"America is trying to target Indian economy because it's growing": Telangana BJP Chief Ram Chander Rao after US H-1B fee hike

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 20 (ANI): Telangana BJP chief Ram Chander Rao on Saturday reacted to US President Trump signing an Executive Order to raise the fee that companies pay to sponsor H-1B applicants to $100,000.

Speaking to ANI, Telangana BJP chief has strongly endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for self-reliance. “Modi ji’s call for self-dependence and not depending on others is a clarion call for countrymen as international situations are changing day by day, and the face of the world is also changing.”

Rao also said that the move by the US government reflects a targeted approach towards India’s growing economy and prosperous workforce abroad. “The foreign governments, like in America, are trying to target the Indian economy because it’s growing, and targeting Indian people because they are prospering there,” he said.

Moreover, Rao also emphasised that India must move towards becoming self-sufficient. “The time has come that we have to make our own country strong and not dependent on any other country. This call has a lot of meaning in it. We are now Viksit Bharat. Swadeshi message is also there in it,” he said.

He further urged the youth in particular to take PM Modi’s message seriously and contribute to building a new, self-reliant India. “This call by PM Modi has to be taken seriously by countrymen, especially the youth, and let us all build a new India that does not depend on anyone,” Rao said.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump’s residential proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” imposed a USD 100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications. The measure, effective from September 21, aims to combat what the administration calls widespread abuse of the H-1B programme, particularly by IT outsourcing firms accused of displacing American workers and suppressing wages.

As of FY 2024, over 71 per cent of all H1B visa holders were born in India, with 283,397 people getting approved under the H1B programme, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). People whose country of origin is China are the second most beneficiaries of the H1B scheme, with 12 per cent of all beneficiaries.

In 2023, the USCIS received a record number of applications across all visa application categories, with over 10.97 million applications received in total, up by 21 per cent (9 million applications) in FY 2022. The USCIS completed over 10.8 million applications. Out of the total number of applications, the US approved 396,500 applications for H1B petitions across all countries. H1B applications comprise the largest share of non-immigrant worker petitions in US.

According to the US agency’s Employer Data hub, H1B visa holders mostly work in the IT sector, with Amazon having the largest number of beneficiaries with 10,044 people. Tata consultancy services, Microsoft, and Meta also have more than 5 thousand H1B visa holders as employees. (ANI)

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