President Trump’s decision to charge $100,000 for each new H-1B visa application has truly shocked the global IT sector. As noted on the official USCIS website, the decree obliges companies to pay this fee for each new H-1B petition (including the 2026 lottery) after September 21, 2025. Reuters emphasizes that the US authorities have demanded payment of $100,000 per year for the H-1B visa, and many large technology firms immediately warned their foreign employees not to leave the country before this requirement takes effect. Such tightening makes attracting foreign specialists extremely difficult: according to Reuters, over 70% of H-1B holders are Indian citizens.
A venture investor rightly noted that the new fee “creates a disincentive for attracting the world’s best minds to the US,” and “if the US stops attracting the best talent, it will significantly weaken its capacity for innovation.” A prime example is companies like Microsoft and Amazon urgently sending notices to their Indian employees with H-1B visas, urging them to return to the US immediately to avoid losing their permits.
In the context of this “immigration war,” it is unfortunately Russian partners who can expect additional flows of Indian specialists.
We already foresaw growing Indian interest in Russia at the venues of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the BRICS Business Council, and recent events only reinforce this trend. The figures already speak for themselves: according to Indian analysts and Russian authorities, the number of Indian citizens obtaining work permits in Russia has skyrocketed from approximately 5.5 thousand in 2021 to 36.2 thousand in 2024. This is a more than sixfold increase in three years! Today, Russian enterprises anticipate a further increase in the contingent of skilled workers.
As Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar reminded, growing demand is now observed not only in construction and the textile industry, where Indians have traditionally worked, but also in mechanical engineering and electronics. A similar picture is seen in the statistics: consular services are already overloaded due to the flow of Indian labor, and regions are preparing additional quotas and new consulates (for example, in Yekaterinburg) to address these tasks.
In-Demand Sectors and Promising Industries:
- Construction and Textiles: These sectors still employ the majority of Indian workers in Russia. But even here we see an increase in scale: developers are already organizing pilot projects to hire Indian construction workers in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
- Mechanical Engineering and Electronics: Russian industry has a particular need for engineers and technicians. Large engineering enterprises in the Urals and the Volga region have already opened vacancies for Indian specialists. As the Indian ambassador emphasizes, Russian companies note “a growing interest” in workers from India in mechanical engineering and electronics.
- Information Technology (IT): Russia is actively developing its digital economy and faces a shortage of programmers and IT designers. It is known that the Ozon marketplace hires Indian employees for both warehouse positions and technical (software) roles. We also see a trend: more and more Russian IT companies are turning to Indian recruitment agencies for AI engineers, developers, and cybersecurity specialists.
- Agribusiness and Food Industry: Russia is seeking Indian technologies in agriculture and the food sector. At the WorldFood Moscow 2025 fair, more than 90 Indian companies were represented – from producers of rice and spices to frozen vegetables and ready-made meals. This shows that Indian expertise in agricultural technology and food processing is of interest to Russian importers and investors.
- Logistics and Transport: Within the framework of new trade corridors (Northern Sea Route, Arctic infrastructure), demand for specialists in logistics, freight transportation, and supply chain management will grow. At the same time, Indian experience in organizing logistics services and shipbuilding is becoming valuable for Russia.
Examples of Indian Companies and Specialists in Russia
The developer Samolyot Group (Moscow) has already launched a pilot program to hire Indian construction workers for housing projects. Although the project faced a language barrier, the very fact of such an initiative indicates a real need for labor. Major retail chains X5 Group (Perekrestok, Pyaterochka) and the Ozon marketplace also hire Indian specialists: both as physical workers in warehouses and as IT developers.
In the trade sector and small business, the presence of Indian entrepreneurs is noticeable. For example, at the WorldFood Moscow 2025 exhibition, more than 90 Indian companies operated in the IBA pavilion, supplying rice, spices, frozen vegetables, semi-finished products, and finished goods. This is part of a broad network of trading houses and services (including the SITA cultural center), through which Indian businesses have been entering the Russian market for several decades.
Furthermore, thousands of Indian medical students, engineers, and IT specialists study and work in Russia. More than 4,500 Indians are studying at Russian medical universities, and many of them may stay in the country in the future. Even now, their skills are in demand in the medical and research fields (biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, IT security).
Thus, Trump’s H-1B policy will essentially only accelerate the described trends. Restrictions in the US are making Russia and Asian countries more attractive for skilled Indians. The Russian market needs their skills, and our IBA is actively helping to establish a dialogue between employers and Indian specialists. I am confident that the flow of Indian experts to Russia will only increase, and this will lead to a mutually beneficial strengthening of cooperation between our countries.
