Prof. D. Mukherjee*
In September 2025, the Trump administration introduced a $100,000 annual H-1B fee per worker, a major increase over previous costs of a few thousand dollars. Indians, who constitute the largest H-1B group—78% of 265,777 visas in FY2023 and over 70% in recent years—have relied on this program to migrate as engineers, IT specialists, scientists, and healthcare workers. The H-1B system has supported U.S. innovation, wages, and Indian remittances and knowledge transfer. The new fee may deter or block many prospective migrants and their employers, potentially altering established migration flows.
Trump’s policy under ‘Make America Great Again’ aims to protect U.S. workers by limiting reliance on foreign talent through higher visa fees and stricter regulations, sometimes using points-based caps. Critics argue this could weaken U.S. competitiveness in tech, AI, and biotech, which rely on global expertise. Despite this, the U.S. continues to attract ambitious Indians and others with higher wages, advanced labs, strong infrastructure, career prestige, and opportunities for research, entrepreneurship, global networks, and permanent residency. In contrast, home countries often face funding shortages, bureaucratic delays, and weak innovation systems. This drives steady migration, reinforced by earlier migrants’ success and remittances. India, for example, loses highly trained professionals in medicine and engineering, weakening healthcare, universities, and innovation while deepening urban–rural inequalities.
For the U.S., brain drain is a strategic gain—foreign-trained talent drives innovation, patents, and global market leadership, strengthening its techno-economic power. India, by contrast, must curb outflow by improving domestic conditions: better infrastructure, labs, funding, and competitive pay to retain professionals. Cutting bureaucracy, offering tax breaks, grants, and fellowships can attract returnees, while valuing international experience boosts collaboration. Long-term, India should build world-class universities and foster entrepreneurship through strong IP rights, venture capital, and incubators, enabling talent to thrive and scale ventures at home.
Talent retention in India requires transparent governance, merit-based growth, and improved healthcare and education. The diaspora should be leveraged for investment, research, and technology transfer. The U.S. visa fee hike, introducing a $100,000 annual H-1B employer fee, highlights the risk of brain drain but also presents an opportunity for India to strengthen domestic education, infrastructure, and innovation systems. India, the largest H-1B source, accounted for 71% of approvals in FY2024, with 2.9 million Indians living in the U.S. by 2023, many earning median H-1B salaries of $118,000—far above Indian pay scales. With the right policies, outflow can become ‘brain gain’ through return migration, remittances, and education spillovers, as studies show emigration can boost domestic human capital. Global lessons, like Burkina Faso’s reforms under Captain Traoré, demonstrate that focused governance and investment in local capacity can counter talent loss. Managing migration requires shared responsibility between sending and receiving nations.
Of roughly 3,86,000 H-1B approvals in a recent year, about 2,74,000 went to Indians, whose median $1,18,000 salaries generate an estimated $32.4 billion annually for the U.S. economy. For India, this means a loss of productivity and about $3.1 billion in public educational investment, given the ~$11,400 cost of training each graduate. Still, migration yields gains: India received $125–135 billion in remittances in 2023–24, much from the U.S., supporting consumption, small investments, and technology and knowledge transfers through diaspora ties.
Remittances soften losses but cannot replace the drain of doctors, professors, innovators, and entrepreneurs whose absence weakens India’s long-term growth, while the U.S. gains patents, research strength, and competitiveness funded partly by Indian investment. To respond, India must act quickly. Raising R&D spending from under 1% of GDP to 2–3% within a decade, securing academic jobs with fair pay, and incentivizing return migration through tax-free start-up grants or fast-track research posts can help. Building incubators in Tier-2/3 cities, reforming student loans, and expanding scholarships would reduce financial pressure to emigrate. Strategic diaspora engagement—via venture capital, fellowships, and partnerships—can further boost innovation. Sector-specific steps, like competitive medical residencies and better university pay, are also vital to retain talent.
These measures will not end brain drain immediately but can signal that India values her talent, turning the challenge into renewal through short-term incentives and long-term reform. The Burkina Faso case under Captain Ibrahim Traoré illustrates the importance of economic sovereignty: efforts like domestic gold refineries aim to retain value and reduce dependency, though his rule faces criticism for authoritarianism and instability. For India, the lesson is not the governance model but the principle—investing in industries, infrastructure, and human capital to create opportunities that reduce migration pressures.
Policies to curb brain drain must rest on accountability and democratic institutions; otherwise, autonomy efforts risk undermining stability. For India, the lesson is not to mirror Burkina Faso but to build self-reliance through strong institutions. The U.S. visa fee hike underscores America’s reliance on foreign talent and India’s dependence on remittances. India’s best strategy is not to block migration but to make staying or returning equally attractive—through greater R&D and education investment, incentives for circular migration, stronger startup financing, and improved public services.
In terms of cost-benefit analysis, in FY2024, approximately 2,74,000 Indians received H-1B approvals, each earning a median salary of $1,18,000, contributing around $32.4 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Training an Indian engineering graduate costs about $11,400, so educating these 2,74,000 professionals represents a $3.1 billion annual investment effectively flowing abroad. India, however, benefits from remittances, which totalled $125–135 billion in 2023–24, with roughly $30–34 billion coming from the U.S., partially offsetting the loss. While dollar-for-dollar the flows are roughly balanced, India suffers long-term costs in domestic innovation and human capital, whereas the U.S. gains sustained advantages in patents, startups, and intellectual property leadership.
Financially, remittances from India’s diaspora—around $125–130 billion in 2023–24, with $30–34 billion from the U.S.—offset much of the economic outflow from 2,74,000 skilled professionals migrating to the U.S., each earning a median $1,18,000, contributing over $32 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Yet the structural impact on India is far deeper: the loss of engineers, scientists, doctors, and researchers erodes domestic innovation, knowledge transfer, and institutional capacity. While remittances provide macroeconomic support, they cannot replace the multiplier effect of talent in labs, universities, hospitals, and startups. The U.S. gains both immediate wages and long-term advantages in patents, AI, biotech, and entrepreneurship. The recent $100,000 annual H-1B fee underscores the urgency for India to retain and leverage her human capital through better research funding, education infrastructure, and incentives for return migration.
India must adopt a multi-pronged strategy to retain and leverage talent. R&D spending should rise to 2.5–3% of GDP from 0.7%, with competitive salaries, secure tenure, and well-funded labs to attract top researchers. Incentives like tax exemptions, return fellowships, and diaspora engagement can encourage mid-career professionals to reinvest skills domestically. A strong startup ecosystem, expanded quality education in Tier-2/3 cities, and targeted support for healthcare and universities are essential. Skilled migration is a global challenge, requiring South–South collaboration for circular migration and fair talent-sharing frameworks. Lessons from Burkina Faso emphasize economic sovereignty: India should assert control over strategic resources, including human capital, to maximize internal value creation and long-term development.
Addressing India’s talent outflow requires investment, incentives, and systemic reform. R&D spending should rise to 2.5–3% of GDP, paired with competitive research careers, secure tenure, and well-funded labs to strengthen academic and technological infrastructure. Return and circular migration incentives—tax exemptions, fellowships, and recognition of international experience—can bring professionals back with knowledge, networks, and capital. Expanding startups, protecting IP, reducing regulatory friction, and scaling high-quality education to Tier-2/3 cities, alongside diaspora engagement programs like ‘India Connect,’ further retain and leverage talent. Sector-specific measures for doctors, researchers, and academics are critical to maintain domestic capacity. Globally, India should engage in South–South collaborations and assert economic sovereignty, ensuring talent contributes to domestic growth. The goal is not just to stem brain drain but foster brain circulation, transforming the challenge into a strategic advantage and positioning India as a hub for ambition, innovation, and opportunity.
The U.S. visa fee hike exposes India’s structural vulnerability: over $3 billion in annual education subsidies and $32+ billion in wages flow to the U.S., highlighting how India’s human capital fuels foreign growth. Other emerging economies like Nigeria, the Philippines, and Bangladesh face similar pressures, losing talent critical for innovation, healthcare, and education. Regional collaboration and fair migration policies can help retain talent. Lessons from Burkina Faso emphasize economic sovereignty: nations must invest in domestic capacity rather than exporting skilled professionals. For India, the solution lies in robust investment in education, research, innovation, and entrepreneurship, alongside brain circulation programs that allow professionals to return and contribute. With sustained reforms, India can transform brain drain into brain gain within a decade, emerging as a global talent hub while preserving strategic, economic, and intellectual sovereignty. This is the high time for India to look beyond myopic optics and curb brain drain if not stopped totally to Make Indian Great Again(MIGA).
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