For decades the U.S. has imported highly skilled tech workers on H‑1B visas. That flow has helped build American IT firms and linked companies in places like Hyderabad — often called “Cyberabad” or the Silicon Valley of India — to jobs in the U.S. But a Trump administration policy change that added a $100,000 fee for new H‑1B applicants has disrupted that pipeline and prompted workers and recruiters to rethink U.S. migration.
Hyderabad residents and recruiters say the new fee makes moving to the U.S. unrealistic for many employees and unattractive for employers. Rajesh Jaknalli, who has worked for an American tech company in Hyderabad for a decade, describes the city as a breeding ground of tech talent — home to Google, Facebook and many multinational teams — where many engineers once hoped their performance would eventually earn them a U.S. transfer.
Hameed Abdul, who had expected an Amazon job to lead to a U.S. move, said the new $100,000 charge was devastating: “Nobody’s going to hire you and give $100k.” He told reporters he was instead preparing to migrate to Canada. Other tech workers and immigration advisers say the policy has accelerated interest in Canada, Australia and other countries with more welcoming or less costly skilled‑worker pathways.
Xavier Fernandes, founder of the immigration agency Y‑Axis, says the H‑1B system historically created a steady pipeline of talent that U.S. companies relied on. “Many CEOs are from Hyderabad,” he said. “You can’t manufacture that kind of talent locally; some skills simply aren’t available domestically at scale.”
Data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services cited in the reporting show a heavy skew toward India among H‑1B holders: over 70% of H‑1B beneficiaries in 2024 were Indian. Advocates for skilled migration have argued that foreign talent is vital to U.S. innovation, a point even President Trump acknowledged when he said, “You also do have to bring in talent.” Critics of the fee counter that raising the cost so dramatically will deter employers and applicants, shrinking the pool of international hires that helped build many U.S. tech successes.
On U.S. television, a heated exchange captured the debate over domestic talent: a host declared, “We have a country of talented people,” and another voice replied, “No, you don’t,” underscoring the tension between arguments for protecting domestic workers and those for opening doors to scarce skills.
The result is a shift in tech migration. Recruiters and prospective migrants report more applications to Canada, Australia and other destinations that have simplified or more affordable migration processes. Employers in India and elsewhere may invest locally rather than sponsor moves, and some entrepreneurs say talent that would have emigrated to the U.S. may now stay and help build tech ecosystems in their home countries.
Shanelle Kaul, CBS News, Hyderabad.