Indian entrepreneur and Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl on Saturday weighed in on Donald Trump's decision to impose $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications and asked those impacted today to "be positive".
H-1B visas are non-immigrant visas that allow US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and IT.
Donald Trump on Friday announced that companies will have to pay the government $100,000 in order to secure an H-1B visa for a foreign employee. This move has sent shockwaves through the US tech sector and raised questions about American immigration priorities.
Sharing a story from his days in America, Kunal Bahl took to X and posted, "In 2007, sitting at my desk in Microsoft I got an email that my H1B visa was rejected. It was crushing and numbing at that moment, but life-changing eventually when I moved back to India. To those impacted today, be positive. There is something much bigger & better in store for you."
Bahl co-founded Snapdeal in 2010 and Titan Capital in 2011. According to him, because of the new H-1B visa rules, “a tremendous number of talented individuals are going to be headed back to India”.
“It will no doubt be tough in the beginning to move base, but it will work out for them given the tremendous opportunities in India,” he said. “The talent density in India is going to skyrocket.”
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters at the White House, the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended Trump's decision and said that the move would ensure US companies hire more American talent while sending less valuable foreign workers back to their home countries. Given that Indians account for over 70% of H-1B visa holders, these restrictions could prove especially damaging to the Indian diaspora in America.
The H-1B visa fee hike would apply from September 21, 2025, for a period of 12 months. After the initial period, the rule will expire unless extended.
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