‘Aao, ab laut chalen’: Radhika Gupta tells Indian students shaken by H-1B visa fee to look homeward

Edelweiss AMC CEO says India 2025 offers more opportunities than 2005, urges students to see beyond US visa hurdles

As the Indian IT sector and policymakers digest the impact of US President Donald Trump’s $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas, Edelweiss Asset Management CEO Radhika Gupta offered a personal reflection.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Gupta recalled graduating in 2005 when H-1B norms were far more favourable. But, she noted, the mood shifted during the 2008 financial crisis, leaving many Indian students abroad 'upset, lost, and stuck.'

I was fortunate to graduate in 2005, when H-1B norms were far more favorable in the US. But things changed quickly in 2008 during the financial crisis — many Indian students felt upset, lost, and stuck. Some eventually returned home, and years later, even those of us who still…

— Radhika Gupta (@iRadhikaGupta) September 20, 2025

Gupta wrote that while some eventually returned to India, even those who managed to hold on to visas “made the same choice years later.” Looking back, she said building a career and life in India had been deeply fulfilling.

"Personally, I wouldn’t want to go back, at all," she said.

Gupta contrasted the India she returned to with the India of today. If 2005 was a country still emerging from its early liberalisation years, India in 2025, she argued, is far more dynamic, offering ambitious roles, entrepreneurial opportunities, and a growing ecosystem for professionals who once would have looked westward.

Addressing Indian students currently on US campuses and shaken by Trump’s move, Gupta wrote:

“For anyone on a US campus right now feeling shaken or disheartened, I know what that feels like. But remember: when one door closes, many others open back home. And India of 2025 is a far more exciting place than India of 2005 ever was. Chin up. Aao, ab laut chalen!” she wrote.