Hyderabad the beating heart of India’s tech boom is witnessing a dramatic shift in sentiment as thousands of engineers and IT professionals rethink their long‑held ambitions of working in the United States. The change follows the Trump administration’s move to introduce a $100,000 fee for new H‑1B visa applications, a staggering jump from the earlier $1,700-$4,500 range.
In the city’s bustling Gachibowli-HITEC corridor, home to major global tech campuses, the announcement has sparked frustration and uncertainty.
Arvind Kolluri, a software architect who has spent years working with a U.S.-based multinational in Hyderabad, said the new fee has crushed a dream shared by many. “Most of us worked with the hope that one day we’d get a chance to move to the U.S.,” he said. “Now it feels completely out of reach.”
For others, the decision has forced an immediate change in plans.
Sanaullah Mir, an engineer employed at a major e‑commerce firm, said he abandoned his U.S. ambitions the moment the fee was announced. “No company is going to pay that kind of money,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense for employers or employees.” Mir is now preparing applications for Canada.
Immigration analyst Rohan Deshpande, who heads the consultancy GlobalPath Advisors, said the H‑1B program has long been a cornerstone of America’s tech ecosystem, drawing highly skilled workers from India. In 2024, Indians accounted for over 70% of all H‑1B holders, according to U.S. immigration data.
“Losing this talent pipeline is unquestionably a setback for the U.S.,” Deshpande said. “Hyderabad alone has produced leaders who now run some of the world’s biggest tech companies. You can’t replicate that expertise overnight.”
He added that countries like Canada, Australia and even China are now aggressively positioning themselves to attract the same pool of skilled workers by offering simpler, cheaper migration pathways.
Even President Trump acknowledged the importance of foreign talent during a televised interview last year, noting that the U.S. still needs to “bring in talent” despite having a large domestic workforce.
For many in Hyderabad, the message is clear: the world is opening doors just as the U.S. is closing them.
Kolluri, who once viewed the U.S. as his only destination, is now preparing to move to Australia. “The process is transparent, predictable, and far more affordable,” he said a sentiment increasingly echoed across the city’s tech community.
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