New York: Indians working in the US on H-1B or L-1 visas are reconsidering their long-term plans within the wake of rising uncertainties. A latest Blind ballot, performed anonymously for verified professionals, discovered that 45% would return to India if job loss pressured them to depart the US. One other 26% mentioned they’d transfer to a distinct nation, whereas 29% stay undecided.
Pay cuts and quality-of-life considerations high the record of worries for these considering a return. About 25% cited decrease pay as a deterrent, 24% talked about a dip in residing requirements, 13% highlighted cultural or household changes and 10% feared fewer job alternatives.
When requested if they’d apply for a U.S. work visa once more, solely 35% mentioned sure. The bulk (65%) have been both uncertain (27%) or damaging (38%), indicating a rising shift in notion about the advantages of American work visas.
Private experiences feed this sentiment. Over one-third of respondents (35%) mentioned they or somebody they knew needed to depart the US following a job loss, typically going through deportation dangers through the brief grace interval.
Deportation Notices Earlier than Grace Interval Ends
H-1B visa holders reported a rising pattern of deportation notices being issued even earlier than the 60-day grace interval expires. One in six respondents mentioned they or somebody they knew had acquired a Discover to Seem (NTA) inside weeks of dropping a job. This might lead to a everlasting ban from the US.
“A number of instances the place NTAs have been despatched in 2 weeks. Immigration attorneys now advise leaving as quickly as doable after [the] job ends in any other case you danger a everlasting ban from the US,” wrote one Meta consumer on Blind.
Usually, H-1B employees get 60 days to discover a new employer or swap visa standing, however experiences since mid-2025 counsel notices arriving as early as two weeks into the grace interval.
Trump’s Feedback Stir Debate
President Donald Trump not too long ago urged U.S. corporations to “cease hiring in India”. The Blind survey discovered 63% of U.S.-based professionals felt this might profit their corporations, whereas 69% of India-based respondents believed it could hurt their companies. The survey was performed from July 28 to August 8, 2025.
Potential Visa Rule Adjustments
On August 8, the US Workplace of Data and Regulatory Affairs (OMB) cleared a proposal to alter H-1B visa guidelines. Titled ‘Weighted Choice Course of for Registrants and Petitioners In search of to File Cap-Topic H-1B Petitions’, it’s now with US Citizenship and Immigration Providers (USCIS) for public remark.
Whereas the textual content of the proposed rule has not but been launched, the proposal might doubtlessly substitute the present random H-1B lottery system with a wage-based choice course of.
The measure revives Trump’s first-term effort to prioritise larger salaries. In January 2021, close to the top of Trump’s first time period, he tried to implement a rule that tied the H-1B lottery choice to wage stage. This new rule will possible resemble the 2021 model.
At current, H-1B choice is a lottery. Below a wage-based system, the USCIS would rank purposes by provided salaries, ranging from the very best till the annual cap is reached. Luck takes a again seat.
The H-1B programme permits 85,000 visas yearly: 65,000 for basic candidates and 20,000 for holders of US grasp’s levels or larger. If purposes exceed the cap, a computerised lottery determines choice. Tech companies rely closely on this programme.
If the rule mirrors the 2021 try, cap-subject H-1B petitions for entry-level positions would have virtually no probability of choice. This might considerably have an effect on international graduates in search of work in the US.