THE LONG JOURNEY OF H-1B RESHAPING TECHNOLOGY MIGRATION AND TWO DEMOCRACIES

In the late twentieth century the United States created a legal channel to import specialised talent from overseas.

- TDG NETWORK

In the late twentieth century the United States created a legal channel to import specialised talent from overseas. That channel-the H-1B visa-would revolutionise American science and technology, help Silicon Valley become the world's innovation hub and help build a highly educated Indian-American community. H-1B visas allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in "specialty occupations" that require at least abachelor's degree and theoretical and practical knowledge. The program's roots lie in the Immigration Act of 1990, which created the H-1B category and limited new petitions to 65,000 per year. Congress later added a 20,000-visa exemption for holders of US. graduate degrees.

No nation has used this programme more than India. By fiscal year 2024, 71% of all approved H-1B beneficiaries were born in India, far ahead of China's 11.7%. Years earlier, between 2001 and 2015, Indians received 50.5% of H-1B visas for first-time employment.

The visa has enabled a dramatic Indian migration: the Indian-American population in the U.S. has grown 174% since 2000 to more than five million people, with median household incomes around $151,200 and 77% of adults holding at least a bachelor's degree. The H-1B program has thus become entwined with the hopes, anxieties and politics of two nations. This narrative traces the H-1B visa's evolution, focusing on how regulatory changes, the Trump and Modi eras and shifting socio-cultural currents have shaped Indo-American relations.

ORIGINS OF A SKILLED-WORKER CHANNEL (PRE-1990)