For Indians seeking employment, education, or long-term residency in the US, Donald Trump's second term has produced a starkly mixed reality.
While the administration says it wants to attract high-skilled personnel for critical industries, legislative changes throughout 2024-2025 have established new impediments for many Indian professionals, especially those locked in long green-card waits.
A selective approach is evident in the difference between rhetoric and action: open where talent supports US interests, limiting otherwise.
Trump made his opinion known at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, DC on November 19. Businesses investing in semiconductor plants cannot "hire people off an unemployment line to run it," he said business executives.
He asked corporations to bring professionals who can “teach our people how to make computer chips and how to make other things,” and acknowledged the political cost by declaring, “I may take a little heat. My people always give me a little heat, and sometimes they're quite correct.
His statements also resembled his June 2024 appearance on the All-In Podcast, where he claimed graduates of US institutions should immediately earn a green card with their credentials.
Although the notion has not become legislation, it highlights his support for targeted, merit-based immigration a pathway dominated by Indian talent.
Despite this signal, the past year has brought stricter rules for many Indians. A new $100,000 entry fee for H-1B workers entering from abroad has risen costs for companies, while updated income levels and narrower specialty-occupation classifications are making it harder for applicants to qualify.
Thousands of dependents, the majority of whom are Indian women, have experienced increased volatility after the automatic work-permit extensions for H-4 spouses ended on October 30.
Uncertainty for families has been exacerbated by increased scrutiny at ports of entry and changing signals on future visa pathways.
NFAP data for FY 2025 indicates how the landscape is changing. With 4,644 new H-1B approvals, Amazon headed the pack, followed by Microsoft, Google, and Meta.
This is the first time that US IT companies have occupied all four positions. Indian IT enterprises suffered substantial declines: TCS had 846 approvals, LTIMindtree 401 and HCL America 379. The top seven Indian employers jointly earned 4,573 approvals, a decline of 70 percent from 2015.
Employers filed more than 114,000 petitions for new H-1Bs and roughly 292,000 for ongoing employment. Denial rates increased little to 2.8%.
Sponsorship today can cost up to $34,900, and over $50,000 when green-card processing is added. According to USCIS data, H-1B workers are still highly competent, earning an average of $136,000 in computer-related jobs, and 63% of them have postgraduate degrees.
The Optional Practical Training program, which permits international students to work in their area for up to three years with the STEM extension, may be limited or perhaps terminated by a new proposal from the Department of Homeland Security.
The regulation, which is anticipated in late 2025 or early 2026, would supplement recent actions that detractors claim make the US less predictable for international students.
OPT serves roughly 250,000 students each year, including a major number of Indians who rely on it as a bridge to the H-1B system.
The plan comes after previous initiatives to expedite student admissions and give older employees preference over young graduates during the H-1B application process.
Indians face the longest waits in the US green-card system. There are still over 1.2 million Indian professionals waiting in line for jobs. In categories like EB-2, wait times might stretch from two decades to more than a century due of annual nation restrictions and delayed priority-date movement.
Families are also impacted by these delays. About 134,000 Indian children on H-4 visas risk losing their dependant status at 21, even when their parents have resided legally in the US for years.
One of Trump’s first moves in his second administration was an executive order restricting birthright citizenship. The decision specifies that children born in the US will not automatically gain citizenship if the mother was in the country unlawfully or on a temporary visa, and the father was not a US citizen or permanent resident at the time of birth.
The amendment instructs government agencies to cease granting citizenship documents for births that take place 30 days following the order's signing.
For Indian families living in the US on temporary visas such as H-1B, H-4, F-1 and L-1, the policy generates ambiguity because a child’s status now depends on the parents’ visa category at the time of birth.
According to recent studies, Trump's policies run counter to the economic benefits that skilled immigrants provide to the United States.
According to a 2025 research by the American Immigration Council, immigrants support important industries, bolster the labor force, and promote long-term growth.
The paper emphasizes that foreign-born experts assist address gaps in technology, healthcare and research, and produce real budgetary benefits.
This is supported by a Columbia Business School report published in March 2025. It comes to the conclusion that highly qualified immigrants foster creativity, start businesses, and do not replace people who were born in the United States.
Firms that hire immigrant talent tend to grow quicker and add more jobs in fields such as artificial intelligence, software and advanced manufacturing.
These findings contrast with the trend of Trump’s second-term plans, which have raised uncertainty for Indian professionals. Long-term prospects for many families increasingly depend on changing regulations, increased expenses, and more limited options.
The outcome is a conditional welcome: Indian talent is welcomed when it serves US economic aims but confronts barriers when it seeks permanence.
