H-1B Visa Fee Hike: Helios Capital Founder Samir Arora Shares Amusing Boardroom Scenario, Suggests Best Strategy

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Samir Arora, the founder and fund manager of Helios Capital Management took to X (formerly Twitter) to lay out a hypothetical boardroom debate about the best strategy that an Indian company would adopt in response to increased fee for H-1 visas.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday, September 19, introducing a $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visas to encourage companies to prioritise hiring American workers while at the same time to allow hiring of highly skilled foreign workers in specialised fields.

The boardroom debate

Arora said that if an Indian IT company were to discuss the impact of increased fee for H-1 visas, there could be“three possible proposals given by the directors during the board meeting:”

"- Director 1: We should encourage clients to do more off shoring and may be give them more attractive prices to make the move. We can sacrifice some margins and hire more US green card holders/citizens in the meantime

- Director 2: We should invest more in AI tools to increase the productivity of our traditional services and also to invest in AI's own basic development so we have a seat at the table when AI's dominance grows with time.

- Smartest Director in the room: We can announce a buy back of shares."

Netizens react to the post

Many X users responded to Arora's post with their own opinions on the situation, while some also responded with their own satirical takes to the post, including memes and a continuation of the hypothetical boardroom meeting.

A user said,“The $100k H‐1B fee will hurt margins and create headaches in the short term, but it's also a wake-up call: time to invest in AI, improve efficiency, hire locally, and strengthen India's tech ecosystem. In the long run, companies that adapt now will emerge stronger, more innovative, and globally competitive - turning this crisis into opportunity.”

Another user mirrored that statement and noted,“Visa fee hikes are short-term. Offshoring and local hiring balance the risk, but AI investment is the real long game.”

In continuation to the post, another user said,“Director two was fired. Director one was made sales head. Director three was rewarded with bonuses for the sheer brilliance."

One user connected the post to Indian IT giant Infosys, stating, "Hahaha....Striking two targets with 1 tweet...Have u ever were invested in infy?" to which Arora replied,“nearly all my life- at least 25 yrs out of 30.”

Arora's take on the most suited approach

In another X post, Arora shared his thoughts on the best possible course of action during such a time.“I think the most logical and practical suggestion is from 1st Director. Business to Indian IT will not not be affected much but the margins will reduce over time. May take 1-2 yrs to get new model in place," he posted.

He also noted that there should not be any secondary effects if the only consequence is lower profits for Indian companies as they would still want new business and remain competitive. This assumes we ignore the unknown AI effect that continues to be a big overhang.

Also Read | Microsoft, Meta, Amazon urge H1-B visa holders to return to US in 24 hours

“Biggest impact is on individuals directly affected, living in uncertainty and waiting for what happens when their H1 needs to be renewed/expires, and students studying/planning to study in US and there will be many individual sad stories (and hopefully some good stories about people forced to take on new challenges and succeeding beyond their wildest expectations),” he noted.

How does hiked H-1B visa fee affect Indians?

The H-1B program offers around 65,000 visas annually to employers bringing in temporary foreign workers in specialised fields, and another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees.

Under the current system, entering the lottery for the visa requires a minimal fee and, if approved, subsequent fees could amount to several thousand dollars, a Mint report said earlier.

Also Read | PM Modi's first remark amid Trump's H-1B visa fee hike: 'Our biggest enemy is...' Also Read | From panic to parody: Trump's H-1B visa fee hike sparks meme fest

India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71% of approved beneficiaries, while China was a distant second at 11.7%, according to government data.

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