Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has sharply criticised the recent decision to hike H-1B visa petition fees by up to $100,000 for applications filed after September 21, calling it a politically driven move aimed at appeasing former U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration base.
In an interview with ANI on Monday, Tharoor argued that the fee increase is less about immigration reform and more about domestic political strategy ahead of the U.S. legislative elections in November. “The motives are principally driven by domestic politics,” he said. “Trump believes that easy access to H-1B visas has allowed companies to bypass American workers in favour of Indians willing to work for lower wages.”
Tharoor linked the policy shift to the broader rhetoric of the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement, which he described as “openly anti-immigrant,” especially towards “visible minorities” who are not part of the white ethnic mainstream. He added that Indian professionals are often scapegoated as undercutting American workers by accepting lower salaries.
“An Indian techie earning $60,000 is seen by Trump’s supporters as taking away a job from an American who wouldn’t work for less than $85,000 or $90,000,” Tharoor explained.
He further warned that the steep fee hike is designed to make low- and mid-level H-1B positions financially unfeasible for companies, limiting visa approvals to only top-tier professionals whose skills are considered indispensable. “This means only high-end talent will be brought in — those for whom a $100,000 fee is worth paying,” Tharoor said.
The Congress leader also noted that the move could backfire economically. As H-1B visas become less viable, U.S. companies may increasingly opt to outsource jobs to India or relocate them to overseas offices. “What used to be done in America may now be done in multinational company units in Europe or in their global capability centres in India,” he observed.
Tharoor expressed concern for Indian IT firms, warning that the new fee structure could make many international contracts financially unsustainable. “We cannot afford to pay $100,000 per person for low-end contracts. It simply doesn’t make business sense,” he concluded.
