Look at Indian dream, not American

For almost 30 years, the US represented opportunity for Indian IT professionals, a place where skill, ambition and hard work could translate into global careers and financial stability. The H-1B visa was the bridge that made this possible. Today, that bridge is shaking, and for many young Indians, it may no longer be safe to cross.

The uncertainty surrounding the H-1B visa is not sudden, nor is it accidental. It is the result of political backlash, economic anxiety and a system that gradually drifted away from its original intent. To understand what is happening, we must first acknowledge a truth that often gets ignored: not all IT jobs in the US are the same. Broadly, they fall into three categories.

At the top are hardcore computer science roles in companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta and other elite firms. These jobs demand deep academic grounding, strong research ability or exceptional engineering skills. Graduates from top universities dominate this space, and companies are willing to pay premium salaries for them. When a Stanford or MIT graduate joins Google, nobody talks about H-1B abuse. Talent at that level is universally welcomed.

The second category includes application-oriented roles in banking, retail and large enterprises, including implementing systems like SAP, Oracle or custom platforms. These jobs pay reasonably well and don’t always require elite academic pedigrees. The third category consists of system maintenance, application support and end-user support roles, often handled by IT services firms or US-based consulting companies that rely heavily on H-1B workers from India.