Extraordinary Ability’ Or Clever H-1B Workaround? Inside The O-1A Visa Push To Indian Professionals

Dallas Express ^ | April 1, 2026 | Kellen McGovern Jones

[TexasGunLover]

Consultancies are increasingly marketing the O-1A visa to Indian professionals as a workaround to mounting H-1B barriers.

A growing number of immigration firms and online platforms are pitching the O-1A visa as a viable alternative to the H-1B program, which has faced recent changes that critics say have injected new uncertainty into the high-skilled visa pipeline.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: aliens; h1b; immigration; india; o1a

[Hodar]

Jobs going ONLY to 2 specific regions in India, and Indians demanding caste discrimination as its “part of their religion”

They live and die by the scam; and we choose to die from it

[Tell It Right]

Reading the article, it sounds like O-1A is presented like H-1B used to be: just for the highly specialized skills we need (i.e. heart surgeon), not cheap intellectual labor (low wage engineers and programmers).

If so, it's only a matter of time before O-1A is abused to just bring in cheap labor too.

[TexasGunLover]

If so, it's only a matter of time before O-1A is abused to just bring in cheap labor too.

There are too many hundreds of thousands of Indian's in north Texas (Frisco, Plano, Irving, etc.) to go home just because H1B ends. Nearly 100% have had children here within months of arriving over the past 20 years, and it's too late. Many being hired now are 2nd generation.

[Resolute Conservative]

We don’t need them. They have driven down software engineering salaries across the board.

I see postings for “senior dev position” for $105,000 (and the ad is posted with a straight face I imagine). A couple years ago seniors started around $145 to $160. I got on some BS Indeed feed somehow and I have been getting these cold postings for stuff like this.

I finally sent an email and told them it was insulting quit sending me that crap I make way more than that why would I be interested? Send them to you Indian prospects, you get what you pay for...

[steve8714]

Did Boeing’a 737 MAX software folks have “extraordinary ability”?
Was it the ability to work at half the cost of US natives?

[jroehl]

We have brought in 5 + million H1B visa holders mainly from India over the last 10 years. Enough to replace every American tech worker. We have no way of knowing how many have returned back to India. The tech companies designed the system this way.

[JesusIsLord]

Extraordinary Ability’ Or Clever H-1B Workaround? Inside The O-1A Visa Push To Indian Professionals

Our representatives in the House, Senate and Presidency have sold out Americans by allowing foreigners to take American jobs. Americans are being sold out by our representatives who are catering to globalism and corporate profits. A pox on all of them! MAGA should make 'Americans' great again - not globalists and corporations who don't give a damn about you, me and our kids.

Spare me the BS that Americans can't fill these H1B and other work visa jobs. It's a damned lie!

[escapefromboston]

End all immigration from India .

[central_va]

Why not make it illegal to hire Americans and get it over with?

[central_va]

The road to socialism is paved with LEGAL immigration.

[TexasGunLover]

Don't forget... here is just a small list of CEO's from India... not to mention the other c-suite members...

Google
Microsoft
Youtube
Adobe
FedEx
Infosys
IBM
Micron
Honeywell
T-Mobile
P&G
Vertex
Cognizant
Chanel

[central_va]

How much money have you made being the middleman in the human trafficking scheme called h-1b visa?

[central_va]

End all immigration PERIOD.

[jroehl]

The tech companies now run the “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services” in the Federal Government. It is called “Corporate Capture”.

[TexasGunLover]

How much money have you made being the middleman in the human trafficking scheme called h-1b visa?

$0 as the middle man, but I have hired dozens of them as a manager over the decades. The paperwork and oversight of using H1B's (including validating salary paid each year) is a huge burden, but when no citizens apply, you're left with nothing

We haven't hired folks since 2021, but when we were hiring, zero US citizens applications were received.

In Fortune 100 companies, managers have no control over salary paid and is set by HR & Compensation.

[FreedomPoster]

We have screwed over citizen IT opportunity and capabilities over the last 25+ years with this. It’s a really stupid thing we have done.

[Tommy Revolts]

...critics say have injected new uncertainty into the high-skilled visa pipeline.

High-skilled yer ass!

[jroehl]

If no US citizens applied for your employment positions then you should throw in the towel or move to India.

[Chickensoup]

Increase the salaries