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Manisha Puppala, an Indian national who recently graduated with a master’s degree in tech management from the Rochester Institute of Technology, planned to apply for an H-1B work visa to remain in the U.S. after her studies. Now that the Trump administration has announced a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications, her future is in doubt. Puppala, who took on $120,000 in loans to study in America and has been working at a Boston firm on a permit that allows foreign students to work temporarily in the U.S., had dreamed of running her own startup. “What do I do now?”...

The Trump administration plans to publish a new H-1B rule expected to propose additional immigration restrictions on how employers use the visa and who qualifies for it. Shortly before the White House announced a $100,000 fee on many H-1B visa holders, the Department of Homeland Security published its regulatory agenda. The agenda includes a rule to change the H-1B visa category. The summary for the upcoming rule “Reforming the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program” states: “DHS will propose to reform the H-1B program by revising eligibility for cap exemptions, providing greater scrutiny for employers that have violated program requirements, and...

When Qian Zhang boarded a flight from Shanghai to Boston at age 18, she thought she was heading toward the "best version" of her life. It was 2009, during President Barack Obama's first term, when the U.S. economy was rebounding and opportunities for well-educated workers seemed plentiful. She was bound for Dartmouth College, a top choice for many Chinese students, and later found her way to Harvard Business School. Qian embraced the American dream: the promise of equal opportunity, a country that rewards talent and hard work, and a place where global citizens like her could belong. By her early...

For decades, young Indians were told that success meant heading west. Wealth, global recognition, and a career on the international stage could only be earned by leaving home for the United States. Silicon Valley became the promised land, Wall Street the pinnacle of ambition, and the H1-B visa the golden ticket. Families built dreams around it, students tailored their education for it, and India’s brightest minds set their sights on crossing oceans. But now, that dream faces a harsh reality. President Donald Trump has imposed a staggering $100,000 fee on new H1-B visas, a barrier so steep it threatens to...

There’s been lots of discussion about which tech companies will be the biggest losers from President Donald Trump’s broad assault on H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, including a $100,000 fee for each new visa recipient. But the impact could be felt first by universities, says Jeremy Neufeld, the director of immigration policy at the Institute for Progress, a nonpartisan Washington think tank. That's because the fee won’t apply to companies until next March, when the annual lottery for the roughly 85,000 new commercial H-1B visas awarded each year, takes place. Meanwhile, universities and certain other research and not-for-profit...

Tighter US immigration rules are making Indian families think twice before arranging marriages with relatives living in the United States, matchmakers and experts say. Sidhi Sharma, a 19-year-old medical student from Haryana, had hoped to marry an Indian citizen with a high-paying US job but abandoned the idea after recent headlines about President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Kaushik Raj, a 27-year-old journalist from Delhi, was all ready to live his American dream with a $100,000 (approximately Rs 89 lakh) scholarship in hand to pursue a master's degree in data journalism at Columbia University. But all his plans came crashing down when the United States' immigration department denied his student visa. Raj, who completed all the visa formalities, including the interview, believes the rejection was linked to his social media activity. Under the Donald Trump administration, social media vetting has become an integral part of the visa selection process. Speaking to The Washington Post, Raj claimed he wasn't...

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant and eight other major corporations have been questioned by U.S. Senators for filing thousands of H-1B skilled labour visa petitions after conducting "mass layoffs" of American employees. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley and ranking member Richard Durbin have also questioned Amazon, Apple, Deloitte, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Meta, Microsoft, and Walmart, asking them for details on their hiring and recruitment practices as well as any variation in salary and benefits between H-1B visa holders and American employees. The Senators said their "inquiry" comes at a time when the unemployment rate in America’s tech sector is...

A heartfelt post by an Indian professional on Reddit has sparked a wave of emotional discussion among expats navigating the uncertainty of life after their US student visas expire. The user, who identified himself as a 32-year-old currently on a STEM OPT visa, opened up about feeling “lost” and conflicted as his time in the US nears an end. In his post, the user shared that he came to the US in 2021 on an F1 visa and had planned to continue working through a Day 1 CPT program after his Optional Practical Training (OPT) period. However, after his project...

The United States of America’s plan to cap international undergraduate students at 15 per cent per campus, with no more than 5 per cent from any single country, has caused unease among global students—especially in India, which sends one of the largest cohorts to American universities. What the White House proposal says Earlier this month, the White House sent a memo to nine universities outlining a proposal that ties federal funding to new conditions. These include limiting international undergraduate enrolment to 15 per cent overall and capping any single country at 5 per cent. The memo is not a universal...

For thousands of Indians who move to the United States in pursuit of education, career growth, and stability, the American dream often represents more than just financial success — it stands for freedom, opportunity, and personal achievement. But as immigration rules tighten and job markets fluctuate, many find that this dream can unravel overnight. The story of one 32-year-old Indian worker, who spent four years building a life in the US only to face sudden job loss and visa uncertainty, reveals how fragile this dream can be. The worker, who moved to the US in 2021 on an F1 student...

For decades, Indian students have viewed U.S. universities as gateways to success. But evolving immigration policies under the Trump administration have altered that narrative. A dramatic hike in H1B visa fees and tighter post-study employment rules are now deterring both students and employers. The fallout is immense—students burdened with debt, uncertain job prospects, and delayed opportunities. Drawing from personal experience, this article explores how these changes have made the path to success steeper and prompted many to reconsider studying or working in the United States altogether. Almost nine months since I returned to India after spending a little over two...

US senators Charles Grassley and Richard Durbin have raised concerns about major corporations, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Cognizant, for filing thousands of H-1B skilled worker visa petitions even as they conducted large-scale layoffs of American employees. Other companies questioned include Amazon, Apple, Deloitte, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Meta, Microsoft, and Walmart. The inquiry comes amid high unemployment in the US tech sector, which exceeds the overall national jobless rate. Recent American graduates with STEM degrees are reportedly struggling to find jobs, prompting the senators to question why companies are replacing US workers with foreign visa holders, as per PTI...

Sudden layoffs from jobs are tough to process and it gets worse when questions of employees remain unanswered. In one such case, an Indian employee detailed his sudden layoff from a US-based company in a Reddit post which has gone viral. According to the post, the employee was caught off guard by the termination, which took place on October 1, over a three-minute video call. “It was literally like any other day, woke up at 8:30, logged into work at 9 and saw a calendar invite for 11. It was a mandatory meeting with our COO for all India employees....

The United States has long been seen as a land of opportunity, where ambition and hard work promise professional growth and personal freedom. But for international students and professionals, that promise can be fragile, shaped by visa rules, corporate decisions, and global economic uncertainty. Ananya Joshi, an Indian biotechnology graduate, recently became the human face of this precarious reality. After earning her master’s degree at Northwestern University in 2024, she began her career under the F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme at a biotech start-up. But a sudden company-wide downsizing left her unemployed, and with her OPT period nearing its...

The US Chamber of Commerce is reportedly considering to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration after announcing a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa. The move has sparked concerns among Indian and other foreign nationals working in the US economy that relies heavily on H-1B visa. According to a Bloomberg report, officials with the country’s largest business lobby polled member companies to test support for a lawsuit. The report cites people familiar with the conversations who, on the condition of anonymity, said that the group sought feedback from corporations on potential litigation during a series of phone calls and...

The 'American Dream' is often described as the belief that anyone can succeed in the United States through perseverance and hard work. For Ananya Joshi, an Indian woman, that promise fell short. She bid a teary-eyed farewell to the country after failing to secure stable employment. In a conversation with NDTV, Joshi explained that she was on an F-1 visa when she was laid off. She had joined a company during her Optional Practical Training (OPT) period, but they later informed her that they would not sponsor her visa. "At that time I did not panic because I knew I...

US Senator Charles Grassley and Richard J. Durbin has sent a letter to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for hiring thousands of H-1B visa workers in the country while conducting ‘massive layoffs’ globally. The letter, dated September 24, 2025 is addressed to TCS CEO Krithi Krithivasan raises concerns about “troubling employment trends” in the tech industry. It quotes a Wall Street Journal report pointing at the tech sector’s unemployment rate, which is “well above” the overall jobless rate. The letter asks the Indian IT firm that while it has announced to lay off 12,000 employees worldwide, “you have been filing H-1B...

For decades, the “American Dream” has inspired people from around the globe. But the reality of chasing it often turns out to be far more complicated. That struggle recently came into sharp focus after an emotional farewell video by an Indian woman went viral, resonating deeply with international students and professionals who face similar challenges. Ananya Joshi, who completed her master’s in Biotechnology from Northwestern University in 2024, started her career in the US on an F-1 OPT visa at a biotech start-up. But when the company downsized, she lost her job. With her visa period running out and the...

-snip- The suit cites the example of “Plaintiff Phoenix Doe,” to land its point. Doe is described as an Indian citizen residing in Northern California. She is a postdoctoral researcher whose cap-exempt H-1B petition has been halted due to the $100,000 fee. -snip- “As a result of the Proclamation, her university has indefinitely paused moving forward with the processing of her application.” “She is suffering debilitating stress and anxiety due to the uncertainty of her position, which exacerbates the PTSD from which she suffers. Without relief, Plaintiff Phoenix will be forced to leave her postdoctoral position the United States within...