Trump admin to issue H1-B visas to 'best people'. Do Indians fit the bill?

More than 70% of all H1-B visas issued by the United States have been held by Indians since 2015. But now, all of them are at risk. President Donald Trump's administration has promised action against the worker visas.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said this to Fox News: "The average American makes $75,000 a year, and the average green card recipient $66,000. So, we are taking the bottom quartile. Why are we doing that? That's what Donald Trump is going to change."

This comes shortly after Trump's State Department said all 55 million foreigners who hold visas for the United States are subject to continuous review.

The State Department earlier said it has revoked 6,000 visas since Rubio took office in January with Trump.

It marks four times as many student visas as president Joe Biden's administration revoked in the same period the previous year, according to the State Department.

But what about Indians? They are the second-largest immigrant group in the US after Mexicans. Indians hold over 70% of all approved H1-B visas issued since 2015. India has also surpassed China as the leading source of international students, with a record 331,602 Indian students in the US in 2023-2024.

The Indian Express reported that a vast majority of Indians holding the H1-B earn less than $100,000 every year, which is well below the median salary for an IT professional in America. Only 5% of the Indian holders earn more than $150,000.

Now, if the proposed changes get Congressional and executive approvals, a large number of Indians may get their visas revoked. The US has already started tightening rules for foreign workers and students since President Donald Trump assumed office in January.

But Chinese students are apparently welcome, despite America's tariff war with Beijing. Trump said he would be willing to accept 600,000 Chinese students despite pushback from Republican lawmakers. This came just months after his administration promised to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students

"I'm getting along, very well, with President Xi. I think it's very insulting to say your students can't come here. Because they'll go out and they'll start building schools and they will be able to survive it. But I like that their students come here, I like it that other country's students come here and you know what would happen if they didn't? Our college system would go to hell very quickly," Trump said earlier this month.