Trump recognises H1-B talent as Indian tech leaders assess policy signals

President Trump's acknowledgement of the importance of H1-B talent has boosted sentiment in India's tech sector

With the US President Donald Trump acknowledging that the US needs talent from outside, including those coming on H1-B visas, the role of India’s engineering talent has been reinforced.

 

Industry experts and senior executives said that while it is too early to react to President Trump’s comments, the equally important focus will be to see how the new visa fee and the changes in rules will pan out.

 

The uncertainty in the US over employee mobility has made several US firms set up their global capability centres (GCCs) or ramp up the existing ones. According to UnearthInsights, GCCs will be the largest hirer. GCCs will see 1.3–1.5 lakh net additions in FY26. The report says that GCCs will close at $85–90 billion employing 2–2.5 million professionals in FY26, having grown the fastest in the last three years.

 

What does Trump’s statement mean for India’s tech talent pool?

 

“Indian talent has been recognised globally for hard work and innovation. The US has been one of the major destinations since the 70s and I am hopeful that the benefits of employing global talent are being recognised,” said Ganesh Natarajan, chairman, 5F World and GTT Data. He was the former CEO of Zensar and part of the executive council of Nasscom.

 

According to data from Xpheno, a specialist staffing company, the biggest beneficiaries of H1-B visas have been US companies. The 15-year data on the top 100 LCA petitioners and top 100 H1-B sponsoring employers shows how American firms have been the largest beneficiaries of the skilled migrant programme. Ten of the top 20 firms, by H1-B approvals received, are American-headquartered businesses. Overall, 58 per cent of H1-B approvals issued over 15 years — adding up to nearly a million foreign workers — have gone to American firms, including BigTech.

 

“The dependency on migrant knowledge workers is well known in local business circles in the US, and the statement from Trump only endorses it further. While it is not clear what would officially ensue after the latest statement from the President, it is definitely the quintessential light down the tunnel for local and international businesses in the US. The other significant beneficiaries of the H1-B programme, including India, the UK, Ireland, and France, will have reason to relax if the official stance of the government shifts. While the statement is welcome as a view, it will gain weight if the H1-B fee hike is officially reconsidered and revised, if not reversed,” said Kamal Karanth, co-founder, Xpheno.

 

Will changes to visa rules affect Indian IT firms’ operating models?

 

Some comments from IT leaders state that even the scrapping of the H1-B visa would not impact their business model. Aiman Ezzat, CEO, Capgemini, on his recent visit to India, said that the number of visas applied for under this programme has been going down. “H1-B visa is part of the flexibility of the model. It allows us in terms of sourcing pool,” he said.

 

“From a market standpoint, it is premature to react to these statements — unless there is a tangible reduction in visa fees or a policy change, the fundamentals of global talent mobility are not going to shift dramatically,” said Prashant Yadav, partner and technology lead at Amrop India.

 

Yadav is of the opinion that the recent remarks by President Trump are unlikely to create any major disruption in the long run. “Simply restricting visas cannot bridge the talent gap overnight — the shortage of technically skilled professionals in the US will continue for some time. In fact, with high visa fees and evolving immigration policies, companies are likely to increase offshoring to optimise costs and maintain delivery capabilities,” he said.