New Delhi: After the Trump administration Thursday announced suspension of eight Indian and American IT majors from a key employment-based permanent residency programme in the US, an IIT alumni body has urged IIT graduates working across the globe to consider building their careers and businesses within India.
In a statement, the PanIIT Alumni India—an umbrella body representing alumni of all 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)—said that India now offers opportunities that once “compelled” its brightest minds abroad.
The latest development surrounding the US Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme and skilled Indian professionals on H-1B visas should serve as a reminder of the uncertainty associated with building a career dependent on a foreign work visa, it added.
“From Silicon Valley to the Indus Valley—build here, scale here, contribute here,” the organisation further said, describing its appeal as an invitation to return, rather than a rejection of global opportunities.
The United States government Thursday suspended Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, and American firms Microsoft, Adobe and Cognizant from the PERM programme amid investigations into alleged misuse of employment-based immigration pathways.
The Permanent Labour Certification programme is a key step for the pathway to an eventual green card for foreign skilled workers in the US. Under the current process, employers must apply for certification from Department of Labour, highlighting that there are no qualified US workers “able, willing, qualified and available” to accept the job opportunity in the area of “intended employment”, for a specific job—which is a PERM, according to information made available by the Department of Labour.
Prabhat Kumar, PanIIT Alumni India chairman and an Indian Revenue Service officer, said India needs to reconsider how it viewed the migration of its most talented graduates.
“For decades, we celebrated when our brightest minds left for American shores. It is time we asked what we lost in the process. A visa was never a stable foundation for a career, and this week’s events prove it,” he said in the statement. “The IIT covenant was nation before self. The most exciting problems—and the greatest impact—now await our engineers at home. Build here. Scale here. Die here.”
The body further said that Indian engineers and technologists, including a large number of IIT graduates, had contributed to American innovation, research and industry for more than five decades by developing products, filing patents, founding companies and creating jobs.
While acknowledging the US’ sovereign right to determine its immigration policy, it urged that such policies be implemented fairly and transparently, without stigmatising skilled Indian professionals. “To characterise them collectively as ‘indentured servants’ is neither accurate nor fair,” the statement added.
The organisation also argued that India’s ecosystem has evolved over the years. “The ecosystem that once compelled our brightest minds to leave—the absence of world-class research opportunities, deep-tech infrastructure, and patient capital—is no longer what it was. India today offers the challenges and opportunities that were once only available abroad,” it said.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)