Hyderabad, India — Town of Hyderabad has been known as the Silicon Valley of India.
“Google, Fb, and all the opposite larger corporations are right here,” Rajesh Jaknalli, who has labored for a U.S. tech firm in Hyderabad for about 10 years, advised CBS Information.
“This place is definitely known as Excessive Tech Metropolis, however due to the numerous corporations that now we have, the time period ‘Cyberabad’ has come,” Jaknalli defined.
Jaknalli says he has labored right here with one aim, to get a possibility to in the future transfer to the U.S.
“Our dream was to carry out, provide you with 100%, after which in all probability, we’ll get an opportunity to maneuver to the U.S.,” Jaknalli mentioned.
However in September 2025, the Trump administration introduced that it could require {that a} $100,000 price be added to new functions for H-1B visas for expert overseas employees. The White Home argued the transfer would shield American jobs.
Previous to this, H-1B visas had ranged in value from wherever between $1,700 and $4,500.
Hameed Abdul thought his Amazon job in Hyderabad would ultimately take him to the U.S., however that outlook has modified.
“I acquired this information, and I used to be actually devastated,” Abdul mentioned. “…It is not helpful for any employer, to be sincere. No person’s going to rent you and provides $100,000,” mentioned Abdul, who disclosed that the price means he has “determined to maneuver to Canada.”
Xavier Fernandes, who based the immigration company Y-Axis, says the H-1B visa created a pipeline of tech expertise that ultimately fueled America’s IT sector.
“It is positively America’s loss,” Fernandes mentioned of the price. “…Many CEOs are from Hyderabad. It is only a breeding floor of tech.”
In keeping with numbers from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers, greater than 70% of H-1B visa holders in 2024 have been Indian.
“Indians are the brand new oil, coal, or fuel, it is mind energy to run the trendy day industries,” Fernandes mentioned.
Pressed on whether or not he believes that very same “mind energy” exists within the U.S., Fernandes responded: “That type of expertise you may’t manufacture. It is not a factor that you could get it regionally.”
It is one thing even President Trump admitted to in an interview on Fox Information final November, telling host Laura Ingraham that “you additionally do have to usher in expertise.”
When Ingraham countered that the U.S. has “loads of gifted folks right here,” Mr. Trump responded, “No you do not…You do not have sure abilities, and folks need to study.”
Fernandes believes the brand new coverage “positively” threatens the trajectory of U.S. innovation.
“Many Indians will keep again and construct in India,” Fernandes mentioned.
International locations like Canada, China and Australia are actually scrambling to lure expert overseas employees by making their visa processes simpler.
“I am at the moment making use of to Australia,” Jaknalli mentioned. “The method is fairly simple there.”
