‘Indians best country of origin group of immigrants’: US economist

Amid rising anti-India racism in the United States under President Donald Trump, an American economist’s research has shown that Indians are the best group of immigrants as they add highest economic value to the country.

Indians are the “best major country of origin group of immigrants” and H-1B visa-holders grow the US economy the most, said Daniel Di Martino, an economist and a fellow at the Manhattan Institute think tank on X.

These findings were part of a study, The Fiscal Impact of Immigration, published on Thursday. The study critiqued the US immigration policy and suggested an amended immigration policy under which the United States will let in immigrants with better education who would add to the economy instead of dragging it down.

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The research has been published at a time when Trump has cracked down on the H-1B visa, and his base has singled out Indians in their campaign against the visa scheme.

Indian immigrants have best education & add most economic value

Indians are the most economically positive major immigrant group in the United States, according to Di Martino.

One Indian immigrant is expected to reduce the debt by $1.7 million over 30 years and one Indian H1-B visa-holder will likely increase the US GDP by $500,000 after 30 years and reduce the debt by $2.3 million, as per Di Martino’s research.

This is because Indians are the best-educated immigrants who give much more to the US economy than they take in any benefits — the Migration Policy Institute’s analysis of US census data showed that 81 per cent of Indian immigrants aged 25 and above have at least a bachelor’s degree, which is nearly double the average for all foreign-born workers (around 41 per cent).

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To explain how education of an immigrant makes a difference, Di Martino compared two 30-year-old immigrants — one with a bachelor’s degree and another without a high school diploma.

Over 10 years, the college-educated immigrant will pay $200,000 in taxes while the high school dropout will pay $60,000, said Di Martino.

In the same period, the college-educated immigrant will only receive $28,000 from the federal government where the high school dropout will get $66,000, which is much more than they paid in taxes, according to the research.

As Indians are the best-educated immigrants, they add the most value to the US economy.