Trilegal Partner Atul Gupta Says H-1B Visa Changes to Push Indian Tech Firms Toward GCC Growth
The leading law firm in India, Trilegal, has shared its perspective on the recent H-1B visa changes that are expected to significantly affect Indian technology and services companies. Atul Gupta, Partner – Labour and Employment at Trilegal, highlighted the wider impact on professionals, businesses, and students.
Atul Gupta, Partner – Labour and Employment, Trilegal, said,
“The increased H1-B fees will have a material impact on Indian technology and services companies and professionals. Indian service providers and their US clients will need to think hard about which roles and positions warrant such a steep investment. It’s quite likely that many positions will shift to neighbouring countries in the same or similar time zone (like Canada or Mexico) or come back to India. Therefore, there is also an opportunity for Indian tech companies to try and increase their value proposition in handling more core services from India using experienced talent. GCCs are already rising here and this presents an opportunity to make GCC true centres of innovation.”
In relation to students, the overall political environment in the US is already resulting in other countries like the UK becoming more attractive – and more importantly welcoming – destinations for higher studies. That said, an F1 visa currently offers students the ability to stay in the US for Optional Practical Training (OPT) for a couple more years, and this talent pool is hired by US-based employers without going through the H1-B process. Therefore, while the changes in H1-B do impact long-term career aspirations in the US for most students (and potentially green card and citizenship aspirations), their access to training and experience in the US for a couple of years after graduation still remains available through the OPT program.
The remarks underline how the policy shift may reshape workforce strategies for Indian IT companies while opening new opportunities for GCCs. For students, the changes highlight a delicate balance between short-term training prospects and long-term career goals in the U.S.
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