H1B Visa fee hike shifts career dreams back to India, says VDart Group CEO

New Delhi [India], September 27 (ANI): Following the recent announcement regarding the H1B Visa, Sidd Ahmed, CEO and Founder of VDart Group, pointed out that the increasing costs are not only making it harder for companies to hire talent but also altering the aspirations of Indian professionals.

Speaking to ANI, Ahmed said, "It also impacts the 65,000 people who actually had the aspiration to go to the US and build a dream there. Well, the dream is happening right here in India with so many GCCs coming to India. In fact, there is a lot of talent actually who are looking at coming back to India and taking over jobs," he said.

Ahmed said the programme, which once cost employers just a few hundred dollars, has now become a much heavier burden, with fees climbing to several thousand dollars over the years.

"From the time H1B was introduced in the 90s, and just around 95 is when I got into recruiting, and we used to recruit a lot of talent from India. At that time, the H-1B fee was approximately USD 110," he said. He explained that during those early years, the programme largely brought junior-level talent from India to the United States, which eventually created challenges for mid-level professionals in America.

Over time, the rapid demand for IT skills, accelerated by the Y2K boom, changed the way companies hired workers. Indian system integrators expanded their presence, and offshoring became a major trend. "It was a speciality occupation. It was very traditional when it was introduced. But there was a lot of talent, it's like junior-level talent also, which was brought to the United States on the H1B program. As a result of this, the mid-level talent within the United States was actually subsidised, meaning the Indian workforce was taking over the jobs. This has been a long-standing sentiment," Ahmed said.

In response, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continued to raise the fees. "Over time, from USD 110 in the early 90s, it increased to approximately USD 5,000 to USD 7,500, give or take. That is the current fee at this time," Ahmed noted.

Earlier, the Trump administration had announced a massive increase in H-1B visa fees, imposing a USD 100,000 annual charge that will fundamentally alter how American companies hire skilled foreign workers, particularly impacting Indian IT professionals who comprise the largest group of beneficiaries.

The new USD 100,000 annual fee represents a significant increase from current H-1B processing costs, which typically amount to a few thousand dollars. Companies will pay this fee in addition to existing vetting charges, with the administration still determining whether to collect the full amount upfront or on an annual basis. (ANI)

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