Indian H-1B holders avoid travelling out of US, fearing visa rule change

Many worry they may not be able to re-enter the country after Trump is sworn into office

- Rohini Mohan

Mr Kumar, an Indian-origin automotive design engineer from Santa Clara, California, who is currently on holiday in Mumbai, said his immigration attorney has asked him to "return to the States before Jan 20" - the day of US President-elect Donald Trump's swearing-in.

Many Indian H-1B holders told The Sunday Times that their employers and lawyers have told them to avoid travelling out of the US in case a visa rule change blocks their re-entry.

The H-1B is a temporary visa to the US for skilled foreign workers with a minimum qualification of a bachelor's degree. Renewable every three years, it is a stepping stone to permanent residency, better known as a green card.

The engineer's name has been changed to avoid any impact on his visa or green card applications.

Indian professionals in the US are now anxious about Trump making immigration policy changes that would upend their American dreams.

As the second-largest immigrant group in the US after Mexicans, Indians are at the centre of a high-pitched H-1B debate.

In 2023, 278,148 professionals from India made up more than 72 per cent of H-1B visas issued and renewed, followed by Chinese citizens at 12 per cent. Nearly two in three H-1B holders work in computer-related jobs, earning an average annual salary of about US$118,000 (S$162,000).

Indians on H-1B visas are doctors, nurses, professors and academics but they are most influential in the US tech industry, occupying leadership roles in companies such as Google, Microsoft and Apple. Cricket player Saurabh Netravalkar, who made headlines for bowling for the US men's team in the Twenty-20 World Cup in 2024, is an Indian software engineer on an H-1B visa.

Business intelligence developer Vasanth Kalyan, who also holds an H-1B visa, does technical work at a cancer hospital in Tampa, Florida.