H-IB fee hike Trump's second blow to gems & jewellery firms

Losing sparkle

- Devina Sengupta

Donald Trump's decision to hike H-IB visa fees may have put the spotlight on India’s information technology (IT) services industry, but it has also delivered a twin blow to the gems and jewellery sector—which is not only reeling from tariffs but also has thousands of artisans and technicians working in the US on these work permits.

"Indian jewellers employ gemologists, metallurgists, quality control scientists, IT professionals on H-IB visa,” said Poorvi Chothani, Immigration attorney and managing partner, LawQuest. “The additional cost of $100,000 may also deter employers from engaging H-IB workers. The jewellers may just offshore the roles-they will get these jobs done overseas.”

Jewellers point out that for the last couple of decades, specialists from India who can gauge the quality of diamonds and precious stones, and market them, will now find it difficult to travel on the said visa. Of the 3,000 trading offices overseas, 300 are located in the US, many of them on 47th Street in New York's Diamond District—and in Los Angeles.