For Indian high-skilled migrants – especially tech workers, engineers and researchers – H-1B remains open, but with higher expectations of compliance and substantially increased regulatory oversight.
)
Trump defended the H-1B visa programme, saying America has to bring in talent from around the world.
Listen to This Article
The United States will continue to rely on its long-standing visa programmes, including the H-1B, but with stricter vetting and heightened enforcement, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has said — signalling a dual approach of openness to global talent and aggressive policing of visa misuse under President Donald Trump.
In an interview with Fox News, Noem said the Trump administration has no plans to scale back legal pathways such as the H-1B, even days after the President himself defended the programme, arguing that the US “has to bring in talent” because it lacks certain high-skilled capabilities domestically.
“We’re going to keep using our visa programmes,” Noem said. “We’re just going to make sure they have integrity— that we’re doing the vetting, that individuals coming here want to be here for the right reasons and are not supporters of terrorist organisations.”
More foreigners becoming US citizens under Trump, says Noem
Noem also argued that the administration has both sped up visa processing and increased rigour in immigration scrutiny.
According to her, more foreign-born residents are becoming naturalised under President Trump than in previous administrations, attributing this to “streamlining processes” and restoring “integrity” to immigration pathways like Green Cards and employment-based visas.
Her comments come amid ongoing debate around the role of high-skilled visas such as H-1B — a system especially utilised by Indian technology workers, engineers, doctors and STEM professionals. Indians account for nearly three-quarters of all H-1B visas issued annually.
Trump: US needs H-1B workers because “you don’t have certain talents”
In a separate Fox News interview, Trump pushed back against the idea that restricting skilled immigration would raise wages for American workers.
When host Laura Ingraham suggested that the US has “plenty of talent,” Trump disagreed sharply.
“No, you don’t,” he said. “You don’t have certain talents… You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘We’re going to make missiles.’ It doesn’t work that way.”
He pointed to manufacturing examples, including battery plants staffed by South Korean specialists, saying complex industries cannot function without specialised foreign labour.
Parallel crackdown: 175 H-1B abuse investigations launched
Even as the White House defends the need for global talent, the Trump administration has intensified enforcement against visa misuse.
The US Department of Labor confirmed last week that it has launched 175 investigations into suspected H-1B violations, including:
- underpayment of wages
- fraudulent or non-existent work sites
- “benching” workers without pay
- misclassification to avoid regulatory requirements
“We will continue taking action to put American workers first,” the agency said in a post on X.
Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer added that every available resource will be used to “stop H-1B abuse.”
A costly new rule: $100,000 surcharge on certain H-1B petitions
In September, Trump issued a proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” requiring that some H-1B petitions filed after 21 September 2025 include an additional $100,000 payment to be eligible.
The steep surcharge is intended to deter companies from hiring H-1B workers unless they can prove strong economic justification.
Immigration lawyers say this move could reshape the cost calculus for tech firms and consulting companies, particularly those with large India-based workforces.
Noem attacks Biden era; says Trump “fixed” immigration
Noem used the interview to launch political attacks on the previous Biden administration, alleging that it had let “thousands of terrorists” enter the country — an unsubstantiated claim critics have dismissed as election rhetoric.
She insisted that Trump had “fixed” asylum processes, visa controls and border security, calling him a “visionary” and claiming he would “go down as the greatest president ever.”
What this means for Indian workers
The Indian IT and technology services ecosystem remains deeply intertwined with the H-1B programme. The new Trump administration stance presents a mixed picture:
Positive signals:
The administration publicly acknowledges the US needs high-skilled immigrants.
H-1B and other skilled visa programmes will remain operational.
Faster naturalisation suggests smoother legal processing for compliant applicants.
Challenges ahead:
Significantly higher compliance costs ($ 100,000 surcharge).
Intensified audits and investigations.
Tighter scrutiny of wage levels and job roles.
Potentially slower or more complex approval pathways.
The larger picture
The message from Washington is clear: the US wants global talent, but only under stricter, more expensive and more heavily policed systems.
For Indian high-skilled migrants — especially tech workers, engineers and researchers — H-1B remains open, but with higher expectations of compliance and substantially increased regulatory oversight. With inputs from PTI
aniltikotekar4sme.com 