H-1B visa holders fuel US startups, research and new economic ecosystems: Indiaspora

The H-1B programme is a crucial channel for the United States to attract top global talent and skilled professionals who not only fill jobs but also help create new economic opportunities, a leading diaspora organisation said on Saturday.

The statement came after the Trump administration announced on Friday a USD 100,000 annual fee for H-1B visas, sparking widespread concern among Indian professionals.

Later, the White House clarified that the new fee would apply only to new H-1B petitions that have yet to be filed and would not affect existing visa holders.

“H-1B holders have historically become the architects of innovation, founding companies that generate hundreds of thousands of American jobs and contribute billions in tax revenue to federal, state, and local governments,” nonprofit organisation Indiaspora said in a post on X.

The organisation, which focuses on the global Indian diaspora, said that the H-1B programme serves as America’s gateway for attracting the world’s top talent—skilled professionals who don’t merely fill existing positions but create entirely new economic ecosystems.

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The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in a statement Saturday that Trump’s new H-1B visa requirement applies only to new, prospective petitions that have not yet been filed.

H-1B petitions submitted prior to the effective proclamation date of September 21, 2025 are not affected and also those visa holders currently outside the US also do not need to pay the fee for re-entry into the country.

Indiaspora noted that a significant reduction in H-1B visas could trigger a cascade effect: fewer international researchers in universities and labs, potential budget cuts to higher education programmes, and the loss of critical intellectual capital that drives breakthrough discoveries.

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It said that the economic multiplier effect of skilled immigration extends far beyond individual employment. “These H-1B professionals fuel technological advancement, drive entrepreneurship, and strengthen the tax base that supports everything from infrastructure to education,” the organisation said.

Indiaspora further noted that many startups depend on H-1B employment authorisation to recruit specialised talent at competitive costs, enabling them to scale effectively and compete with larger corporations. “H-1B card holders also play a substantial role in scientific research and development, which serve as the primary engines of American innovation and, consequently, long-term economic growth,” it added.

According to the Indiaspora Impact Report, published in 2024 in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group, India is the leading country of origin for immigrant-founded unicorns in the US in the last five years.

Among these 358 Unicorns, 72 have Indian migrants as founders or co-founders with a valuation exceeding USD 195 billion, while employing over 55,000.

Date from Open Doors — a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US — for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.

Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.

Further, 13 per cent of the US scientific publications had an Indian American co-author.

A 2020 study by researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research and Harvard University found that the Indian diaspora’s share of patents increased from 1.9 per cent in 1975 to 10 per cent in 2019.

Within the patent realm, Indian patent holders are most prominent in the computer sectors, with 11 per cent of computers–related patents having an Indian co-author, as per the National Bureau of Economic Research.

With inputs from agencies