India-US relations: News and Discussions IV

[ShauryaT]

U.S. in Talks with Taliban on Returning Counterterrorism Forces to Afghan Base

Trump administration officials are in discussions with the Taliban about re-establishing a small U.S. military presence at Afghanistan’s Bagram air base as a launch point for counterterrorism operations, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations.

President Trump’s surprise announcement Thursday that he is seeking to reclaim Bagram air base in Afghanistan is one potential component of a broader diplomatic effort to normalize relations with the Taliban, the people said. The talks, which are led by Special Envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler, include a potential prisoner exchange, a possible economic deal and a security component, according to a U.S. official.

[Vayutuvan]

U.S. in Talks with Taliban on Returning Counterterrorism Forces to Afghan Base

Trump administration ...

Strange. Why would they allow the US to come in once more? Trump and admin have gone crazy. They are dumb but now they have gone crazy to boot.

[Vayutuvan]

How do these Islamists manage to get the support of the Orangutan is a wonder. Wait there is more.

You know very well how important Turkey is in Geopolitics. Two words - Dardanelles and Bosporus straits. Throw in a little bit Aegean sea. Now that Gulen is dead, the US might have lost leverage on Erdogan. It takes times to create another Gulen.

[Vayutuvan]

Trump to Add New $100,000 Fee for H-1B Visas in Latest Crackdown

President Donald Trump is expected to sign a proclamation as soon as Friday that would move to extensively overhaul the H-1B visa program, requiring a $100,000 fee for applications in a bid to curb overuse, according to a White House official familiar with the matter....

Trump met big tech CEOs and investors including Gates, Pichai, Nadella, Ellison, Bezos, zitface FB guy (I forget his name) Zuckerberg, and so on. This might have come up and they might have acquiesced. The companies would pay the fee now that the stock markets are doing extremely well. They don't have to give stock options to H1Bs. Smaller body shop setups - there are a few hundred of them - will go out of business making it easy for these biggies. It is a small price to pay to get top talent who went to school here in the US.

[Vayutuvan]

Also i would like to say to the foreign think tank babus who are sitting with the grinning rictus of ever lasting hope that india will fall anyday now, india has survived when there was not enough to eat, ...

We have to give credit where credit is due. The US gave India cornmeal and milk powder under PL 480 program in late 60s and early 70s. These items were used to institute midday meal programs in govt. schools. It was a boon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_for_ ... Act_(1966)

Former U.S. Representative from South Dakota George McGovern was picked to become a Special Assistant to the President and first director of Kennedy's high-priority Food for Peace program, which realized what McGovern had been advocating in the House.[20] McGovern assumed the post on January 21, 1961.[21]

As director, McGovern urged the greater use of food to enable foreign economic development, saying, "We should thank God that we have a food abundance and use the over-supply among the under-privileged at home and abroad."[22] He found space for the program in the Executive Office Building rather than be subservient to either the U.S. Department of State or U.S. Department of Agriculture.[23] McGovern worked with deputy director James W. Symington and Kennedy advisor Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. in visiting South America to discuss surplus grain distribution, and attended meetings of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.[20]

By the close of 1961, the Food for Peace program was operating in a dozen countries,[20] and 10 million more people had been fed with American surplus than the year before.[24] In February 1962, McGovern visited India and oversaw a greatly expanded school lunch program thanks to Food for Peace; subsequently one in five Indian schoolchildren would be fed from it,[24] and by mid-1962, 35 million children around the world.[25] During an audience in Rome, Pope John XXIII warmly praised McGovern's work.[24][26]

McGovern resigned his post on July 18, 1962, wanting to resume his electoral political career.[20][21] Kennedy said that under McGovern, the program had "become a vital force in the world", improving living conditions and economies of allies and creating "a powerful barrier to the spread of Communism".[21] Columnist Drew Pearson wrote that it was one of the "most spectacular achievements of the young Kennedy administration,"[25] while Schlesinger would later write that Food for Peace had been "the greatest unseen weapon of Kennedy's third-world policy".[24]

McGovern was succeeded by Richard W. Reuter, who had been the executive director of CARE.[27] In 1965, during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, the program was folded into the State Department under Secretary Dean Rusk.[28] A year later Reuther resigned his retitled position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Food for Peace, reportedly dismayed by the direction the food program had taken.[28]

The Food for Peace Act of 1966, P.L. 89-808, 80 Stat. 1526, revised the basic structure of the programs and placed the emphasis clearly on the humanitarian goals of the program. The policy statement shifted from surplus disposal to planned production for export to meet world food needs.[29]

I have experienced it myself. A lot of my classmates when I was in my 4th and 5th grades used to come to school to get the midday meal. Many of them could not afford to eat rice at home - usually a hut no electricity and little money to buy kerosine for lamps. Evangelicals had a run of the villages. Naxalites also had a huge sway over people.

[gakakkad]

Is that 100k per application or 100k for any company wanting h1 ? If it's the later it's not even lose change for the companies .

Anyway I think h1 is getting anti India . Hopefully we can retain talent in India . Particularly the massa educated stem ones . They can keep the humanities ones.

[Vayutuvan]

IMO India was always surrounded by US military forces; we are just becoming more aware of it.

AfPak yes. Diego Garcia sure. But BD and Nepal are new.

[pravula]

Is that 100k per application or 100k for any company wanting h1 ? If it's the later it's not even lose change for the companies .

Anyway I think h1 is getting anti India . Hopefully we can retain talent in India . Particularly the massa educated stem ones . They can keep the humanities ones.

Will have to see. Lots of academic research is run by H1b visa holders. J1 is an option for those who hold advanced degrees, but has restrictions post visa expiry. O1 is another option for people who have good references and past work.

Besides, most companies still use L1 if they are just pulling head counts from India.

[A_Gupta]

H1-B restrictions will quickly move the work to centers in India. Bigger boost to the Indian economy than H1-Bs.

[A_Gupta]

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump declined to approve US$400 million in military aid to Taiwan in recent months while negotiating on trade and a potential summit with Beijing, the Washington Post reported Thursday (Sep 18).

[Ambar]

Is that 100k per application or 100k for any company wanting h1 ? If it's the later it's not even lose change for the companies .

Anyway I think h1 is getting anti India . Hopefully we can retain talent in India . Particularly the massa educated stem ones . They can keep the humanities ones.

Nothing is settled yet, but one thing is clear: the rule applies per petition, not per company. There are also rumors that it could be structured as per petition per year, which would effectively wipe out 99% of H-1Bs. It’s uncertain whether this would impact only new petitions or renewals as well. My sense is the administration knows this will get tied up in court for years, but they see it as one of many deterrence tools. While I agree an H-1B overhaul is long overdue, conventional wisdom says we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[KL Dubey]

Is that 100k per application or 100k for any company wanting h1 ? If it's the later it's not even lose change for the companies .

Anyway I think h1 is getting anti India . Hopefully we can retain talent in India . Particularly the massa educated stem ones . They can keep the humanities ones.

Will have to see. Lots of academic research is run by H1b visa holders. J1 is an option for those who hold advanced degrees, but has restrictions post visa expiry. O1 is another option for people who have good references and past work.

Besides, most companies still use L1 if they are just pulling head counts from India.

Yes, H1Bs are not only IT-wallahs. A large number of advanced degree (PhD/MS/MD/MBA etc) holders from US universities are hired by many universities/companies/medical orgs initially through H1B while processing GC applications.

However, it could be that the H1B fee is to target the Indian IT industry and see if Bharat sarkar yields concessions on Russia, trade etc.

Also, such an action would be likely considered illegal by courts, with legal challenges likely to come immediately.

[Amber G.]

Companies need to decide if a foreign worker is valuable enough to pay $100,000 per year (for 6 years) to the US government. If not, that worker will have to head home,” says US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on new H1B visa restrictions

[Vayutuvan]

Wow. That is steep. Only real stars will be hired. Probably top students from IITs will stay home and enter Indian workforce. It is good opportunity for India to stop the brain drain. They need to grab the opportunity by increasing investment in high tech, research, and postdoctoral jobs and post BTech/MTech jobs. Private companies also need to do their bit. They need to risk.

[gakakkad]

They really need to step up research efforts in India .

As for deep tech start up culture there are cultural aspects needing to change . Israel succeeds here because the kibbutz culture really generates creativity and social cohesion . I had an idea for a startup . I texted 2 desi bigshots I know personally and nothing moved . Not even token guidance . I texted my Israeli friend about it who is another physician . He asked around and connected me with people who at the very least offered some input . And that foo for a total outsider . We as a civilizational state need a serious culture change . We need to treat each other better and invest in humans .
Indian unicorns are also numerous but they are because of shear individual talent or luck . Our network does little to help us out .

[Amber G.]

Here is From the White House:
RESTRICTION ON ENTRY OF CERTAIN NONIMMIGRANT WORKERS

- The new fee applies to petitions for H-1B specialty occupation nonimmigrants for workers outside the United States unless certain conditions/exemptions apply.

- Exemptions are allowed case by case, especially if deemed in the “national interest” or otherwise justified by DHS (Homeland Security) or related agencies.

- The proclamation’s effective date is September 21, 2025. The restriction (i.e., the requirement for payment) will apply for 12 months unless extended.


So $100,000 is a massive jump relative to the status quo!
(As KL Dubayji said it is expected to provoke legal challenges..)

[Ambar]

It’s bad, but not as bad as I initially thought. The fee is a one-time charge, still extremely steep for most companies but it only applies to those currently outside the U.S. (and I expect it may be watered down further to apply only to new petitions). It does not apply to transfers, renewals, or individuals already in the U.S. The EO itself expires in 12 months, and there’s a national interest waiver loophole. Overall, it feels more like a scare tactic than a policy with real bite. They also mentioned that the prevailing wage rule will be overhauled within the next six months, so expect higher wage levels and for this EO to quietly expire without renewal once the new wage rule kicks in.

[neeraj]

Existing H-1B holders already in the US are not affected. • Extensions inside the US should not trigger the fee, but consular renewals involving re-entry would trigger it which means travel back to India will reduce of such workers. Expect a lot of ticket cancellations.

[Ambar]

It is a stop-gap measure until they overhaul the h1b wage level. I expect courts to block it and the administration to water it down. Makes little sense to hold those with valid visas at ransom only if they are physically outside the country. The timing could've been a lot worse had this come out when schools were closed for summer.

[Vayutuvan]

Here is From the White House:
...
(As KL Dubayji said it is expected to provoke legal challenges..)

KLPDubey jee?!!!

[Vayutuvan]

Existing H-1B holders already in the US are not affected. • Extensions inside the US should not trigger the fee, but consular renewals involving re-entry would trigger it which means travel back to India will reduce of such workers. Expect a lot of ticket cancellations.

Thank you for that short report. namaskar.

[Vayutuvan]

It is a stop-gap measure until they overhaul the h1b wage level. I expect courts to block it and the administration to water it down. Makes little sense to hold those with valid visas at ransom only if they are physically outside the country. The timing could've been a lot worse had this come out when schools were closed for summer.

Parkalaam. I think it is more like the storm in a teacup.

[pravula]

It might offset the expected blood bath in entry level software jobs on the short term. Parkalaam onlee

[S_Madhukar]

They really need to step up research efforts in India .

As for deep tech start up culture there are cultural aspects needing to change . Israel succeeds here because the kibbutz culture really generates creativity and social cohesion . I had an idea for a startup . I texted 2 desi bigshots I know personally and nothing moved . Not even token guidance . I texted my Israeli friend about it who is another physician . He asked around and connected me with people who at the very least offered some input . And that foo for a total outsider . We as a civilizational state need a serious culture change . We need to treat each other better and invest in humans .
Indian unicorns are also numerous but they are because of shear individual talent or luck . Our network does little to help us out .

Couldn’t agree more. Years of poverty and restricted opportunities due to socialism has made us quite conceited. No abundance mindset. Seen that everywhere and at all class levels. Have seen ABCDs look down on NRIs to impress native gori. Some regional communities won’t help outsiders. They will preach high values in public but won’t entertain outsiders for opportunities.
The same “I was sick yaar didn’t study at all” but scored 99.9% fakery extends to barring access to their networks and shortcuts that they don’t want others to have.

[williams]

Technically Congress need to authorize the legal scope of a declaration. I am not sure if H1B comes under labor law or foreign policy/international trade. If it is the former then a declaration has no legal effect.

[gakakkad]

Have seen ABCDs look down on NRIs to impress native gori.

Another contrasting feature of yahuda and hanuda. Indian Kids grew up in the states will avoiding marrying those who grew up in India . While among the Jews, sabra (born in Israel ) kids are very sought after by diaspora Jews however they will typically avoid American Jews .

I avoided abcds usually and would prefer non Indians over them as it would be easier to indianise others than abcds .

[pravula]

Technically Congress need to authorize the legal scope of a declaration. I am not sure if H1B comes under labor law or foreign policy/international trade. If it is the former then a declaration has no legal effect.

usics is self funded. congress does not set the fees iirc

[Mort Walker]

This is an annual $100K fee levied by the DoS not DHS. Court challenges may be difficult as this an executive branch fee. They may be able to put a fee on H-1B processing through DoS upon entry, but the amount could be reduced. It is effectively a bypass of the H-1B law that would need amendment by congress.

I'm not sure what percent of medical professionals and nurses are H-1B. Many of those coming out with PhDs and MS can't be picked up. Ultimately, this will hurt US technological growth.

[gakakkad]

^ good proportion of doctors are under h1 . (20%+). My friends who know I voted for trump are texting me big gaalis .

There is a part of me that is optimistic about this . This could be the best thing to happen to India . However I am concerned about Indian ability to absorb all the talent .

[williams]

This is an annual $100K fee levied by the DoS not DHS. Court challenges may be difficult as this an executive branch fee. They may be able to put a fee on H-1B processing through DoS upon entry, but the amount could be reduced. It is effectively a bypass of the H-1B law that would need amendment by congress.

I'm not sure what percent of medical professionals and nurses are H-1B. Many of those coming out with PhDs and MS can't be picked up. Ultimately, this will hurt US technological growth.

Interesting, but then why proclamation instead of an executive order?

[uddu]

Someone need to tweet to Indian Americans "Doctors needed in India to provide quality healthcare to 1.4 billion people. Welcome back to India."

[gakakkad]

I think there is another complication. Many of the h1 physicians are in training .not entirely sure if this was well thought out by him .

This could be an opportunity to build India massively . Hopefully baboons don't throw a spanner for their own selfishness

[pravula]

This is an annual $100K fee levied by the DoS not DHS. Court challenges may be difficult as this an executive branch fee. They may be able to put a fee on H-1B processing through DoS upon entry, but the amount could be reduced. It is effectively a bypass of the H-1B law that would need amendment by congress.

I'm not sure what percent of medical professionals and nurses are H-1B. Many of those coming out with PhDs and MS can't be picked up. Ultimately, this will hurt US technological growth.

Nurses are on H1c, not H1b

[A_Gupta]

IMO, for India, in the long-term this is beneficial.
Indian companies will figure out what to do - maybe even set up shop in Canada and Mexico to service the US market.
My concern is for the many, many individuals who have had their lives abruptly disrupted.

[vera_k]

Of immediate importance, I learnt that anyone outside the country needs to get back in before the order takes effect on 9/21.

So people have 1 day to get back to the US or risk being stuck outside until the ransom is paid or the order is blocked.

[hanumadu]

There are a lot of Americans working as waiters, waitresses, fast food joints, baristas, plumbers, construction workers, clerks, cleaners and what not barely making a living wage. If they want to become IT workers there is nothing stopping them. There are online courses for less than 100 dollars that teach programming. For 1000 $, you can learn all the necessary skills to land a good job. There are reputed universities offering full stack engineer pg diplomas for less than 10000$. Instead Americans want to spend 200k on gender studies. H1Bs are stealing no bodys jobs. It is so much easier for an American citizen to find a tech job if they want to.

This will only make outsorcing and offshoring attractive. MAGA will be happy there will be no immigrants but US will lose its tech edge.

[Mort Walker]

This is an annual $100K fee levied by the DoS not DHS. Court challenges may be difficult as this an executive branch fee. They may be able to put a fee on H-1B processing through DoS upon entry, but the amount could be reduced. It is effectively a bypass of the H-1B law that would need amendment by congress.

I'm not sure what percent of medical professionals and nurses are H-1B. Many of those coming out with PhDs and MS can't be picked up. Ultimately, this will hurt US technological growth.

Interesting, but then why proclamation instead of an executive order?

EOs are legally binding, proclamations or rule changes can be administratively adjusted at any time by the DoS. The fees are excessive & will be challenged in court. The administration may have difficulty pointing to other such fees administered by the DoS. The intent was an end-run around the law to circumvent congress.

[Amber G.]

^^Tech companies are now mailing their employees this - #H1B and #H4 (Dependent) visa holders don't travel outside US or if you're out, return within 24 hours .

[uddu]

https://x.com/immigrationgirl/status/19 ... 8119028951
@immigrationgirl
Waiting for the language in the Executive Order, but the administration appears to want a company to pay $100,000 per year to the government for each H-1B worker it employs. The theory: firms will hire U.S. workers instead. The reality: firms will just move jobs overseas where talent is available.

[uddu]

https://x.com/HinduAmerican/status/1969026065763893574
@HinduAmerican
“Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, the largest Hindu advocacy group in the US, told The Post: ‘We’re also monitoring for any further dehumanizing rhetoric towards Hindus —[Mamdani’s] liberal use of the terms ‘extremist’ and ‘fascist’ in the context of Hindu American leaders, and Hindu symbols and places of worship is deeply troubling. As is his refusal to condemn anti-Hindu rhetoric at rallies he has attended.’”