The Great Skills Heist: Why India Should Charge America $500,000 For Every H-1B Professional

By NAVNEET S.CHUGH

In the global economy, nations export oil, minerals, and manufactured goods—but India’s most valuable export receives no invoice. Every year, thousands of India’s brightest engineers, scientists, and technologists migrate to the United States on H-1B visas, carrying with them decades of taxpayer-funded education and training. These professionals arrive in America as fully-formed contributors to innovation and economic growth, yet India receives nothing in return for this massive transfer of human capital.

India should implement a $500,000 exit tariff on every professional departing for the United States on work visas. This isn’t protectionism—it’s fair trade. When a nation exports its most valuable resource without compensation, it’s not globalization; it’s exploitation.

India’s Massive Investment in Human Capital

India’s investment in human capital development is staggering. From birth through higher education, the Indian government provides subsidized healthcare, education, and infrastructure support that creates the world’s most sought-after technical workforce. At government-subsidized institutions like the IITs, students pay approximately ₹2 lakh ($2,400) annually in tuition. However, the actual cost to taxpayers is estimated at ₹10-15 lakh ($12,000-$18,000) per student per year when accounting for faculty salaries, infrastructure, research facilities, and administrative overhead. For a four-year engineering degree, that represents a public investment of up to $72,000 per graduate.

These graduates don’t immediately emigrate. They typically spend 2-5 years in India’s domestic market, gaining practical experience in software development, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and advanced engineering. By the time they apply for H-1B visas, they’re seasoned professionals ready to contribute immediately to American companies. The total public investment in creating these ready-made experts easily exceeds $100,000 per individual.

With over 1.5 million engineering graduates annually and the world’s largest pool of English-speaking technical professionals, India has become the global talent factory. Yet when these professionals migrate to developed nations, India bears the cost while other countries capture the value.

America’s Strategic Advantage

The United States faces a demographic crisis with a fertility rate of 1.66—well below the 2.1 replacement level. Indian professionals comprise approximately 72% of all approved H-1B visas, making them the backbone of America’s strategy to address talent shortages in critical STEM fields.

The economic contributions are immense. H-1B workers and their families inject approximately $86 billion annually into the U.S. economy. They contribute over $24 billion in federal and state taxes, plus an additional $25 billion to Social Security and Medicare. Crucially, many return to their home countries before completing the 10 years required to qualify for Social Security benefits, leaving billions in contributions permanently in the U.S. system—a windfall that represents a hidden subsidy from immigrant workers to American retirees.

Indian immigrants have become the backbone of American technological leadership. Sundar Pichai leads Google, Satya Nadella runs Microsoft, and Shantanu Narayen heads Adobe. Indian Americans have founded companies worth trillions in market capitalization, collectively employing millions of Americans. Their philanthropic contributions are equally impressive: Dr. Kiran Patel donated $200 million to Nova Southeastern University; Chandrika Tandon gave $100 million to NYU; Amar Bose bequeathed over $500 million to MIT.

The Training Fee Paradox

Perhaps the most galling aspect of the current system is the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA) fee. U.S. employers hiring H-1B workers—predominantly Indians—must pay $750-$1,500 per petition, explicitly to fund training programs for American workers. The logic is perverse: foreign talent subsidizes domestic workforce development while their home countries lose skilled professionals.

Since 1998, this fee has generated billions in revenue—over $1 billion between 1999 and 2004 alone, with cumulative collections estimated at $2.5-3 billion. Yet there’s no comprehensive public accounting of how these funds have been spent or how many American workers have actually been trained. Despite 25 years of collecting these fees, the U.S. continues to face critical shortages in IT, artificial intelligence, and semiconductor design.

The Economic Case for a $500,000 Tariff

A $500,000 exit tariff would represent approximately five times the average H-1B worker’s annual salary, reflecting the true lifecycle value of India’s investment in human capital development. With approximately 85,000 new H-1B visas issued annually and Indians receiving roughly 72% of approvals, India could generate $30+ billion annually in tariff revenue. These funds could be invested in expanding educational infrastructure, improving faculty compensation, enhancing research capabilities, and creating incentive programs to retain top talent domestically.

Critics might argue that such fees would restrict mobility and violate principles of free movement. However, economic theory supports compensation for externalities—when one party’s actions impose costs on others, pricing mechanisms help internalize those costs. The migration of skilled professionals imposes real costs on source countries through lost tax revenue, reduced innovation capacity, and weakened competitiveness.

International Precedents

The concept isn’t unprecedented. Singapore requires international students receiving government scholarships to work locally for several years or pay substantial penalties. Various countries require medical graduates who receive subsidized education to serve in public healthcare systems before emigrating. Military academies worldwide require service obligations after graduation. The same logic applies to civilian technical education: if public funds create valuable human capital, the source of those funds deserves consideration when that capital migrates.

The Path Forward

India possesses unique leverage in global talent markets. With the world’s largest population of English-speaking technical professionals and a demographic dividend extending into the 2040s, India can afford to assert its interests more forcefully. The $500,000 tariff represents more than economic policy; it’s a statement of sovereignty and self-respect.

A tariff would force American companies and the U.S. government to internalize the true cost of accessing Indian talent. Companies might respond by investing more in domestic training programs, potentially addressing the skills shortages that drive H-1B demand. Alternatively, they might support revenue-sharing agreements between governments that provide more sustainable mechanisms for compensating source countries.

The time has come for India to stop subsidizing other nations’ prosperity while its own talent shortage constrains domestic growth. The global economy has long recognized that natural resources command market prices. It’s time to extend that principle to human resources. India’s implementation of an exit tariff could mark the beginning of a more equitable international system—one where the countries that nurture talent receive fair compensation when that talent enriches other economies.

The question isn’t whether India can afford to implement such a policy. The question is whether India can afford not to.

(Navneet S. Chugh is an Attorney and CPA, and is managing partner of Chugh, LLP. He may be reached at navneet@chugh.com)