India Aims to Attract its Top Talent Back from the US – However It Won't Be Easy

Latest immigration reforms in the US, featuring a substantial increase in H-1B visa fees, have prompted the Indian policymakers to woo skilled Indians abroad to relocate and support domestic development.

A senior advisor associated with the PM pointed out that the leadership is prioritizing repatriating expatriates. At the same time, a different economic advisor noted that American immigration policies have consistently benefited the America, and the new fee increase could actually benefit India in attracting skilled workers.

The core argument is that the moment is right for India to facilitate a talent repatriation and lure highly skilled workers in software, research, and other advanced fields who left the homeland over the past 30 years.

Preliminary reports suggest that a tighter visa environment in the America is prompting a few expatriates to consider moving back. However, experts caution that motivating hundreds of thousands to leave US locations for Bengaluru will be difficult.

Nithin Hassan is among the handful of professionals who, after 20 years in the America, took a leap of faith and shifted to a tech hub last year.

The decision wasn't easy. He left a high-paying role at a leading firm to plunge into the risky sector of start-ups.

"I've always desired to establish a personal venture, but my visa situation in the America hindered that freedom," he explained.

Upon moving home, he's founded a couple of businesses, among them a platform called B2I that supports fellow expatriates living in the United States "navigate the emotional, economic, and professional difficulties of coming back."

He noted that recent adjustments in American visa rules have caused a significant surge in requests from professionals looking to return, and the work permit controversy could hasten this movement.

"Many professionals now realize that a US citizenship may remain elusive, and requests to B2I have surged – roughly jumping significantly after recent changes started. In merely the recent period, more than 200 NRIs have contacted us to look into return options," he stated.

Other talent scouts who focus on Indian talent from American colleges corroborate this change in sentiment.

"The count of Indian students from Ivy League colleges aiming to come back to India following their studies has increased by a significant percentage recently," a recruitment CEO explained.

She added that the instability is also leading experienced professionals "evaluate their long-term careers in the America."

"Even though many are still anchored there, we notice a clear uptick in CXO and top professionals considering India as a credible choice," she added.

The shift in mindset could also be aided by a significant boom in GCCs – which are international units of multinational companies in India – that have provided promising job prospects for expatriates.

These GCCs could become alternatives for those from the tech industry when the United States tightens policies, making GCCs "highly desirable to professionals, particularly as US-based roles diminish," as per a financial firm.

But driving talent return significantly will demand a concerted and serious effort by the leadership, and that's currently missing, says a former media adviser to a past prime minister and expert on India's brain drain.

"Leaders will have to go out and effectively identify individuals – including leading scientists, specialists, and business owners – it aims to attract. That requires work, and it should receive high-level support," he stated.

He noted that this strategy was used by a former leader in the earlier days to bring back brilliant individuals in areas like science and advanced research and establish organizations like the esteemed a top research institute.

"Those individuals were motivated by a powerful nationalism. Is there the reason to come back now?" he asked.

Conversely, there are multiple attractive and repelling factors that have caused highly qualified individuals continuously exiting the homeland, he noted, and India has encouraged this movement, instead of reversing it.

Attractions abroad comprise a rising range of countries granting residency programs and citizenship or residency through visa options.

In fact, even as the United States restricted its immigration system, countries {such as