'If America won't get Indian brains...': Former Meta executive and founder warns US on H1B visa, says jobs would go to Bangalore anyway

A social media post by former Meta engineer and tech entrepreneur Zach Wilson has triggered a heated debate online after he celebrated a federal court decision striking down the proposed $100,000 H-1B visa fee and praised the growing pool of engineering talent in India.

Wilson, who teaches data engineering and founded a tech education platform, shared his views on X, saying the visa fee had made it increasingly difficult for skilled foreign workers, particularly Indians, to pursue opportunities in the United States.

"The $100k H-1B visa fee was just struck down by a federal court," Wilson wrote. He added that over the past six months, he had found it "depressing" to tell Indian students seeking data engineering jobs in the US that their prospects had diminished due to immigration policies under President Donald Trump.


Wilson said the restrictions were one of the reasons he travelled to Bengaluru and Hyderabad this year. "If we can't bring the brains to America, the brains will continue building amazing things in India," he wrote, praising the entrepreneurs and engineers he met during his visit. According to Wilson, the rise of India's technology ecosystem shows that "the world is balancing out."

The entrepreneur also hailed the court ruling as proof that America still possesses the "checks and balances" needed to remain a country driven by immigrants and innovation. "Today is one of the few days in a very long time that I say I'm proud to be an American and that my government is doing something right," he wrote.


However, the post quickly drew criticism from many users who argued that American graduates should be prioritised for jobs. One user wrote that thousands of US graduates with degrees in data science struggle to find entry-level employment and claimed that loopholes in H-1B and Optional Practical Training (OPT) programs hurt young Americans.

Responding to the criticism, Wilson said that many jobs would eventually be outsourced to cities such as Bengaluru regardless. "The jobs would be shipped to Bangalore anyway, so it's not like they're taking a job that would've gone to an American," he replied.

Wilson also defended Indian professionals, saying he had worked under multiple Indian managers during his career in Big Tech and never experienced discrimination. The exchange has reignited the long-running debate over skilled immigration, outsourcing, and the future of technology jobs in the age of AI and automation.