Maryland, USA: On one side, the Trump administration is making it harder than ever to get an H1-B visa for Indian professionals, while on the other, a high ranking US official was praising India for its contributions to support more than 70,000 American jobs and investing about $16.4 billion in the economy.
“We are pleased to welcome your investment from India. According to available cumulative data, the total stock of foreign direct investment from India to the United States was approximately USD 16.4 billion, which supported approximately 70,800 jobs, USD 313 million in research and development spending and USD 1.5 billion worth of exports,” Department of Commerce Undersecretary Brandon Remington said on the sidelines of the 2026 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Maryland.
Remington also said that Indian firms spent $330 million on research and development in America. According to a CII report released in 2023, Indian investments in the US have reached USD 40 billion, creating about 4.25 lakh jobs.
Indian troubles with the H-1B
This comes at a time when the US has made it increasingly difficult for Indians to work and emigrate to the US, with the flagship H-1B visa now requiring a registration fee of $215(about Rs.20,400) per applicant along with a supplemental fee of $100,000 ( more than Rs.95 lakh) for certain jobs.
Indians have traditionally used the H-1B visa as a route to earn their green cards, with over 70% of applicants being Indians. Leading tech executives like Elon Musk have defended these visas, as a majority of highly skilled Indians have used them to meet the critical skill shortages in the US.
Many leading Indian executives have been using H-1B visas to rise to the top of their companies, even as many aspiring to reach the US consider emigrating to cheaper destinations like Germany or Canada instead.
Indian investments in the US
This statement comes at a time when Indians have become job creators and not job snatchers in the US, with leading IT companies like TCS, Infosys and HCL hiring Americans for almost a decade.
Many Indian companies have acquired leading US brands, the latest being Sun Pharma’s $11.75 billion acquisition of Organon, even as various IT companies have strengthened their presence in the States with their own acquisitions.
For India, this praise comes at a time when the US is at a crossroads, with unemployment and job security among the biggest challenges facing the US economy.
