H-1B visa fee hike disruptive but may boost local hiring: Ex-Nasscom chief

US President Donald Trump's decision to raise H1-B visa fee to USD 1,00,000 annually poses significant cost challenges to Indian IT companies and will be disruptive in near term, said Former Chairman of Nasscom BVR Mohan Reddy on Saturday.

He also said the move could also push Indian IT firms to accelerate local hiring in the US, strengthen global delivery from India, and move up the value chainturning a challenge into an opportunity for more resilient models. The sudden USD 100,000 H-1B visa fee poses significant cost challenges for Indian IT companies, and the one-day implementation timeline creates considerable uncertainty for ongoing projects.

While this is disruptive in the near term, it also compels us to accelerate local hiring, strengthen global delivery from India, and move up the value chainturning a challenge into an opportunity for more resilient models Reddy told PTI. In a development that could adversely affect Indian professionals in the US, President Trump on Friday signed a proclamation to raise the fee for H-1B visas to a staggering USD 100,000 annually, a move described by American lawmakers and community leaders as "reckless" and "unfortunate".

Dilip Kumar Nooney, a visa consultant and IT businessman, termed Trump's move "shocking" and said it would drastically impact a lot of IT companies providing services to the US and also ITeS firms that wish to appoint entry-level staff into the US.

The move is a protectionist measure by the US government and it would also affect American companies as it would be difficult to get talented manpower into the US, he said.

"In a way, it is going to be advantageous to India to grow locally, for Indian companies to grow locally," Nooney told PTI Videos.

C R Sukumar, a financial journalist-turned-corporate lawyer practicing at the Telangana High Court, said the steep visa fee hike is a "misguided attempt" to protect US jobs that instead disrupts a vital talent pipeline.

"U.S. firms lose cost-effective skills, facing 10-15 per cent cost hikes and slower innovation. This policy risks fracturing India-U.S. tech ties, reversing brain drain gains, and fueling inequality. Both nations need cooperative solutionsvisa reforms, not barriersto sustain shared economic growth," he said.