For almost 30 years, the US represented opportunity for Indian IT professionals, a place where skill, ambition and hard work could translate into global careers and financial stability. The H-1B visa was the bridge that made this possible. Today, that bridge is shaking, and for many young Indians, it may no longer be safe to cross.
The uncertainty surrounding the H-1B visa is not sudden, nor is it accidental. It is the result of political backlash, economic anxiety and a system that gradually drifted away from its original intent. To understand what is happening, we must first acknowledge a truth that often gets ignored: not all IT jobs in the US are the same. Broadly, they fall into three categories.
At the top are hardcore computer science roles in companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta and other elite firms. These jobs demand deep academic grounding, strong research ability or exceptional engineering skills. Graduates from top universities dominate this space, and companies are willing to pay premium salaries for them. When a Stanford or MIT graduate joins Google, nobody talks about H-1B abuse. Talent at that level is universally welcomed.
The second category includes application-oriented roles in banking, retail and large enterprises, including implementing systems like SAP, Oracle or custom platforms. These jobs pay reasonably well and don’t always require elite academic pedigrees. The third category consists of system maintenance, application support and end-user support roles, often handled by IT services firms or US-based consulting companies that rely heavily on H-1B workers from India.
The current backlash against the H-1B system is aimed squarely at the second and third categories. These are jobs that many Americans believe should go to locals. When employers hire foreign workers who are willing to work longer hours for lower pay, resentment builds. Both Democrats and Republicans increasingly see the H-1B system as broken, which exploits Indian workers while also displacing American ones.
This didn’t happen overnight. In the 1980s and early 1990s, only graduates from IITs and a handful of top institutions could realistically make it to the US, usually with scholarships or stipends. The Y2K boom changed that, opening the door to enterprise software roles and large-scale hiring from India. Over the last decade, however, a more troubling trend emerged.
Thousands of students from tier-3 and tier-4 Indian colleges began taking massive education loans to study at little-known US universities. Many of these institutions are not even in the top 100; some are academically weaker than average Indian universities. Their main attraction is simple: they can issue an F-1 visa. After graduation, students depend on consulting companies to secure H-1B sponsorship and placements in lower-end IT roles. For years, this model worked — OPT for two years, then the H-1B lottery.
That model is now under serious threat.
Policy proposals to raise H-1B filing fees, prioritise visas based on salary and move away from the lottery system will fundamentally change who survives. If visas are allocated by pay, big companies like Google and Amazon will be fine. Small consulting firms will not. And when those firms disappear, students who invested heavily in low-quality degrees will be left stranded.
One of the biggest mistakes I see students making is underestimating academic depth and overestimating networking, shortcuts and jugaad. That mindset may have worked earlier. It will not work in a tightening visa regime. No amount of family connections can fix a broken system.
If you want to study in the US today, scholarships should be your first filter — fellowships, teaching assistantships or research assistantships. They reduce financial pressure and give you flexibility. Borrowing huge sums to attend mediocre universities is a gamble that no longer makes sense.
I am often asked about artificial intelligence, the hottest buzzword of our time. Let me be blunt: an AI degree does not guarantee an AI job. There are very few such roles at top companies, and competition is brutal. A far more sensible approach is to build strength in core areas — application development, cloud computing, cybersecurity, systems integration — and learn how to apply AI within those domains. Every role should be seen as “X plus AI,” not AI alone.
Layoffs have further exposed the fragility of life on temporary visas. Green Card holders can wait out downturns, freelance or even switch careers. Visa-dependent workers often have just weeks to find a new job or leave the country. I have seen exploitative practices, including “bench” arrangements where workers pay companies simply to keep their visa status alive on paper.
The uncomfortable truth is this: there is no guaranteed job security in the US. Employment is at-will. Entire teams can be shut down overnight.
It is time, therefore, to reassess a deeply ingrained belief — that the US is the only path to success. Studying or working there can still make sense if the risk is controlled, like studying at a top university or with strong funding, or through cutting-edge research opportunities. But the old formula of heavy loans and average institutions is no longer viable.
Meanwhile, India is changing rapidly. Global Capability Centres, startups and deep-tech companies are creating opportunities that did not exist a decade ago. Some of the most successful people I know returned to India and built extraordinary businesses. If I were graduating today, I would go to the US only for frontier research — and choose India for jobs, entrepreneurship and long-term growth. The tables have turned. Talent will win anywhere. But for many young Indians today, betting on India may not just be patriotic — it may be the smartest and safest choice.
(As told to Siddhardha Gattimi)
(Dr Kanneganti Rama Rao is Computer Scientist, Founder & CTO of Aganitha)