H-1Bs, India, and the Global Talent Wars

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced a stunning $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas—the main channel through which U.S. employers hire foreign professionals in technology, engineering, and research.

The move has sent shockwaves through America’s innovation ecosystem, prompting fears that companies will either look abroad—or scale back their ambitions at home.

Few countries will be as impacted by this change as India, whose citizens account for nearly three-quarters of annual H-1B visa petitions. So, what happens when the world’s largest economy makes it harder for global talent to come in?

To answer this question, Milan is joined on the show this by Britta Glennon. Britta is an assistant professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her research focuses on immigration and cross-border innovation. Much of her work dispels long-held myths about immigrants and how they influence the U.S. economy.

Milan and Britta discuss the pluses and minuses of America’s “demand-driven” skilled immigration system, the impact on Indians of the Trump administration’s massive new fee on H-1B visas, and how the availability of skilled worker visas impact offshoring decisions. Plus, the two discuss how America’s competitors are poaching U.S. talent, the complex connection between immigration and innovation, and the economic costs of the green card backlog.

Episode notes:

1. Britta Glennon, “Skilled Immigrants, Firms, and the Global Geography of Innovation,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 38, no. 1 (Winter 2024): 3-26.

2. Britta Glennon, “How Do Restrictions on High-Skilled Immigration Affect Offshoring? Evidence from the H-1B Program​,” Management Science 70, no. 2 (February 2024): 907-930.

3. Saerom (Ronnie) Lee and Britta Glennon, “The Effect of Immigration Policy on Founding Location Choice: Evidence from Canada’s Start-up Visa Program,” NBER Working Paper 31634 (August 2023).

4. Robert Flynn, Britta Glennon, Raviv Murciano-Goroff, and Jiusi Xiao, “Building a Wall Around Science: The Effect of U.S.-China Tensions on International Scientific Research,” NBER Working Paper 32622 (May 2025).

5. Vox, “$100,000 for a visa,” Today, Explained (podcast), September 25, 2025.

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