TRUMP'S INDIA PROBLEM IS REALLY ABOUT US ANXIETIES

H-1B visa crackdown, tariffs, and rhetoric mask a deeper discomfort with India's rise in America's story

- BY SWATI CHATURVEDI | Special to Gulf News

Urgent messages from giant technology companies warning employees on H-1B and H-4 dependent visas not to leave the United States caused near-panic on aircraft as the Trump administration changed the rules, imposing a $100,000 fee (first per year and then in total). The move created total chaos.

While every country in the world is free to change its visa rules, it seemed cruel to do it as a televised spectacle designed for Trump without even a 24-hour delay or lead notice. The initial announcement, later clarified, caused the travel confusion but could have come with a three-month notice.

People with children and spouses back in the USA scrambled to return with virtually no notice until the clarifications arrived. Indian tech workers make up nearly 80 per cent of those on the H-1B visa system, so this crackdown affected them disproportionately.

Consider the 50 per cent tariff imposed on India by Trump — the highest in the world — and the decision on the Chabahar port. It has been a full-spectrum attack by the Trump administration on Indian interests, and it's hard not to feel singled out.