Company Outsider: H-1B politics keep hurting Indian IT. The fix lies in diplomacy, not lobbying

While American domestic politics drives this behaviour, India has also made a strategic error by treating what is essentially a diplomatic challenge as purely a corporate problem. As a result, despite powering much of America's digital infrastructure, it has failed to secure predictable access for its talent.

Indian companies have compounded this through poor messaging. Focusing narratives on how many engineers they hire or jobs they create makes the debate about foreign workers versus American jobs, a contest India will inevitably lose.

Instead, the focus should be on measurable consumer benefits. Indian IT transformations save American retail customers billions of dollars through faster checkout systems and personalized shopping platforms. Banking infrastructure developed by Indian companies process the mobile payment transactions Americans use daily, reducing costs. Healthcare IT solutions help hospitals cut administrative expenses while improving patient outcomes. These aren't abstract efficiency gains. They translate into lower prices and better services that millions of Americans experience directly.

Indian generic pharmaceuticals notably escaped Trump's latest tariff threats because they make healthcare affordable for millions of Americans. IT services create similar tangible value that goes beyond employment politics.

The inability to get that message across has led to perennial vulnerability. With nearly 70% of H-1B visas going to Indians each year, changes to wage-based allocation, higher fees, or narrower definitions of specialty occupations are a serious threat to the industry’s fortunes.

So far, Indian IT companies have adapted through local hiring, offshore centres, and automation. But corporate firefighting isn't enough. The US is using immigration policy to signal that foreign workers won't be allowed to undercut American jobs, making H-1B fundamentally a diplomatic issue.

Critics raise legitimate concerns about wage depression and insufficient training for American workers. However, data shows H-1B workers earn well above prevailing wages in most categories, while Indian companies have committed billions to American workforce development programs since 2017. The solution lies not in restricting access but in structured frameworks that address these concerns through bilateral cooperation.

Countries heavily dependent on technology partnerships understand that people and data flows are as strategic as trade routes. Singapore tied itself to the US through a Digital Economy Partnership, ensuring its firms gain privileged market access by offering regulatory cooperation in return. Israel has built deep cybersecurity and defence-tech links with the US, making its firms largely immune to sudden policy shifts. These countries don't leave their tech sectors to navigate on their own; they deploy diplomatic resources to support them.

India may have missed opportunities here. The country has treated H-1B issues reactively, with hurried lobbying after each restriction, but no permanent framework treating people mobility as core to the strategic partnership. This is shortsighted, given that India's digital economy, projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, offers American firms vast markets that could be leveraged for India’s interests. In a world where digital supply chains matter as much as semiconductors or critical minerals, the movement of tech talent must be embedded in bilateral architecture. Treating this only as a business risk is inadequate.

Corporate lobbying works best when boosted with government engagement and framed around consumer benefits rather than employment statistics. When visa rules connect to supply chain cooperation and digital trade, political calculations shift toward mutual interests.

The diaspora, influential as it may be in Silicon Valley, isn’t going to look after India’s interests. Indian-American executives like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella face inherent conflicts of interest and must prioritize their American companies' interests over facilitating competition from Indian firms. Their success stories, while inspiring, don't translate into systematic advocacy for Indian corporate interests.

It is for the Indian government to engage in systematic diplomacy and frame the H-1B debate not as a visa issue but as key to America’s pursuit of technology leadership. Otherwise, every political gust in Washington will leave the country’s most important economic sector scrambling for responses.