September 20, 2025

The US government has shocked many by announcing a whopping $100,000 fee on every H-1B visa application. President Donald Trump feels this will protect American workers. But experts like Vivek Wadhwa, CEO of Vionix Biosciences, warn it will slam the door on the very doctors, scientists, and engineers who built America’s greatest industries. They say this move is like Trump's tariffs—loud, clumsy, and self-defeating. Wadhwa points out the H-1B system has its issues. Some outsourcing companies have abused it, flooding applications and paying low wages. American corporations helped by keeping this cheap workforce locked in for years, creating a kind of "modern indentured servitude." But instead of fixing these problems, raising wages, or clearing visa backlogs, Trump's new fee makes the program very expensive for everyone. "The true victims will be hospitals needing doctors, universities needing international faculty, startups needing global talent, and labs thriving on teamwork," Wadhwa warns. He reminds us how immigrants make America strong. One-third of science Nobel Prize winners were born abroad, and more than half of Silicon Valley startups were founded by immigrants. These leaders now power not just tech but the entire US economy. Wadhwa shares his own story. When building Vionix Biosciences, he struggled to find top engineers in Silicon Valley. So he turned to India’s elite institutions like IIT Madras, AIIMS, and IISc. "These brilliant minds were already pushing deep science forward," he says. And they worked hard, with passion and focus unlike the entitlement often seen in Silicon Valley. Thanks to today’s technology, companies can build world-class teams anywhere—even from India! So, tagging a $100,000 price on visas will speed up the trend of companies building labs abroad instead of bringing talent to America. Knowledge, patents, startups, and money will stay outside the US. For India, this is big news! For years, India’s brightest minds left for the US to work on cutting-edge science and tech. Now, with US doors slammed, India has a historic chance. The country has a booming digital economy, strong hospitals, massive pharma, and a vibrant startup scene. With a young workforce and government support, India can become the new global hub for innovation. Wadhwa urges the US to fix the immigration mess by clearing backlogs, raising wages, and stopping abuses. "Imagine if skilled immigrants got green cards quickly," he says. This could spark a $600 billion economic boom with more homes built and more jobs created. Meanwhile, India should send a bold message to Silicon Valley: "If America does not want you, India does!" This shift could turn America's loss into India’s sparkling gain.

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Tags: H-1b visa, Donald trump, Us competitiveness, India talent, Immigration policy, Vivek wadhwa,