Turn America's H-1B loss into India's gain

The Trump regime is changing the pathways into the US, changing rules that are blurring the long-held idea of the 'American Dream'. The most recent measure under consideration is doing away with the 60-day grace period given to suddenly unemployed foreigners on non-immigrant work visas like H-1B to find alternative employment, or, well, wind up and 'go back'. These skilled workers will go from legal to illegal immigrant status in the blink of a Trumpian eye. Indian skilled workers will be impacted, as H-1B is one of the visa categories affected by the proposal forwarded by the US Department of Homeland Security. Estimates put the number of Indians on H-1B visas at nearly 3 lakh - 71.2% of H-1Bs issued are to Indians.

But tightening of the US immigration regime can be a big opportunity to reverse India's brain drain. With India's ambitions in tech expected to rise in R&D, opportunities to absorb internationally-trained workforce are many. Rising uncertainty of the US immigration system is a gift horse that India should not look in the mouth. But making most of this opportunity requires creating a globally comparable ecosystem in education and research institutions, startups and businesses. The domestic IT sector can move up the value chain, strengthening India's position as a global capability centre, by attracting more international companies and MNCs to expand their India office to access high-end talent. Tighter US immigrant space could help push India on to a more circular path that balances the ambitious Indian's 'foreign' dream with the country's growth.

The Trump regime's approach to skilled foreign workers will undermine the ability the US has had to draw on global talent all this time. But that's for the US to worry about.