Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday asserted that fewer H-1B visas for Indians could benefit the Indian economy as more skilled professionals may choose to stay in the country and contribute to its growth. His remark comes at a time when the Trump administration has increased scrutiny of the H-1B visa programme and green card applications.

Goyal Say Fewer H-1B Visas Can Benefit India

Speaking at the ET Startup Awards 2026, Goyal stated that many talented Indians have moved to the United States and built successful businesses there. According to him, if more of these professionals had stayed in India, they could have contributed to the country's economic growth. “Not getting more H-1B visas is absolutely good for the Indian economy. Some of our best talent has gone to America. When I see Indian-origin billionaires in literally every street, I wonder what would have happened if they had built their business in India,” said Goyal.

Never Raised H-1B Visas With US: Goyal

He added that keeping skilled professionals in India would help the country benefit from their knowledge, experience and business ideas. Goyal further highlighted that he had never raised the issue of H-1B visas or green cards in his discussions with US officials during his 7.5 years as Commerce and Industry Minister.

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“I have never ever raised the issue of H-1B visas or green cards in all my talks with the US in the past 7.5 years as Commerce Minister,” Goyal added. He also explained that immigration and trade are separate issues. “Immigration is not directly related to trade. What relates to trade is mobility and mobility to provide a service where essential, every country has the right to monitor and regulate. We would not like people from across the world having open access to our country,” Goyal noted.

US Tightens Rules

Goyal's statement comes at a time when the United States has increased its scrutiny of the H-1B visa programme and green card process. Earlier on Thursday, the US suspended Microsoft and several other IT companies, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, Capgemini and HCL, from the PERM programme, citing alleged fraud. The announcement was made by US Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling, with Vice President JD Vance, the head of the US Anti-Fraud Task Force, by his side.

"I am hereby suspending from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme some of the largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, and Capgemini," Sonderling said. "We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labour certification applications involving these companies. Since 2009, just these companies alone have requested almost three million foreign workers. They've received over 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and over 100,000 permanent labour certifications," he added.

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