H-1B Visa Silver Lining? Some Indians Welcome Trump’s Crackdown

Some Indians have a much rosier outlook on the US’ crackdown on H-1B visas.

The issue of immigration has been a contentious point for all electoral debates in the presidential race so far. (Photo: iStockphoto, Reuters, altered by The Quint)

US president Donald Trump’s latest attack on H-1B visas has sent massive ripples across Silicon Valley. The fact that the minimum salary requirement to attain a H-1B visa may be doubled to $130,000 has caused panic among the Indian IT community.

And why not? Out of the 65,000 H-1B visas issued by the US each year, Indians make up almost 70 percent. If H-1B visas are massively curbed, what will happen to all those Indians working in the USA who suddenly don’t fit the visa requirement?

The move, if it goes through, could force US tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Apple to hire less talent from India. Naturally, many Indians took to social media to rage over the matter.

But if you think that all Indians are against the passing of this bill, you are wrong. A section the Indian internet is in fact welcoming the move, using the logic that the reduction in visas will stem the ‘brain drain’ and keep India’s IT talent within the country.

Here are a few tweets from Indians who think Donald Trump’s move to clamp down on H-1B visas is good news.