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New immigration reforms in the US, such as a sharp hike to H-1B visa fees, have spurred the Indian leaders to woo skilled professionals to return and support nation-building.

A senior bureaucrat associated with the PM pointed out that the regime is prioritizing repatriating overseas Indians. Meanwhile, a different expert suggested that US work permits have traditionally served the United States, and the latest fee increase could possibly benefit India in attracting skilled workers.

The central argument is that the moment is right for India to engineer a talent repatriation and lure world-class workers in technology, healthcare, and other advanced industries who departed the homeland over the past 30 years.

Anecdotal indicators indicate that a more restrictive policy landscape in the United States is leading some Indians to consider returning. However, analysts caution that convincing hundreds of thousands to exit American hubs for home soil will be difficult.

A former expatriate is part of the handful of professionals who, after 20 years in the US, made a bold move and shifted to a tech hub last year.

The choice wasn't easy. He abandoned a million-dollar job at Meta to enter the volatile sector of entrepreneurship.

"I frequently desired to launch something of my own, but my visa situation in the US hindered that freedom," he explained.

Upon coming back, he has started a couple of ventures, including a initiative titled Return to India that helps other Indians based in the America "navigate the emotional, financial, and work-related hurdles of relocating to India."

He added that latest shifts in US immigration policy have caused a noticeable surge in enquiries from professionals considering relocate, and the H-1B fracas could speed up this shift.

"Many workers now accept that a US citizenship may not materialize, and inquiries to our service have increased – almost increasing threefold after policy updates began. In just the recent period, over two hundred expatriates have contacted us to consider return options," he commented.

Other headhunters who focus on professionals from US universities corroborate this growing trend.

"The figure of Indian students from top-tier schools looking to relocate to India after their education has increased by thirty percent recently," a headhunter stated.

She added that the volatility is also causing top leaders "think harder their long-term careers in the America."

"While a lot are still based there, we notice a clear rise in executive and senior tech leaders exploring India as a credible option," she added.

Such growing interest could strengthened by a significant boom in Global Capability Centres – or remote centers of international corporations in India – that have provided viable job prospects for professionals coming back.

These remote centers could act as alternatives for those from the IT sector in case the United States tightens policies, making GCCs "increasingly attractive to skilled workers, notably as US-based roles diminish," based on an investment company.

Yet facilitating reverse migration at scale will require a coordinated and serious effort by the administration, and such efforts are absent, explains a former media adviser to a former PM and author on professional emigration.

"Leaders will have to actively pursue and truly select experts – featuring leading scientists, professionals, and innovators – it seeks to repatriate. That needs work, and it should be prioritized by leadership," he stated.

He explained that this strategy was adopted by a former leader in the previous era to recruit top minds in areas like aerospace and nuclear technology and build organizations like the renowned IISc.

"The returnees were driven by a deep nationalism. What is the reason to come back now?" he asked.

On the contrary, there are both pull and push elements that have resulted in educated individuals consistently exiting the country, he explained, and India has encouraged this pattern, as opposed to arresting it.

Overseas incentives comprise a rising number of countries offering golden visas and citizenship or residency through visa options.

In fact, as the America strengthened its work permit rules, countries {such as