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e U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday filed a lawsuit over the Trump administration imposing a $100,000 fee to the H-1B worker visas. -snip- In a release regarding the lawsuit on Thursday, the Chamber called the new fee unlawful since it "overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern the H-1B program, including the requirement that fees be based on the costs incurred by the government in processing visas." "The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration Thursday over hefty new fees in the H-1B visa program, joining the legal campaign against the administration’s changes to a program used by some of the biggest tech companies in the U.S. -snip- The chamber’s lawsuit is seeking to block the new H-1B program restrictions, which were rolled out in a presidential proclamation that the chamber says “is not only misguided policy; it is plainly unlawful.” “The President has significant authority over the entry of noncitizens into the United States, but that authority is bounded by statute and cannot directly contradict...

Companies could face probes into their compliance with the H-1B visa program as part of the Trump Administration’s effort to clamp down on the program and force companies to hire more Americans. The Department of Labor announced on Friday that it was launching Project Firewall, an “enforcement initiative” that will investigate employers for potential abuse of the H-1B visa process. The initiative may be the first time the federal government has sought to broadly enforce H-1B legal standards intended to protect both the H-1B employee and American workers, such as paying wages on par with other workers of similar qualifications...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American colleague Donald Trump discussed in a telephone conversation on Thursday the possible supply of US Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said. During the call, Putin told Trump that Tomahawk missiles would not change the situation on the battlefield, but would harm relations between Moscow and Washington and minimize the chances of a positive settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, according to Ushakov. Furthermore, the official revealed that Trump pledged to take into consideration all of Putin's concerns during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday at the White...

A growing push in the US to curtail OPT and tax or restrict foreign student work is rattling Indian students. Policy shifts, surprise site visits and H-1B fee changes are shrinking the post-study path in the US. When students finish degrees in the US, they often rely on Optional Practical Training (OPT) to transition from F1 student visas to H1-B work visas and build a career in the US. That safety net is now increasingly under threat. Senator Tom Cotton’s OPT Fair Tax Act was already spelling trouble. Now, Senator Chuck Grassley and others are urging DHS (Department of Homeland...

The number of new FHA mortgages granted to non-permanent residents has dropped to near-zero following the Trump administration’s recent executive orders targeting immigrants, according to new data. In a March 26 letter, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that non-permanent residents in the United States, including H-1B visa holders, would no longer be eligible for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), effective May 25. The move, the letter said, was in line with President Donald Trump’s “commitment to safeguarding economic opportunities for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents,” while also ensuring that “federal benefits, including access...

Trump’s staunch supporter and Conservative US leader Charlie Kirk, who died on September 10 after being shot at an event in Utah, just days before his death said that America does not need more visas for Indians. Kirk’s controversial post on X resurfaced in which he said America was “full" and it was time to put “our own people first". The 31-year-old had built a strong following among youth through his posts and podcast. His remarks were termed ‘xenophobic’ by critics who said they undermined bilateral ties and innovation pipelines.

Amid H-1B tensions, two Indian-origin executives, Srinivas Gopalan and Rahul Goyal, rise to top US leadership roles, defying Make America Great Again (MAGA) hardliners and reshaping America's corporate landscape. At a time when the Donald Trump-led US administration is tightening H-1B visa rules, two major American companies on Monday bucked the trend by promoting India-born leaders to top positions. T-Mobile, the US telecom giant, will see Srinivas “Srini” Gopalan, 55, step into the CEO role on November 1. Gopalan, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, currently serves as T-Mobile’s Chief Operating Officer and will succeed Mike Sievert, who has led the...

Amid H-1B tensions, two companies, T-Mobile and Molson Coors, have announced their newly elected CEOs—both of Indian origin. T-Mobile appointed Srinivasan Gopalan, and Molson Coors appointed Rahul Goyal as the next CEO. “T-Mobile today announced that it has named current Chief Operating Officer Srini Gopalan as T-Mobile’s next Chief Executive Officer, effective November 1, 2025. Gopalan will assume the role from Mike Sievert, who has been appointed to a newly created management position at T-Mobile, Vice Chairman,” T-Mobile wrote in a statement. In a LinkedIn post, Gopalan shared that he is “deeply honoured” to take on the role of CEO....

Vice President JD Vance blasted Big Tech companies for firing American workers and then claiming they need visas for foreign labor Wednesday. The H-1B visa program allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers for specialty occupations and is overwhelmingly used by the tech industry. However, it has long been controversial for some conservatives, who say it is abused by tech companies to bring in cheap, predominantly Indian, labor to replace American workers. Vance spoke with The All-In podcast hosts on a panel at the "Winning the AI Race" AI Summit in Washington, D.C. The Vice President noted that while some...

Among issues Charlie Kirk took a strong stand against was immigration, even legal immigration stemming from H1B visas that many Indian students and professionals use. “America does not need more visas for people from India. Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We’re full. Let’s finally put our own people first,” he said in a post on X on September 1 He was responding to a Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham’s post suggesting that a US-India trade deal might involve more visas for Indian professionals. In a subsequent post on...

Immigration-focused narratives, especially those related to H-1B visas and portraying Indians as “job stealers” dominated online discourse on X, amplifying xenophobia and fueling calls for deportation and denaturalization, according to a new report. The report, Anti-Indian Racism on X: Causes, Trends, and Narratives, released by The Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) today documents a surge in anti-Indian racism on the American microblogging platform between July and September 2025. The 680 high-engagement posts analyzed for this report amassed more than 281 million views, underscoring the scale of online racism targeting Indian communities, according to CSOH. Notably, August saw...

A highly anticipated city council meeting Thursday could start the process of potentially removing a member of the council. Palm Bay Community Correspondent James Sparvero reported Tuesday that Councilman Chandler Langevin is back on the hot seat over what he said on social media about Indian visa holders and immigrants. Langevin said these Indians don’t care about America, are destroying the South, and should all be deported. -snip- “If someone only hires Indians, sends remittance checks back to India, campaigns in Indian elections, lobby’s (sic) to fly Indian flags over American government buildings, and has no family willing to serve...

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) will introduce a bill on Tuesday that would sharply reduce the number of H-1B migrants working in U.S. white-collar jobs. The bill, to be announced Tuesday morning, would begin to count visa renewals as new visas, so ending the current practice of allowing unlimited renewals for most of the 85,000 visas granted to companies each year. The unlimited renewals policy allows roughly 750,000 H-1B visa holders to retain white-collar, career-track jobs that would otherwise have gone to young U.S. graduates. Without the exemption, the number of company-employed H-1B visa holders would drop to roughly 250,000. The...

Diethylene glycol (DEG) is an organic compound that is commonly used as an industrial solvent in antifreeze mixtures and brake fluids. But, in India, DEG is ending up with worrying frequency where it should never be – in cough syrups for children. The repeated presence of this toxic substance in medicines has had devastating, fatal consequences in India and abroad, while also bringing the country’s lax drug regulatory set-up under intense scrutiny. In the latest instance of such contamination, at least 22 children have been killed since September in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after consuming Coldrif,...

Nearly one-fifth fewer student visas were issued in August, the same month the Trump administration moved to limit the duration of visas for students, among others. One of the hardest hit were Indians, who saw a nearly 45% plunge in student visa allocations in August. According to news agency AFP, 3,13,138 student visas were issued in the month of August and the total figure was also 19.1% lower than what it was in August 2024. While the Chinese also saw a drop in issuance of student visas, it wasn't nearly as much as Indians, who saw 44.5% fewer student visas...

An Indian Redditor who claimed to be an ex-Amazon employee took to Reddit to share his rant against Indian managers in US workplaces. The post went viral with anti-H-1Bs reveling in the fact that Indians are exposing the toxicity they create in American companies. The Redditor said Indian managers do not hire Americans because they know they can't push them to work 24/7; and Americans won't hesitate to push back if they are made to work extra. Citing the toxic behavior of the Indian managers for leaving Amazon, the person claimed that the real hiring criteria in Walmart is one...

US President Donald Trump's "reckless" proclamation imposing a USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas is not about protecting American jobs but about "weaponising" immigration policy to advance a "xenophobic agenda", a leading community organisation said. On Friday, the Trump administration announced a one-time USD 1,00,000 fee on H-1B visas. Indian American Impact strongly condemned Trump's reckless order imposing the USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas and said its "chaotic" rollout sparked panic and chaos, especially for professionals abroad working or visiting family with medical emergencies. The proclamation "is not about protecting American jobs; it is about weaponising immigration policy to...

Trump administration’s MAGA push is gaining traction before the next year’s mid-term elections in America. Two key developments regarding the H-1B visa system are already in place, making it difficult for US firms to hire foreign workers. The introduction of a $100,000 H-1B petition fee for each foreign worker will make it more expensive for US companies, while the second proposal is to launch a wage-based selection process. US companies are being forced to either hire the best-skilled foreign talent by offering a higher salary and the $100k petition fee or hire American workers. After H-1B, the next focus for...

Since President Donald Trump's H-1B visa crackdown, many Indian students who once dreamed of a world-class education, lucrative careers and a better quality of life, are nervous about tougher and more unpredictable U.S. immigration rules. -snip- Bengaluru-based Piyush is a 26-year-old who still wants to do an MBA in the United States. He asked for his full name not to be used, fearing it could affect his visa chances. This is his story: I have been in India all my life. I have studied and worked here and honestly, I have had enough. It is time to go. It is...