The road West is narrowing to a toll lane

New Delhi should stop treating skilled mobility as America’s internal affair and put it on the table as a trade issue

Subimal Bhattacharjee

Updated At : 05:37 AM Sep 04, 2026 IST

Intent : The exorbitant H-1B visa fee hike is a barrier dressed up as a filing fee. AI generated image

TWO moves out of Washington this week have changed the arithmetic for India's software industry and the second one may hurt more than the first. On August 31, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a rule that would charge $103,265 for every H-1B petition, subject to the annual cap of 85,000 visas, including the 20,000 set aside for holders of US master's degrees.

THE TRIBUNE, India’s oldest, daily English-language newspaper, was first published on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan), and save for 40 days in the immediate aftermath of Partition, has come out every day over the last 145 years. THE TRIBUNE was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist of the time. The newspaper is run by a five-member Trust, which is chaired by Shri N N Vohra, former Governor of J&K State (2008-2018); as well as Justice S S Sodhi, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court; Shri Gurbachan Jagat, former Governor of Manipur; Lt Gen. Shamsher Singh Mehta, former Western Army Commander; Shri Paramjit Singh Patwalia, Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court.

THE TRIBUNE is free, objective, and independent. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language, are the hallmarks of the paper.

The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).

Remembering Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia

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The road West is narrowing to a toll lane

New Delhi should stop treating skilled mobility as America’s internal affair and put it on the table as a trade issue

Subimal Bhattacharjee

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