India, Sept. 24 -- The Trump administration's plans to overhaul the existing H-1B lottery system in a way that would favour higher-skilled and higher-paid foreign workers stands to hurt entry-level talent, especially Indians.

India is currently the biggest beneficiary of the H-1B visa programme, and hence stands to lose the most with this proposed reform. In 2024, out of 399,395 approved H-1B visas, Indians accounted for a dominant 71%, while China followed far behind with only 11.7%.

After the steep hike in the H-1B visa fee to $100,000, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has now proposed replacing the random lottery with a weighted selection system that prioritises higher-paid applications.

If annual requests for the H-1B v...