IIT-Madras director Kamakoti Veezhinathan has commented on President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, referring to it as a “blessing in disguise.” He believes this measure will foster more research and innovation within India.
“I see this as a blessing in disguise and we must thank President Trump for it. We must take full advantage of this…” Veezhinathan stated in an interview with ANI.
He elaborated on the impact, suggesting a dual benefit: firstly, it may deter students who aspire to work in the US, allowing them to contribute to India instead. “The impact is two-fold-one, the students who go from here with an aspiration to work there might not go now, and as a director of IIT-Madras, I am happy that they will continue in India.”
Veezhinathan added, “I believe as a country we have great opportunities for us to do research here… This is the time when students who want to go there (to the US) can stay here and contribute. In the last 5 years, at IIT-M, we have had only 5% of our population that is not in India. The craze for going to the US is gone here…”
Donald Trump’s Rationale for the Fee Hike:
In a statement released by the White House, President Trump explained that the H-1B visa program, initially designed for high-skilled temporary workers, was being misused to replace American workers with lower-paid labor. He stated, “The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor. The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security.” He further noted that entry for highly skilled foreign workers would be restricted unless petitions are accompanied by a $100,000 payment.
India’s Reaction to the Fee Hike:
The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement acknowledging the reports of proposed H-1B visa restrictions, mentioning that the full implications are being studied by all relevant parties, including Indian industry, which has already provided an initial analysis.