash from Trump's Tightened H-1B Scrutiny

The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) welcomes tighter scrutiny of H-1B visa applications, but cautions that it should not come at the cost of American innovation. The US President, Donald Trump, has tightened oversight of the H-1B visa programme, contending that it had been widely misused by certain employers, including IT outsourcing firms.

FIIDS appreciates and understands the Administration's intent to protect America's national and economic interests, safeguard American workers, and address abuse of the H-1B program. According to FIIDS, the ability of the US to attract exceptional talent has made it the world's leading innovation economy.

In fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, and specialised data engineering, employers can face real and highly specific skills gaps that cannot always be filled immediately from the available domestic labour pool. FIIDS urges an evidence-based and administrable implementation focused on demonstrable misconduct rather than broad assumptions based solely on a company's total head count or visa usage.

Trump has extended by a year the requirement for a $100,000 payment for certain H-1B visa petitions. The 2025 measure imposing the $100,000 payment had led to a 92 per cent decrease in H-1B registrations by large IT outsourcing firms. Indians remain the largest group of beneficiaries of the US H-1B visa programme.