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Latest visa fee hikes in the US, including a significant hike to H-1B visa fees, have spurred the Indian leaders to actively encourage talented expatriates to come back and support domestic development.

An influential bureaucrat close to the prime minister recently stated that the leadership is focused on repatriating NRIs. Additionally, a different council member commented that H-1B visas have consistently served the United States, and the new hike could actually benefit India in drawing global talent.

The central argument is that conditions are favorable for India to engineer a talent repatriation and attract world-class experts in technology, research, and various cutting-edge fields who left the nation over the previous three decades.

Anecdotal indicators show that a increasingly hostile policy landscape in the United States is prompting several expatriates to think about moving back. Yet, experts warn that convincing hundreds of thousands to depart American hubs for home soil will be easier said than done.

Nithin Hassan is one of the handful of professionals who, after two decades in the America, made a bold move and moved to India's Silicon Valley last year.

The choice involved risk. He abandoned a high-paying role at Meta to enter the uncertain arena of start-ups.

"I long wanted to start something of my own, but my visa situation in the America limited that opportunity," he mentioned.

Upon moving home, he has founded multiple businesses, one being a service named Back to India that helps other NRIs living in the America "navigate the emotional, economic, and career difficulties of coming back."

He revealed that recent shifts in US immigration policy have caused a sharp increase in requests from professionals considering move, and the work permit controversy could speed up this shift.

"Many workers now understand that a US citizenship may never come, and queries to our service have increased – almost jumping significantly following the new administration began. In just the last six months, over 200 non-resident Indians have contacted us to explore return options," he said.

Further headhunters who focus on Indian talent from US universities confirm this shift in attitude.

"The number of graduates from Ivy League schools looking to come back to India following their education has grown by thirty percent this season," an executive mentioned.

She noted that the volatility is also causing top leaders "think harder their professional paths in the United States."

"Even though many are still based there, we notice a clear rise in senior and experienced experts exploring India as a serious choice," she remarked.

This shift in mindset could also be aided by a huge growth in GCCs – or remote operations of global firms in India – that have opened up attractive career options for returning Indians.

The offshore operations could serve as destinations for those from the IT sector when the US closes its doors, making GCCs "highly desirable to professionals, especially as US-based roles decrease," according to a financial firm.

Yet driving talent return on a large level will need a coordinated and dedicated initiative by the leadership, and this is lacking, says a ex- advisor to a past prime minister and writer on India's brain drain.

"Officials will have to go out and truly identify professionals – including leading scientists, professionals, and business owners – it seeks to repatriate. That requires resources, and it must receive high-level support," he emphasized.

He said that this method was adopted by India's first prime minister in the earlier days to attract leading experts in areas like aerospace and nuclear technology and establish institutions like the premier a top research institute.

"The returnees were driven by a powerful sense of purpose. Is there the reason to come back now?" he asked.

Instead, there are multiple attractive and repelling elements that have caused highly qualified individuals repeatedly leaving the country, he noted, and India has applauded this trend, instead of arresting it.

The pull factors involve a rising range of countries providing golden visas and permanent status through immigration programmes.

Indeed, even as the United States tightened its H-1B visa regime, nations {such as