Palak Sharma from Dehradun was delighted as her course in a U.S. college was nearing completion. But the announcement of an H1-B visa fee hike by the U.S. government in the third week of September unsettled her. At 24, she had already charted her career roadmap. She had planned to stay in the U.S., work for one to two years, and then apply for an H1-B visa. However, the sudden fee hike has forced her to rethink her plans, and she is now considering returning to Dehradun, as the increased costs have made it more difficult to secure employment opportunities in the U.S.
Palak Sharma is not alone. Many Indian students who had gone to the U.S. for higher studies are now reassessing their career paths.
For years, Indian students constituted the largest group of international students in the U.S. The path for them was once very clear—first complete their course, then secure a job on a student visa, and finally apply for an H1-B visa after gaining one or two years of work experience. But with the H1-B visa becoming much more expensive, many U.S. companies are likely to find it difficult to sponsor these fees. As a result, the well-established route of enrolling at an American university, completing studies, gaining initial work experience, and eventually obtaining an H1-B visa is no longer a guaranteed path.
This has significantly altered the outlook of aspiring Indian students. Those who previously saw the U.S. as their top destination for higher education are now exploring alternatives such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The primary reason is the enormous financial burden parents in India already shoulder to fund their children's overseas education. Most families rely on education loans, in the hope that their child will secure a high-paying job abroad after graduation. With the uncertainty surrounding H1-B visas, the U.S. is losing its spot as the first choice.
Experts point out that many top Indian-origin business leaders in the U.S., such as Sundar Pichai of Alphabet and Satya Nadella of Microsoft, once pursued higher education in America and benefited from companies that recognized their potential and sponsored their H1-B visas. With fewer such opportunities available now, the flow of top Indian talent into the U.S. will likely diminish. The Indian middle class will feel this impact the most, as students from smaller towns and cities used to find opportunities at global giants like TCS, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. Their success stories often transformed the fortunes of entire families. But with visa costs rising, this pathway to upward mobility is becoming increasingly uncertain.